Sleeve Design : Unknown

Death's Ecstasy
 

Walerian Borowcyzk | France | 1975

Walerian Borowczyk’s contentious 1975 re-imagining of the Beauty and the Beast tale actually began as early as 1972. Borowczyk was originally hired by Argos Films’ boss Anatole Dauman — who was then overseeing production of Les Rendez-vous en Forêt, an adult fairy tale featuring porn star Catherine Jourdan, fresh from her appearance in Alain Robbe-Grillet’s Eden and After.

Dauman wanted a new ending shot for the film, which was being directed by Alain Fleischer, and Borowczyk was tasked with injecting some extra pizzazz. To this effect, the Polish-born filmmaker constructed the infamous ‘beast’ – and together with …Forêt’s cinematographer Marcel Grignon shot the notorious sequence with Sirpa Lane. Fleischer however refused to allow the newly shot ending to be used, even taking the matter to the courts to prevent it. The following year, Borowczyk showed the sequence (now titled The True Story of the Beast of Gévaudan) at the 1973 London FIlm Festival, planning to include it in 1974's Contes Immoraux. In 1975 however, it re-emerged in a full length film all of its own…

Lucy, a wealthy French heiress (played by former fashion model Lisbeth Hummel) and her Aunt travel to meet future husband Mathurin, the son of Marquis Pierre de l’Esperance at his country mansion. Upon arrival, Lucy is plagued by dreams of a mysterious ruttish ‘beast’ that ravages her in the forest! Featuring scenes of fake bestiality, Borowczyk’s film is easily one of cinema’s most disgustingly memorable films – and in a scene that should delight foot fetishists everywhere – our heroine learns to seduce and placate the creature, as she pleasures the beast before finally killing him!

Remarkably, both Lisbeth Hummel and Sirpa Lane went on to capitalise on their ‘beast’ fame, starring in Luigi Russo's La bella e la Bestia (1977) and Alfonso Brescia's La Bestia nello Spazio (1980) respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This undeniably confrontational film was unsurprisingly problematic when a UK theatrical release was proposed in early 1977 by New Realm Pictures Ltd, a small film distributor that acquired the film from its French production company, Argos Films. A pre-cut version was presented to (then) BBFC president James Ferman, who was concerned that the film would attract the wrath of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and suggested further cutting.

New Realm re-submitted a heavily cut version in February 1978, but the BBFC were still worried about the overall legality with regard to the theme of bestiality and formally rejected the film outright. However, the GLC (Greater London Council) on the suggestion of James Ferman, gave the film a GLC 'X' rating, allowing it to be shown at only one cinema in London: The Prince Charles cinema at Leicester Square.

Specialising in small quantities of adult material, New Realm concluded with the more mainstream The Hills Have Eyes II in 1984. This final joint venture of theirs was produced in association with the Swedish-based Video Tape Centre (VTC) in a partnership that undoubtedly gave VTC access to their old English dubbed cinema print, which was used to master their taped release of the film in March 1983.

The same version reappeared in June 1988 under Global Sales’ VIZ Movies label, with a sleeve design that certainly belied its grubby and sleazy subject: a close-up of the black cat purloined from the reverse of Cream's pre-cert video release of William Fruet's Cries in the Night. Miraculously, the BBFC passed the film without the need for further cuts under the ‘18’ category and Global re-titled the film as Death’s Ecstasy.

 aka : Bête, La; Beast, The

cast : Sirpa Lane, Lisbeth Hummel, Elisabeth Kaza, Pierre Benedetti, Guy Tréjan, Roland Armontel, Dalio, Robert Capia, Pascale Rivault, Hassan Fale, Anna Baldaccini, Thierry Bourdon, Mathieu Rivollier, Julien Hanany, Marie Testanière, Stéphane Testanière, Jean Martinelli