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Beauty and the Beast (1976)
Director: Fielder Cook
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Made for TV but theatrically released, this retelling of the Perrault fairytale falls flat on its face by comparison with Cocteau's marvellous La Belle et la Bête. Cook introduces us to the Beast's castle by way of a distorting lens that promptly robs it of any magic whatsoever; its interiors remind one of nothing so much as a slightly seedy stately home in which things have a tiresome habit of appearing or disappearing. Even more dispiritingly, Scott's Beast, turned into a snouty pig with tusks and a waistline to match, has been robbed of the heady eroticism Jean Marais brought to the part. Small wonder that Belle (Van Devere), behaving like a callow coed with a beady eye for the material benefits provided by magic, keeps inventing little games of hide-and-seek and suchlike to keep her suitor occupied.Author: TM
Cast & crew
Director: Fielder Cook
Producer: Hank Moonjean
Cast: George C Scott, Trish Van Devere, Virginia McKenna, Bernard Lee, Michael Harbour, William Relton, Patricia Quinn full cast
Duration: 91 mins
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