The Beast (La Bete) is a controversial French drama film directed by
Walerian Borowczyk. This DVD version, produced by Anatole Dauman and
released by Umbrella, is new and sealed, making it a must-have for
collectors.
Banned for 30 years, the film tells the story of a wealthy family who
hires a handsome and enigmatic man to impregnate their daughter, unaware
that he is actually a cursed beast. Starring Sirpa Lane, Guy Trejan,
and Elisabeth Kaza, the film features English subtitles and has an R18+
rating. Presented in NTSC format and with an aspect ratio of 16:9, this
DVD is region code 4 (AU, NZ, Latin America...) and comes in a tall/DVD
case.
Originally turned down flat by the British Board of Film
Censors and initially released exclusively in London in a version
heavily cut by it's nervous distributor, The Beast is Walerian
Borowczyk's most notorious film, although it's much wittier and more
playful than it's subject matter might suggest. Lucy Broadhurst (Lisbeth
Hummel) is due to inherit a substantial fortune, but on condition that
she marries the son of her late father's best friend. But Mathurin de l
Espérance (Pierre Benedetti) seems more interested in his horses than in
his bride-to-be, and when Lucy finds out about the story of his
18th-century ancestor Romilda (Sirpa Lane) and brings her to life in one
of the most outrageous dream sequences in cinema history, we begin to
realize just how bizarre Mathurin s bloodline truly is.