Visionary filmmaker and poet Jean Cocteau responded to the terrors and creative constraints of occupied France with this elaborately realized take on the classic fairy tale BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Suggested by his longtime collaborator and muse, French actor Jean Marais, the cinematic version of the fable first penned by Jeanne-.. Read more
| Starring | Jean Marais, Josette Day, Marcel Andre, Michel Auclair |
|---|---|
| Director | Jean Cocteau |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
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Visionary filmmaker and poet Jean Cocteau responded to the terrors and creative constraints of occupied France with this elaborately realized take on the classic fairy tale BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Suggested by his longtime collaborator and muse, French actor Jean Marais, the cinematic version of the fable first penned by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont became Cocteau's most celebrated film. Cocteau renders the story of a gentlehearted beast in love with a simple and beautiful girl in the style of the luminous paintings of Dutch master Vermeer. From the quaint and humorous scenes of Beauty's happy home to the ominous surreal spectacle of the Beast's enchanted estate, Cocteau transforms the simple tale of tragic love into a surreal vision of death, desire, and beauty. Marais is chilling as the lonely and tormented beast, projecting a wounded love for the glacial yet endearing Beauty (Josette Day), whose simple request for a rose from her father brings tragedy crashing down on her whole family. Cocteau expands upon the cinematic inventiveness first seen in his masterpiece BLOOD OF A POET with mirrors made of water, living statues, and candelabras fashioned from living arms, transforming a children's fable into a complex and radiant cinematic classic.
| Starring | Jean Marais, Josette Day, Marcel Andre, Michel Auclair, Nane Germon, Mila Parely |
|---|---|
| Director | Jean Cocteau |
| Studio | BFI VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 29 mins |
| Certificate |  |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: French |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | Production year: 1946 To Rent: DVD: 19 Nov 2001 |
"...One of the most sophisticated and visually elegant films of all time....A haunting, original treasure..." -- Critic's Choice
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Post-war French romanticism
Recognised as one of the classics of European cinema, La Belle et la Bete is a master class in cinematography and symbolism.
The director, Cocteau ... read more »
[Highly rated reviewer]
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Truly inspired
It's wonderful to see this extraordinary film in such a good print, far better than the one I originally saw in the cinema. I was completely gripped - again... read more »
[Highly rated reviewer]
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Beautiful and emotional classic film
A gem which I first saw when a secretarial college student in Oxford in 1975. I have watched it again many times since and can still see new things each time.<... read more »
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Very clever
This movie was great. I really enjoyed the way all the 'special effects' are made in a way that it doesn't look 'stupid'. really liked the ... read more »
Veteran British actress Joanna Lumley is set to make her Broadway debut when she joins Frasier star David Hyde Pierce onstage for a revival of comedy drama La Bete later this year (10). The Absolutely Fabulous star is set to appear opposite Pierce in the play, based on David Hirson's 1991 Broadway show, set in 17th century France. Lumley and Pierce will appear in the theatrical comedy for a six-to-eight-week stint in London's West End in spring (10), before transferring to New York in the... Read more
by:
Tolis
from Kent
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