Beauty and the Beast: Diary of a Film (Paperback)

When Director Jean Cocteau started recording the progress of his masterpiece film, LA BELLE ET LA BĘTE, a couple of days before it started filming, not even he could have guessed the obstacles he'd have to overcome to finish it. Not only did he have to work around the frequent blackouts of the period, but health was a prevalent problem amongst the cast and crew (including himself), running overbudget was hurting his reputation with financiers, and even the weather slowed production when it failed to provide good lighting for exterior shots. This 1972 book, translated by Ronald Duncan, is a deliciously insightful account of putting a movie together from the director's point of view. It also includes photos, an introduction by George Amberg and Madame Le Prince de Beaumont's 18th century story.

As World War II ended, things were looking rosy for French cinema in the United States. Distributors were paying big bucks for rights to European movies--particularly France's. LE BELLE ET LA BĘTE was slotted as one of the five main contenders at the first International Cannes Film Festival. Journalists occasionally visited Cocteau to support his efforts with advance publicity, which he presents anecdotally.

There are some amusing moments when Cocteau confesses to being a poor director. He admits to being so caught up with the performance that he missed the cue to tell the camera to roll. It's also fun to guess the subtext of Cocteau's accounts. It seems he spends a lot of time with leading actor, Jean Marais, who he playfully nicknames Jeannot. He also does favors for his Beauty, Josette Day, but anyone with critical thinking skills can eventually figure out the true nature of Cocteau's relationship with Marais. Cocteau is fairly discreet about it, though.

Amberg notes the biggest criticism of this book. Considering how few movies Cocteau directed, we never learn exactly what prompted him to choose the BEAUTY AND THE BEAST fairy tale, aside from one vague remark.

This book also overlooks the ideas of how Cocteau's ancillary creative details came about as well. Cocteau was a multi-talented artist and some of the information he withholds from his journal is disappointing. Although his documentation of the filming is rather thorough, a lot had to happen before that point. Preproduction on LA BELLE ET LA BĘTE actually began in 1943. This was when he made most of his creative decisions and it would have been endlessly fascinating for any creative person to learn what muse bit him when he decided to make those sconces human arms.

Likewise with the reception to the movie's release. The story of LA BELLE ET LA BĘTE doesn't end with its filming. When the movie was finally shown at Cannes, Cocteau met a disappointing response. Many people had expected LA BELLE ET LA BĘTE to shine as beacon for the French film industry and initial audiences repelled its uniqueness. They saw it as frivolous at a time they wanted verisimilitude. The only award it took at Cannes was for its music. Out of sheer frustration, Cocteau implored NEW YORK TIMES readers a couple of days before its American debut to understand that his movie is supposed to look different.

If Cocteau could see today's acclaim he would be more than satisfied. There are few current American movie fans who are aware of Rene Clement's LA BATAILLE DU RAIL, which won the best picture award at that first Cannes festival. AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER has deemed LA BELLE ET LA BĘTE one of the 100 best-shot films of all time and recognizes Cocteau as one of the true creative pioneers in film history.

The addition of Beaumont's story, which was the basis for Cocteau's retelling, is an intriguing touch and shows how sophisticated readers have become since its initial release in the 18th century. It provides story information instead of presenting pertinent conflict on stage. The Beast is not at maximum capacity when he tells the Merchant he is going to ruthlessly kill him, then gives the old man a three-day furlough to say goodbye to his family. The Merchant is stupid for intending to go back.

Despite its shortcomings, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: DIARY OF A FILM is a wonderful book for anyone interested in filmmaking. It's an excellent memoir of a fabulous movie, but it would've been even more fulfilling if Cocteau had started with preproduction and let us join him for the audience response.