''La Beauté du diable'' (literally "the beauty of the devil"; originally released in the UK and USA as ''Beauty and the Devil'') is a 1950 Franco-Italian fantasy film

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

directed by

René Clair René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...

. A

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragic and comic forms. Most often seen in dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a seriou ...

set in the early 19th century, it is about an ageing alchemist, Henri

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

, who is given the chance to be eternally young by the devil

Mephistopheles Mephistopheles (, ), also known as Mephisto, is a demon featured in German folklore. He originally appeared in literature as the demon in the Faust legend, and he has since appeared in other works as a stock character (see: Mephistopheles i ...

. It is loosely adapted from the classic early 19th-century verse play ''

'' by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

Cast

Michel Simon Michel Simon (; 9 April 1895 – 30 May 1975) was a Swiss-French actor. He appeared in many notable French films, including ''La Chienne'' (1931), ''Boudu Saved from Drowning'' (1932), ''L'Atalante'' (1934), ''Port of Shadows'' (1938), '' The He ...

as Mephistopheles / Old Professor Henri Faust * Gérard Philipe as Young Henri Faust / Young-looking Mephistopheles * Nicole Besnard as Marguerite, the gypsy girl * Raymond Cordy as Antoine, the servant *

Simone Valère Simone Valère (2 August 1923 – 11 November 2010) was a French actress. She appeared in more than forty films from 1941 to 1993. Filmography External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valere, Simone 1923 births 2010 deaths Actresses from Pa ...

as La Princesse *

Carlo Ninchi Carlo Ninchi (31 May 1896 – 27 April 1974) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1963. He was born in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, and died on 27 April 1974 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Selected filmogra ...

as Le Prince *

Gaston Modot Gaston Modot (31 December 1887 – 20 February 1970) was a French actor. For more than 50 years he performed for the cinema working with a number of great French directors. Biography Modot lived in Montmartre at the beginning of the 20th cen ...

as Gypsy * Tullio Carminati as Diplomat *

Paolo Stoppa Paolo Stoppa Knight Grand Cross (6 June 1906 – 1 May 1988) was an Italian actor. Biography Born in Rome, he began as a stage actor in 1927 in the theater in Rome and began acting in films in 1932. As a stage actor, his most celebrated ...

as Official

Release and reception

In 2013, the Cohen Film Collection released the ''Beauty and the Devil'' on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

. Besides the film, which was reconstructed (with bad audio), the film offers a 2010 documentary on the film itself. Ian Jane of the ''

DVDTalk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

'' said in his closing comments regarding the Blu-ray release: "''Beauty Of The Devil'' is slick, it's stylish and it's wonderfully shot meaning that not only is the creative way in which the story is told compelling and interesting but that it is as much a treat for the eyes as it is for the mind. The performances are good and Clair does some interesting things with his take on the story of Faust. This may be an atypical take on the classic tale, but it works incredibly well."

Awards

The film was nominated or Best Film at the 1951 BAFTA Awards and won two awards at the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists with a Silver Ribbon Best Actor award going to

and best Best Production Design to Aldo Tommasini and Léon Barsacq.

References

External links

* 1950s romantic fantasy films 1950s fantasy drama films French black-and-white films Italian black-and-white films French fantasy drama films Films directed by René Clair 1950s French-language films Works based on the Faust legend Films set in the 19th century 1950 drama films 1950s French films 1950s Italian films {{1950s-Italy-film-stub