The huge French hit was banned and censored in most other countries for decades. The French box office has always embraced more explicitly sexual films than other countries. The Beast does end with a unexpected punch-line to its sickly ironic humor and dry wit.
The Beast certainly pushes the edge of graphic sexuality with its references to bestiality and other sundry topics. Its over-the-top depiction between the woman and furry beast practically turns the film into a sex farce, though a staggeringly high-minded sex farce. It is a shockingly graphic sequence that leaves nothing to the imagination. Romilda wanders through the local forest only to get ravaged by the beast, eventually succumbing to its animalistic lust. That becomes the basis for much of the third act when Lucy fantasizes about that encounter in her dreams. The story of an aristocratic lady getting raped by a beast in the nearby forest two hundred years ago is a local folk legend. Lucy becomes interested in the tale of Pierre’s ancestor Romilda de l’Esperance (Sirpa Lane). Legends surround the family and their estate. Mathurin is ill-mannered and wears a cast for what he claims is a broken hand. The beautiful Lucy seems excited about marrying Mathurin, a dull and uncouth man more interested in breeding horses than anything else. His large French chateau has fallen into disrepair and he needs Lucy’s wealth to continue his family’s easy living. Pierre is desperate to marry Mathurin to Lucy. The other requirement in the will was that Cardinal de Balo would preside over the nuptials. The two have never met in person but Lucy’s father’s will stipulated she was to marry Mathurin if she wanted her large inheritance. Mathurin (Pierre Benedetti), the shy son of a Marquis, Pierre de l’Esperance (Guy Tréjan), is set to marry Lucy Broadhurst (Lisbeth Hummel). Controversial, divisive and provocative in its graphic sexuality, The Beast would mark the point when critics started viewing Walerian Borowczyk’s work as trending towards pornography. Originally meant to be included in Immoral Tales, Borowczyk expanded The Beast from a mere short to a feature-length tale. The 1975 French film followed up Borowczyk’s derided Immoral Tales with an even raunchier, more explicit tale. It shocked audiences with themes of bestiality and graphic female masturbation. The Beast is possibly the most notorious film in Polish director Walerian Borowczyk’s long career.
Walerian Borowczyk’s most notorious film wildly re-works the classic Beauty and the Beast story into a tale strictly for adults
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