The Beast (1975)
Directed by: Walerian Borowczyk
Premise: A French film. A woman (Lisbeth Hummel) agrees to marry a wealthy but uncouth young man (Pierre Benedetti). She gradually realizes that her fiancé’s family has a dark secret.
What Works: The Beast came out of the mid-1970s, a time when erotic movies were in vogue and filmmakers were pushing boundaries in depictions of sexuality. Filmmaker Walerian Borowczyk was among those working in this niche and he had made an impression with 1973’s Immoral Tales, an anthology of erotic period pieces. One of the segments was an erotic Renaissance-era encounter between a woman and a bear-like creature. This section was struck from Immoral Tales and became the basis for Borowczyk’s 1975 film The Beast. The feature version builds out the context, adding a narrative frame around the erotic sequence. Although the two parts of The Beast were conceived and shot separately, they fit together seamlessly. The story is well unified. The first half sets up themes and images that pay off later and The Beast has an interesting combination of classic and contemporary elements. Set in then-modern-day France, a woman travels to a rural chateau to fulfill an arranged marriage to the son of an aristocrat. It’s a princess fairytale premise which the moviemakers pervert with a 1970s porn chic aesthetic. It is not a film to be taken entirely literally. Much like the works of Luis Buñuel and David Lynch, The Beast operates on a figurative and dream-like logic. That is also the realm of fantasy and fairytales. What makes The Beast subversive is the contrast between the rigidity and morality of society and the irrationality and impulsivity that is inherent to sexuality and desire.
What Doesn’t: The Beast is a niche arthouse film. Its appeal is inherently going to be limited. Audiences expecting a mainstream fantasy picture won’t find it here. However, viewers who come to The Beast expecting something like the monster erotica that is presently popular in independent publishing will probably be left wanting. The end of the film delivers for that audience but it takes a long while to get there. The Beast is languidly paced. It feels so long because there’s not much conflict. The bulk of the story is a comedy of manners that is unfocused and lacks dramatic escalation. It’s a story about a wedding but the bride and groom have almost no meaningful interactions. The Beast does not get to the fantastic until well into the second half and the revelations are mostly rushed through. It’s also worth mentioning that The Beast is quite explicit, especially in its intended, uncut form.
Disc extras: The Blu-Ray by Arrow includes an introduction by film critic Peter Bradshaw, featurettes, short films by Walerian Borowczyk, and a trailer.
Bottom Line: The Beast is a significant and subversive title from the wave of erotic films from the 1970s. It’s a flawed film that struggles with pacing and its appeal is narrow. But for the audience that gets it, The Beast offers a fairytale that is both erotic and thoughtful.
Episode: #1068 (October 12, 2025)