Beauty and the Devil

La Beauté du diable is a 1950 Franco-Italian fantasy film drama directed by René Clair. A tragicomedy set in the early 19th century, it is about an ageing alchemist, Henri Faust, who is given the chance to be eternally young by the devil Mephistopheles. It is loosely adapted from the classic early 19th-century verse play Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Cast

Michel Simon as Mephistopheles / Old Professor Henri Faust
Gérard Philipe as Young Henri Faust / Young-looking Mephistopheles
Nicole Besnard as Marguerite, the gypsy girl
Raymond Cordy as Antoine, the servant
Simone Valère as La Princesse
Carlo Ninchi as Le Prince
Gaston Modot as Gypsy
Tullio Carminati as Diplomat
Paolo Stoppa as Official

Release and reception

In 2013, the Cohen Film Collection released the Beauty and the Devil on DVD and Blu-ray. Besides the film, which was reconstructed, the discs offer a 2010 documentary on the film itself. Ian Jane of the DVDTalk said in his closing comments regarding the Blu-ray release: "Beauty Of The Devil is slick, it's stylish and it's wonderfully shot meaning that not only is the creative way in which the story is told compelling and interesting but that it is as much a treat for the eyes as it is for the mind. The performances are good and Clair does some interesting things with his take on the story of Faust. This may be an atypical take on the classic tale, but it works incredibly well."

Awards

The film was nominated for Best Film at the 1951 BAFTA Awards and won two awards at the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists with a Silver Ribbon Best Actor award going to Michel Simon and best Best Production Design to Aldo Tommasini and Léon Barsacq.