The Beast (La Bete) Blu-Ray (Beyond Genres)

A black comedy of sexual manners set around an arranged wedding to occur on the grounds of an elegant chateau, Walerian Borowczyk’s controversial masterpiece The Beast should be approached with caution but relished with abandon! Infamous for the final scene where the titular beast ravishes American heiress Lucy Broadhurst (Lisbeth Hummel) on the eve of her wedding to a French aristocrat, the graphic scenes of the beast coupling with its human prey sees the daring Borowczyk (Immoral Tales) expound on the animalistic nature of human sexuality. Proving far too outrageous for the censors, The Beast was banned in numerous territories for decades.

One of the most bizarre and surreal experiences ever filmed, this depraved tale of animal desire is at once wry, riotous and perverse—and remains a masterwork of arthouse erotic cinema.