One of the series' weakest programs is Roger Vadim's version of "Beauty and the Beast", which departs from the Duvall format in several respects. Instead of using the fanciful stuido sets of the series, Vadim films several exteriors omn location, mixing film and videotape disconertingly (a la British tv productions).
The beast's makeup and other motifs are copies from the classic 1946 French film version made by Jean Cocteau and Rene Clement. Absent is the characteristic humor and idiosyncratic point-of-view that are Duvall's trademarks. Fans of Susan Sarandon will be pleased, howerver, as the actress has never looked better on screen, but apart from a nice dathe scene, "beast" Klaus Kinski is saddled with a makeup job that is too reminiscent of Jean Marais' makeup in the 1946 pic.
The beast's makeup and other motifs are copies from the classic 1946 French film version made by Jean Cocteau and Rene Clement. Absent is the characteristic humor and idiosyncratic point-of-view that are Duvall's trademarks. Fans of Susan Sarandon will be pleased, howerver, as the actress has never looked better on screen, but apart from a nice dathe scene, "beast" Klaus Kinski is saddled with a makeup job that is too reminiscent of Jean Marais' makeup in the 1946 pic.