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I got no response, but the disc turned up today.

Watching the interesting range of extras on this release, I was struck by a few things:

* again a special package is marred by inadequate subtitling. Repeatedly “tirage” (referring, in context, to various reference prints used for guidance on restoration decisions) is translated as “cutting”. Who knows why? It reduces the restoration discussion to gibberish. Was there no one at the BFI who spotted this stuff? There are crucial mistranslations of technical and artistic terms. Other mysteries include repeated references to Cocteau’s important friendship with someone only called “Hugo”. Again, no idea. The Cocteau-Berard feature mentions Georges Hugnet, a close friend and storyboarder. Same person? I dunno. Does anyone?

* the deleted scene is extraordinary. A fully cut and scored scene featuring the ostensibly macho Jean Marais and Michel Auclair camping it up at considerable length while impersonating Beauty’s cruel sisters. The story pretext, that they are trying to entice a rich merchant to marry one of the sisters and provide the family with more cash, seems thin to a practised eye. No context is given on this deletion or the two brief audio cuts. An opportunity missed...

* ... as was the studied avoidance of any gay context. Of Cocteau! Pierre Berge’, then head of the Cocteau Committee and life partner of Yves Saint Laurent, is permitted a single mention of the gay milieu which actor-manager Louis Jouvet initially found offputting. Then we just get stuff about how Jean Marais had a fervent female following and had allegedly had a previous affair with the actress playing one of Beauty’s sisters. His long affair with Jean Cocteau goes unmentioned! I can’t really see why Cocteau should be shoved back in the closet by the BFI. Historically, the French have customarily soft pedalled such realities about their artistic lions, but in the 21st century this is completely unacceptable.

An interesting package which, like Cohen’s LES PARENTS TERRIBLES, mars a truly spectacular film with avoidable sloppiness.

Is this restoration available to Janus, i.e. are we expecting a re-release BD at some stage?

Does anyone have the 1998 Criterion or 2001 BFI DVDs? I have a query relating to their presentation.

Anyone have an opinion on BFI’s image vs the criterion? This is one of those discs making me consider modding my player for. It looks pristine in the caps but also incredibly dark. Criterion is the opposite and looks as if the lights went up, particularly in scenes with the beast where it would make sense to shroud his features. The criterion’s gauzy visuals do befit the film though somehow, whereas the BFI looks almost over corrected.

I own the BFI disc and thought it looks great in motion. I too saw the early comments about the restoration seeming too dark, but watching it in motion I didn't get the impression anything was off. Just my anecdotal two cents.

RIP Film wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 12, 2022 5:04 pm

Anyone have an opinion on BFI’s image vs the criterion? This is one of those discs making me consider modding my player for. It looks pristine in the caps but also incredibly dark. Criterion is the opposite and looks as if the lights went up, particularly in scenes with the beast where it would make sense to shroud his features. The criterion’s gauzy visuals do befit the film though somehow, whereas the BFI looks almost over corrected.

The Criterion definitely looks elevated, and the BFI looks correct to me. Look here. You shouldn't be seeing the grain like that on their coat as seen on the criterion disc.

Didn't the first batch of BFI's have compression issues? Is there a way to identify the discs? I have this one on the shelf, but never got around to checking.

M-A wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 14, 2022 10:51 am

The Criterion definitely looks elevated, and the BFI looks correct to me. Look here. You shouldn't be seeing the grain like that on their coat as seen on the criterion disc.

Yes, that shot is fairly well balanced but in other caps the blacks look completely crushed resulting in loss of detail and throwing off composition.

I’m hoping an updated criterion will come along and find some middle ground, a reissue is overdue.

The Criterion most likely is a bit too elevated with washed out darker areas but there are indeed many shots where you clearly lose detail with elements at times almost entirely lost in the black, which seems unlikely to be intentional.

RIP Film wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 14, 2022 12:33 pm

Yes, that shot is fairly well balanced but in other caps the blacks look completely crushed resulting in loss of detail and throwing off composition.

I’m hoping an updated criterion will come along and find some middle ground, a reissue is overdue.

Hmm... That shot does look a bit dark in the BFI. I wonder if the detail in the shadows is actually there and can be retrieved if you change the settings on your system. If it isn't, then a potential criterion reissue would be reusing the same restoration and wouldn't be able to retrieve those details either.