Donkey Skin (1970)
"Peau d'âne" (original title)

A fairy godmother helps a princess disguise herself so she won't have to marry a man she doesn't love.

Director:

Jacques Demy

Writers:

Jacques Demy, Charles Perrault (fairy tale)

Stars:

Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Jacques Perrin

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Catherine Deneuve	...	La princesse / 'Peau d'âne'
Jean Marais	...	Le premier roi (The King)
Jacques Perrin	...	Le prince charmant (The Prince)
Micheline Presle	...	La reine rouge, la seconde reine
Delphine Seyrig	...	La fée des lilas (The Fairy)
Fernand Ledoux	...	Le roi rouge, le seconde roi
Henri Crémieux	...	Le chef des médecins (The Doctor) (as Henri Cremieux)
Sacha Pitoëff	...	Le premier ministre (The Minister) (as Sacha Pitoeff)
Pierre Repp	...	Thibaud
Jean Servais	...	Le Récitant / Narrator (voice)
Georges Adet	...	Le savant
Annick Berger	...	Nicolette
Romain Bouteille	...	Le charlatan
Louise Chevalier	...	La vieille fermière
Sylvain Corthay	...	Godefroy

Storyline

The education of a princess wrapped in a love story. A king and queen live happily until her sudden death. The king decides to marry his lovely daughter. She's willing, but the Lily Fairy serves as a social conscience, intent on thwarting incest. She instructs the princess to request a series of dresses impossible to make; however, the king's tailor succeeds. So the fairy plots the princess's escape, wearing the skin of the king's prize donkey. She's spirited away to be a scullery maid dressed in the noisome skin. A wandering prince sees her in the woods and is smitten. Can love find its course, and does the princess learn a lesson of life's hardships?

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Plot Keywords:

king | princess | prince | donkey | queen | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

20 December 1970 (France)

Also Known As:

Donkey Skin

Filming Locations:

Château de Chambord, Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Marianne Productions, Parc Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (restored version) Mono (original version) Dolby SR (restored version)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Sodankylä ikuisesti: Elokuvan vuosisata (2010)

User Reviews

Absolutely delightful

'Peau D'Ane/Donkey Skin' is an unexpected delight that more than justified getting up at an ungodly hour of the morning to get uptown to catch a very early morning show.

Jacques Demy's fairytale musical has one of the most gorgeous uses of color ever seen thanks to Ghislain Coquet's photography and the sumptuous visual design (one kingdom has blue-clad, blue-faced servants and blue horses, the other red-clad red-faced servants and red horses), and the script manages to juggle just enough knowing wit without turning into total parody – despite featuring a donkey that craps rubies and emeralds, a crone who spits frogs and a king who wants to marry his daughter in the one film about incest that's still suitable for the whole family, it's played admirably straight. Michel Legrand's songs are as pleasant as they are unmemorable and anarchic (one romantic duet features lyrics about snack bars while another is simply a recipe for a cake) and if Catherine Deneuve's voice double sings even worse than Deneuve acts, it still somehow comes across as charming (although things do go badly for the donkey). Beautiful stylistic touches abound, from the princess running in slow motion through frozen villagers to the how-did-they-do-that-then? dress the color of the weather, but never at the expense of the storytelling. Not quite up there with 'Umbrellas of Cherbourg,' but light years ahead of 'Les Demoiselles de Rochefort.' The French 2-disc DVD boasts a beautifully restored subtitled transfer and most of the extras are subtitled in English.