Beauty And The Beast

Released by: Shout! Factory
Released on: February 21st, 2017
Directed by: Christophe Gans
Cast: Lea Seydoux, Vincent Cassel, Andre Dussollier, Eduardo Noriega, Audrey Lamy, Nicolas Gob, Yvonne Catterfeld, Myriam Charleins, Louka Meliava, Mickey Hardt, Richard Sammel
Year: 2014
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The Movie:

Considering that Disney's much-hyped remake of its own animated classic Beauty and the Beast was predicted to have the biggest opening March weekend of all time (a prediction that came true), it should come as no surprise that Christophe Gans's 2014 French adaptation of the same tale should now see a stateside release from Shout! Factory. It's inevitable, too, that the two films will be compared, and if a critic is being honest, it's kind of hard to defend Gans's version, especially against Disney's much bigger—and much bigger budgeted—family film, which presents a more traditional, romantic, and less confused rendering of the tale. That isn't to say Gans's film is terrible; it most certainly isn't. It does have its pluses, though they're offset by a number of minuses difficult to ignore. As with the director's previous Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), Beauty and the Beast is an uncomfortable mix of genres (this time thankfully leaving the martial arts in Asia). Adult adventure and romance meet pageantry and spectacle with an uneasy melding that wants to be both a children's film and a horror film but doesn't succeed at either. Gans's film may be more faithful to the word of Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's classic tale, but that doesn't make it more 'traditional.' Disney's animated and live-action versions beat it in almost every way (though the CGI there isn't much better).

The film begins with a mother reading the tale to her children. In the story, Belle (Lea Seydoux) is the daughter of a wealthy merchant, but when her father's (Andre Dussollier) fortunes are literally sunk, the family falls into ruin. While Belle's brothers and sisters miss their luxurious past and struggle to adapt. Belle has no such problems, being kind and generous of heart. One day her father, believing he can recover his fortunes, sets off on horseback for the city they once called home. Unfortunately, on his way back, he gets lost and finds himself on the grounds of an unusual estate, where he is taken into captivity by a terrible beast-like man (or man-like beast, played by Vincent Cassel). True to form, Belle sacrifices her freedom in exchange for her father's. But unlike him, she is given mostly free run of the place. Within the ancient castle, she spies strange life forms and magical mirrors into netherworlds. And here is where the film takes an unusual detour, offering the origin story for the man's beast-like appearance. The Beast falls in love with Belle, allowing her to return to her father, but she loves the Beast too much and returns after saying goodbye to her father. Unfortunately, the castle is soon under assault, and the beauty and the Beast must fight to protect each other and their love.

The biggest issue with Gans's production is not the lack of any real frisson or romance, neither of which are developed to any satisfactory degree. Instead, it's an over-reliance on CGI and silly spectacle. It's true that Jean Cocteau's classic 1946 rendering had spectacle (and remains the best film adaptation of the story to date), but oh what spectacle it was. The Beast's castle was alive with eyes, ears, and appendages, becoming a principal character and adding a sinister appeal. Here, the castle itself may not be alive, but it is full of living and magical things, from small doglike animals to creeping tendrils. But none of these compare to the giant statues that come to life to defend their master from intruders. It's as if Ray Harryhausen had been resurrected but, instead of crafting practical stop-motion effects, opted instead for cheap CGI. Some of the CGI is startling, to be sure, but much of it looks like shit. The Beast himself, made up to look like the lion of interpretations past, is risible. Motions are simply too fluid to appear convincingly humanoid.

It should be noted that Gans does craft more than one effective shot. His sense of framing is flawless, and even when bad CGI mars a shot, the way the shot is composed is usually without issue and often downright gorgeous. As can be expected, performances range from mediocre (Seydoux, who is at least better here than in Blue Is the Warmest Color, 2013 or Spectre, 2015) to generally good (Cassel gives the best performance), and the sets and costumes are gorgeous.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Shout! Factory brings Gans's modest adaptation of de Villeneuve's tale to Blu-ray in the United States with an MPEG-4 AVC encode and 1080p high definition in its original 2.39:1 theatrical aspect ratio. The image cannot be faulted in any way. In fact, while the film has a full palette (some scenes are cold and stark while others are vivid and colorful), the visual presentation is perfectly rendered. Colors stand out in relief against one another, and the detail is so sharp at virtually all times that one can practically count the threads in garments, the age lines in faces, or the hairs on the Beast's hirsute body. On a purely visual level, Beauty and the Beast is the perfect showcase for the power of Blu. There is no crush, and though the film was shot on high-grade digital video, it looks filmic enough, with a thin but pleasing grain field artificially applied specifically for that purpose. There's a great deal of CGI, some of it striking in its realism, some of it looking as cartoonish as one might fear and expect.

Shout! has supplied Beauty and the Beast with a number of audio tracks: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and French DTS Master Audio 2.0. There are, however, two ways in which the film should be watched to get the most out of the presentation. The first is in French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. This allows the viewer to watch the film with the original voices intact, which reduces the cheesy factor by a considerable quotient. There are, of course, English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired, which will aid English-language speakers who don't understand French. There's just one problem with this method of viewing: By being forced to read the subtitles, the viewer will invariably miss some of Gans's gorgeous imagery. That leads to watching the film a second time: with the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on and the subtitles turned off. The downside to this as that some of the dubbing is less than ideal. Regardless, the viewer will get to see all of Gans's intended frames in their fullest glory, even if the aural presentation adds a level of goofiness to an already goofy affair. It should be noted that both 5.1 tracks are lossless, deep, and fully rendered. The sound mix is mostly pleasing, with atmospherics moving about the speakers in a wholly engaging and believable way. The 2.0 tracks are not as satisfactory but are not really disappointing either, especially for those with stereo but not a full surround system.

Beauty and the Beast comes in a two-disc set that contains both a Blu-ray and a DVD, as well as a digital copy. The Blu-ray is a BD50, as it should be given the length of the film (it clocks in at just under two hours) and the length of the interviews provided as extras. Speaking of these interviews, they include one with Christophe Gans (19:32), one with Vincent Cassel (14:53), and one with Lea Seydoux (9:02). They were clearly recorded for the French market, as all are in French with English subtitles. All focus solely on Beauty and the Beast, and each snippet of interview is preceded by a question shown as text on the screen.

Rounding out the extras is a theatrical trailer, which runs 1:54.

The Final Word:

Beauty and the Beast is a visually arresting film, one that looks resplendent in the Blu-ray format. While the film itself is a confused effort (much like the majority of Gans's films), there's nothing confusing about the hi-def presentation, which is sharp and colorful to a degree rarely seen even on BD. And for that reason alone, it's worth a viewing or, more importantly, a presentation to friends and family who have yet to buy into the format because they believe it couldn't possibly be an improvement over DVD.

Christopher Workman is a freelance writer, film critic, and co-author (with Troy Howarth) of the Tome of Terror horror film review series. Horror Films of the Silent Era and Horror Films of the 1930s are currently available, with Horror Films of the 1940s due out later this year.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!