From Page to Screen: Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Co-presented by French Library / Alliance Française of Boston & Cambridge.
After the screening, join us for a Q&A with Nicholas Elliott, film critic, curator, and translator of the new English edition of Beauty and the Beast: Diary of a Film. Books will be available for purchase at this event.
“One of the most magical of all films!” –Roger Ebert. Jean Cocteau’s sublime adaptation of Mme. Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy-tale masterpiece—in which the pure love of a beautiful girl melts the heart of a feral but gentle beast—is a landmark of motion picture fantasy, with unforgettably romantic performances by Jean Marais and Josette Day. The spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death in Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête) have become timeless icons of cinematic wonder.
About Beauty and the Beast: Diary of a Film
Beginning on August 26, 1945, the day before shooting began, until June 1, 1946, the day after the film was first screened, Jean Cocteau kept a diary of the making of his masterpiece Beauty and the Beast. Throughout he details every stage of production, as he faces and surmounts numerous obstacles including severe problems with his health, and ultimately the great pleasures of camaraderie with his remarkable collaborators: Jean Marais, Henri Alekan, and Christian Bérard, amongst others. New English translation by Nicholas Elliott.
