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Essential Art House |
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Beauty and The Beast (La Belle et la Bête) 1946 | Not Rated | Fantasy, Romance | d. Jean Cocteau Jean Marais, Josette Day |
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| For anyone looking to experience the cinema’s full potential for poetry and lyricism, you would be hard pressed to find a greater example than Jean Cocteau’s 1946 masterpiece – La Belle et la Bête, or Beauty and The Beast.The story of a magic rose, a beautiful daughter’s sacrifice to save her father and her vow of self-imprisonment on the dark estate of an actual “Beast” is a familiar one. But, to anyone who knows their fairy-tales and the classic Disney film – you’ve never seen this story of love’s triumph as elaborately and beautifully revealed. Produced and released in France just after the end of World War II, the film is ripe with metaphoric and psychological nuances. In addition to its hauntingly beautiful sets, costumes, lighting and cinematography, the film also presents one of the greatest of film scores by Georges Auric. Beauty and the Beast is truly one of the self-evident masterpieces of world cinema and perfectly approachable by young and old alike. - Charles Horak | ||
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Once upon a time, in a world of magic and wonder, the true love of a beautiful girl may finally dispel the torment of a feral but gentle-hearted beast. Beauty and the Beast (La belle et la bête) is a landmark feat of cinematic fantasy in which master filmmaker Jean Cocteau conjures spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death that have never been equaled. This is the original film version of Mme. Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy-tale masterpiece. - Criterion | ||