The Beast [Blu-ray]

Director: Walerian Borowczyk Walerian Borowczyk

Overview

In this story, a nobleman is preparing to marry a wealthy young woman. That night before the wedding, the woman dreams of an erotic encounter with a man/beast which culminates in the beast's death. On awakening, she finds that she is in bed with her fianc?, who is now dead.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/15/2015
UPC:	0760137782599
Original Release:	1975
Rating:	NR
Source:	Arrow Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00

Special Features

Introduction by film critic Peter ; Bradshaw; The making of The Beast: camera operator Noël Véry provides a commentary on footage shot during the film's production; Frenzy of Estasy, a visual essay on the evolution of Borowczyk's Beast and the sequel that never was, Motherhood; The Profligate Door, a documentary about Borowczyk's sound sculptures featuring curator Maurice Corbet; Boro Brunch, a reunion meal recorded in February 2014 reuniting members of Borowczyk's crew; Commercials by Borowczyk: ; Holy Smoke (1963), The Museum (1964) and Tom Thumb (1966); Gunpoint, a documentary short by Peter Graham produced and edited by Borowczyk; Behind enemy lines - the making of Gunpoint; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Sirpa Lane	Romilda
Lisbeth Hummel	Lucy
Elisabeth Kaza	Virginia,Virginia
Pierre Benedetti	Mathrurin
Marcel Dalio	Duc
Roland Armontel	Priest
Guy Trejean	Pierre
Guy Trejan	Actor
Domenico Scarlatti	Composer

Technical Credits

Walerian Borowczyk

Walerian Borowczyk	Director,Screenwriter
Anatole Dauman	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Originally conceived as a segment of Polish writer/director Walerian Borowczyk's better-known Immoral Tales, this bizarre feature straddles the line between European art cinema and straight-up pornography. The title character is a hairy man-beast who spends most of the film furiously chasing a pretty young thing through the woods, presumably to impale her on his large and extremely visible erection. If any of that sounds sexy, well, it's not. The film sometimes seem to consist of nothing but painstaking exposition and long chase sequences. And although the explicit content may border on exploitation, the subtext-heavy script touches on all sorts of highbrow themes, from the decay of the European aristocracy to the loss of sexual innocence. Banned in many countries and largely unseen until the DVD revolution, La Bête is a compelling curiosity even though it's more pretentious than entertaining.