''The Beast'' (french: La Bête) is a 1975 French

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

written, edited, and directed by

Walerian Borowczyk Walerian Borowczyk (21 October 1923 – 3 February 2006) was an internationally known Polish film director described by film critics as a 'genius who also happened to be a pornographer'. He directed 40 films between 1946 and 1988. Borowczyk sett ...

. Although sometimes compared with ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'', there are no parallels in the plot except that it features the relationship between a beast (monster) and a woman. The film was noted for its explicit sexual content upon its initial release. It has become a

cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...

. A loose adaptation of the novella '' Lokis'' by

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

was originally conceived in 1972 as a film on its own. However, Borowczyk later rendered ''Lokis'' as a story (''La véritable histoire de la bête du Gévaudan'') in '' Immoral Tales'' (1974), which was envisaged to be a film of six stories. After ''Immoral Tales'' was remastered as a film of four stories, the footage became the dream sequence of ''The Beast''.

Plot

Businessman Philip Broadhurst dies and leaves his estate to his daughter, Lucy, on the condition that she marries Mathurin, Marquis Pierre de l'Esperance's son, within six months. She is to be married by Cardinal Joseph do Balo, the brother of Pierre's uncle, the crippled Duc Rammaendelo de Balo, who shares their crumbling farmhouse with Pierre's daughter Clarisse, and their servant Ifany. Mathurin, who manages the family horse-breeding business, is dim-witted and deformed and has never been baptized. Pierre summons the local priest to the house for the baptism, but Pierre, by promising the priest repairs to his church and a new bell, performs the ritual himself so that the priest will not find out the truth about Mathurin. Lucy and her aunt, Virginia, are driven by their chauffeur toward the farm, but a fallen tree blocks their way. They find a back route to the house at a back door to the house, where Lucy asks Rammaendelo about rumors. Rammaendelo, who is not in favor of the marriage because he is dependent on Mathurin to look after him, shows her a book that describes the beautiful Romilda's fight with a beast in the local forest 200 years ago. Lucy comes across several drawings depicting bestiality and becomes sexually excited at the thought of her impending marriage, even though she has never met Mathurin. Pierre blackmails Rammaendelo into persuading his brother to perform the marriage by telling him that he has proof that Rammaendelo poisoned his wife. Rammaendelo cannot get through to the Cardinal on the telephone, so Pierre sends a telegram, assuring him that Mathurin has been baptized and urging him to attend this evening. Everyone assembles for dinner, and Mathurin's uncouth manners become apparent. Lucy and her aunt try to leave but are persuaded to stay. With everyone having drunk too much wine, most of the assembly falls asleep while waiting for the Cardinal. Lucy retires to her room, undresses, puts on her thin wedding dress, and dreams that she is Romilda, playing the

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

. Seeing a lamb straying into the forest, she chases after it to find that it has been torn apart by a black hairy beast. Pierre overhears Rammaendelo on the telephone with the Cardinal trying to dissuade him from performing the marriage. Angrily interrupting the conversation, Pierre slits Rammaendelo's throat with a razor and tears the phone out of the wall. In the ensuing comic dream sequence, the beast with a large visible

erection An erection (clinically: penile erection or penile tumescence) is a physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular, ...

chases Lucy through the forest. She loses most of her clothing in the process and ends up hanging by her arms from a branch, and the beast licks her and masturbates. Lucy wakes up in a sweat and wonders if it was merely a dream. She tiptoes to Mathurin's room, but he is asleep, fully clothed, on his bed. Lucy returns to her room, masturbates, and dreams that the beast is copulating with her. She wakes again and is convinced that Mathurin must have visited her. She visits his room again, but he is still sleeping soundly. Lucy returns to her dream. The beast continues to masturbate, and Lucy rubs his ejaculate all over herself. Eventually, the beast dies of exhaustion. Lucy wakes and walks into Mathurin's room to find him dead on the floor. She runs naked through the house screaming, and everyone runs to her aid. Virginia examines Mathurin's body and discovers that a plaster cast on his arm conceals a claw for a hand. Pulling his clothes off reveals that he is covered in thick black hair and has a tail, indicating that he is a descendant of Romilda and the beast. They run out of the house in terror as the Cardinal arrives. Virginia comforts the terrified Lucy as they speed away in the car, and Lucy dreams that she is naked in the forest again, this time burying the beast.

Cast

Sirpa Lane Sirpa Lane, born Sirpa Salo (1952–1999), was a Finnish people, Finnish actress known for her work in B-movies of the 1970s, primarily erotic and exploitation films. Lane was discovered by British photographer and film-maker David Hamilton (photo ...

as Romilda de l'Esperance * Lisbeth Hummel as Lucy Broadhurst * Elisabeth Kaza as Virginia Broadhurst * Pierre Benedetti as Mathurin de l'Esperance *

Guy Tréjan Guy Tréjan (1921–2001) was a French film, stage and television actor.Bradby p.124 He was the nephew of the Swiss singer and dancer Flore Revalles. Selected filmography * '' Marie Antoinette Queen of France'' (1956) * ''I'll Get Back to Kandar ...

as Pierre de l'Esperance * Roland Armontel as Priest *

Marcel Dalio Marcel Dalio (born Marcel Benoit Blauschild; 23 November 1899 in Paris – 18 November 1983) was a French movie actor. He had major roles in two films directed by Jean Renoir, ''La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and ''The Rules of the Game'' (1939). ...

as Rammondelo, Duke of Balo * Robert Capia as Roberto Capia *

Pascale Rivault Pascale is a common Francophone given name, the feminine of the name Pascal. The same spelling is also an Italian form of the masculine name ''Pascal'', and an Italian surname derived from the given name. Pascale derives from the Latin ''pasc ...

as Clarisse de l'Esperance

Release

The film

premiered A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

on 6 January 1975 at the

Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival The Avoriaz International Fantastic Film Festival (french: Festival international du film fantastique d'Avoriaz) was a film festival held in the French resort of Avoriaz between 1973 and 1993. It was the precursor to the current Gérardmer Inter ...

and was released theatrically in Germany on 6 February 1981.

Reception

The film did well in Europe, but the run of the film in France and the U.S. ran into controversy due to its erotic nature and show of bestiality. Many felt the film went over the top with its sex scenes, leading to its withdrawal from film for several years. In the UK the

BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

refused to classify a heavily cut version for general cinema release, and the same cut print narrowly avoided prosecution under the

Obscene Publications Act Since 1857, a series of obscenity laws known as the Obscene Publications Acts have governed what can be published in England and Wales. The classic definition of criminal obscenity is if it "tends to deprave and corrupt," stated in 1868 by Lord ...

by the

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

when it was shown with

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

approval at the independently run

Prince Charles Cinema The Prince Charles Cinema (PCC) is a repertory cinema located in Leicester Place, 50 yards north of Leicester Square in the West End of London. It shows a rotating programme of cult, arthouse, and classic films alongside recent Hollywood releas ...

in London in September 1978.BBFC Case Study of La Bête
/ref>

References

External links