100
TV Guide Magazine
A masterpiece. It is a credit to Cocteau's genius (and to that of his collaborators) that he has taken the unreal world of a fairy tale and made it as real as the world around us.
Beauty and the Beast (La belle et la bête)
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- France
- 1946
- · 96m
Director
Jean Cocteau
Cast
Jean Marais,
Josette Day,
Marcel André,
Mila Parély,
Nane Germon,
Michel Auclair
Genre
Drama,
Fantasy,
Romance
Before the Disney classic, there was "La Belle et la Bête." A prince who has been transformed into a terrifying beast imprisons a merchant for stealing a rose from his garden. When the man's courageous daughter, Belle, comes to take her father's place, the beast begins to gradually fall in love with her but must test her fidelity first.
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What are critics saying?
100
Dallas Observer by Jean Oppenheimer
So enchanting it takes your breath away.
100
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
Beautifully remastered and containing Cocteau's long-unseen special prologue and credits -- is as much a feat of feverish delight as it was in the dark days of Vichy and WWII.
100
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
Cocteau, a poet and surrealist, was not making a "children's film" but was adapting a classic French tale that he felt had a special message after the suffering of World War II: Anyone who has an unhappy childhood may grow up to be a Beast.
100
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
The timeless fairy tale about a young woman who agrees to dwell with a mysterious monster, as interpreted in 1946 by one of cinema's most brilliant visual stylists and mythmakers.
100
Portland Oregonian by Shawn Levy
One of the great marvels of the medium, a film that you cannot miss if you hope to be literate in cinema -- or, indeed, if you seek acquaintance with the great works of modern times.
100
TV Guide Magazine by Staff (Not Credited)
A masterpiece. It is a credit to Cocteau's genius (and to that of his collaborators) that he has taken the unreal world of a fairy tale and made it as real as the world around us.
40
Village Voice
Viewers must get in touch with their inner child to fall for Belle's eventual love for Beast. The film seems somewhat aware of this, casting an ambiguous hue on its happily-ever-after conclusion.
40
Village Voice by Michael Miller
Viewers must get in touch with their inner child to fall for Belle's eventual love for Beast. The film seems somewhat aware of this, casting an ambiguous hue on its happily-ever-after conclusion.
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