The Beast (1975)
"La bête" (original title)

The head of a failing French family thinks that fate has smiled down on him when the daughter of a wealthy man agrees to be married to his son. The daughter and her aunt then travel out to ... See full summary »

Director:

Walerian Borowczyk

Writer:

Walerian Borowczyk

Stars:

Sirpa Lane, Lisbeth Hummel, Elisabeth Kaza

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sirpa Lane	...	Romilda de l'Esperance
Lisbeth Hummel	...	Lucy Broadhurst
Elisabeth Kaza	...	Virginia Broadhurst
Pierre Benedetti	...	Mathurin de l'Esperance
Guy Tréjan	...	Pierre de l'Esperance
Roland Armontel	...	Priest
Marcel Dalio	...	Duc Rammendelo De Balo (as Dalio)
Robert Capia	...	Roberto Capia
Pascale Rivault	...	Clarisse De l'Esperance
Hassane Fall	...	Ifany
Anna Baldaccini	...	Théodore
Thierry Bourdon	...	Modeste
Mathieu Rivollier
Julien Hanany
Marie Testanière	...	Marie

Storyline

The head of a failing French family thinks that fate has smiled down on him when the daughter of a wealthy man agrees to be married to his son. The daughter and her aunt then travel out to the French countryside to meet with the family, unaware that a mysterious 'beast' is stalking the vicinity.

---

Plot Keywords:

french countryside | sexual arousal | shaved vagina | vagina spreading | rape | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Romance

---

Certificate:

X

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French Italian English

Release Date:

15 April 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Death's Ecstacy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argos Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 98 min (1977 cinema release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in The Cinema Snob: The Beast (2012)

User Reviews

Absolutely unique arthouse porn farce!

Banned for twenty odd years 'The Beast' has finally been unleashed, and believe me it is a movie quite unlike any other! This is a profoundly bizarre mixture of arthouse and grindhouse that is on the surface massively offensive (in a word - bestiality), but is presented in such a ludicrous fashion that the only genuine reaction is to laugh hysterically. The sequences involving the Beast which made the film notorious are only a small part of the whole. In fact it is the contrast between the Beastly and non-Beastly stories that make this movie so strange and difficult to explain. I don't know exactly what director Borowczwk was aiming for, and I'm not sure he did either. But if he was going for a strange mixture of the Gothic, the surreal and hysterical porno comedy he certainly succeeded!