Beauty and the Beast - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Beauty and the Beast or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Beauty and the Beast

[morris]

The first screening took place before the staff of the studio at Joinville. Jean Cocteau was so nervous, he invited his friend Marlene Dietrich, whose hand he held tightly as the film unwound. The response, however, was enthusiastic.

[gabriel]

For the role of the Beast, Jean Marais's outer body was covered with animal hair. "On my face there's a plenty of cracks, wounds and itches and my hands are bleeding" Jean Cocteau wrote when he was hospitalized during filming, "but the face and the hands of Jean Marais are covered with a so painful crust that removing it is similar to suffer my treatments".

[jessie]

Jean Marais' face, hands and any other body parts not hidden by his costume were covered in animal hair. Once his fangs were in, he could not remove them, so he could eat nothing while filming except mush.

[bernice]

Jean Cocteau used several different kinds of film stock because of the difficulty of getting stock immediately after the war. He claimed that the different visual textures added to the poetic effect of the film.

[nicholas]

The House of Lanvin made all of the costumes, with resident designer Pierre Cardin supervising the men's wardrobe.

[victoria]

The song "All Night Long" by Peter Murphy uses an audio extract spoken by Jean Marais taken from this film.

[kim]

Walt Disney was interested in adapting the fairytale "Beauty and the Beast" into an animated feature, but when this film released he felt discouraged and believed it wouldn't be as good as what Jean Cocteau did. Eventually Disney Pictures would adapt the fairytale as Beauty and the Beast (1991), to great acclaim; however that feature is greatly influenced by this film.

[carla]

Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne lists this film as one of his favorites.

[nina]

The electrical supply at the studio was inconsistent, with frequent blackouts to divert power to other parts of the district.

[amber]

Most of the available cameras were old and worn, often jamming during filming.

[bernard]

The popular song "Beauty and the Beast" by Stevie Nicks was inspired by this film. In 2007, she got the rights for the movie and it plays behind her as she sings the song. It is the last song in her set list.

[jim]

The look and decor of the film was influenced by the work of nineteenth-century artist and engraver Gustave Doré, most famous for illustrating a famous nineteenth century French edition of "Don Quixote". Doré's illustrations for that novel are so famous that they continue to be reprinted even today.

[ken]

The studio and locations were so cold that the cast huddled around the lights between shots to keep warm.

[linda]

To create the living human carvings in the fireplace and other architectural elements in the Beast's castle, Jean Cocteau hired local children who were made up with plaster to look like stone figures. At one point, he even had the faces in the fireplace breathe smoke.

[willard]

The effect of the candles lighting themselves as the merchant passes them was achieved by blowing them out and then running the film in reverse as he walked backward past them. The entire sequence was done in one long take and reversed - a quick glimpse of the fireplace shows the flames appearing to move downward.

[wesley]

The farmhouse scenes were shot on a farm outside Tours near an airfield. Although the commanding officer was happy to give the company permission to film there, he did not always keep track of the shooting schedule. As a result, takes were often ruined by the sound of training flights overhead.