Space & Environment: Secret Liars‘The Mise-en-Scene’ Film Review

La Belle et la Bete (1946)Directed by Jean Cocteau.

‘Beauty and the Beast’ as its known in English was an enjoyable film in terms of its production design you can definitely see where ‘Walt Disney’ got his inspiration from after watching this original; The Black and White filming gave a lovely effect, making small details like mist and fog stand out to the audience: ‘this black-and-white fantasia revels instead in grandiose medieval settings and technical trickery. Marvellous surreal effects live on the mind’s eye long after the lights go up.’ (Brealy, 2012)

The one-point perspective shots are used throughout the film in various ways that still draw you into the film; there’s one scene when the Father is being directed down a corridor by lights, which gives the audience a

sense of mystery as you wonder where he’s heading. When the characters are riding through the woods you get drawn again to where they’re heading with the use of open paths much like a maze. By French Director Jean Cocteau’s use of fore, mid and backgrounds this creates a theatrical vibe especially when the twigs are overlapping one another at the end of the woods.

During the film you witness magical intentions: moving statue heads, moving arms which act like candle holders (Fig 2) and moving hands in the table; that makes this fairytale story have that fairytale feel amongst it. ’ Derek Malcolm almost suggests that these fairytale like happenings could possibly come from

Figure 1

Figure 2

the Beast: ‘Alekan's black-and-white photography was sharp and unfuzzy, set in a credible French country landscape that contains not just the realistic home of Beauty but also the weird, enchanted domicile of the Beast.’ (Malcolm, 1999) The costumes gave a magical feel and gave the impression that the Beast was Royalty with all the sparkles and extravagant suits, even Beauty’s dresses. Bosley Crowther says: ‘And the costumes, too, by Christian Berard and Escoffier, are exquisite affairs, glittering and imaginative, lacking only the glow of color, as we say.’ (Crowther, 1947) You can almost picture in your mind how the colours should look which also gives the audience the experience to picture their own fantasy.

BibliographyText:

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Brealy, Louise. Available at: http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=132405 (Accessed online on 29th October 2013)

Crowther, Bosley. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B03EFD71E3EEE3BBC4C51DFB467838C659EDE&partner=Rotten%2520Tomatoes (Accessed online on 29th October 2013)

Malcolm, Derek. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/jul/01/1 (Accessed online on 29th October 2013)

Images:Fig 1. . La Belle et la Bete (1946) From: La Belle et la Bete. Directed by Jean Cocteau [Film Poster] French. http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2013/10/07/la-belle-et-la-bete-posters/

Fig 2. La Belle et la Bete (1946) From: La Belle et la Bete. Directed by Jean Cocteau [Film Still] French. http://nitehawkhatched.com/2012/08/29/school-days-and-nitehawks-fall-movie-guide-october/

Fig 3. La Belle et la Bete (1946) From: La Belle et la Bete. Directed by Jean Cocteau [Film Still] French.http://www.centerblog.net/journal-intime/214573-90-la-belle-et-la-bete-