Description: This masterpiece by the poet of cinema, Jean Cocteau, has enchanted audiences for more than fifty years with its surreal beauty and magical visual effects. Josette Day and Jean Marais shine in the definitive filmed version of the classic romantic tale, which has come to supplant the original fable in the modern imagination. The source of the later television series, animated feature, and Broadway musical, it remains one of our greatest treasures.
Amazon.com: Beauty and the Beast is one of the all-time great movie fantasies, and one of the most gorgeous pictures ever made. It was the first feature film by French director Jean Cocteau, a writer, poet, and painter with ties to the surrealists. (In fact, his first film, The Blood of a Poet, was delayed after the scandal caused by L'Age D'Or, made by his fellow surrealists Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali.) The haunting, surreal visuals (candelabra made of human hands, for example) and a sensitive performance by Jean Marais as the Beast imbue the film with an indelible, mythical power. --Jim Emerson
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Undiscovered treasure
This item arrived quickly and in good condition. I saw a few minutes of this movie on television and I had to order a copy. I usually don't like sub titles, but this movie is almost magical. I don't know why I haven't heard more about this movie.
Rating: - C'era una volta......
Jean Cocteau was one of France's greatest poets, but he also made some magnficent films. He only helmed 5 films (maybe 6) as director, but everyone bore his unmistakeable stamp. This is one of his greatest films.
It simply retells a fairy tale that we are all familiar with. We know how it ends, we know how it begins, yet, everytime you see this film, it feels fresh, beautiful, and awe inspiring. It's shot in simple black and white film (stunningly so by Henri Alekan, who also shot the original Wings of Desire years later), has no overbearing songs, no cutesy "comic relief" elements, ... Read More
Rating: - A cartoon comes to life
Don't laugh my bros. I'm still the same guy who loves my blood and gore flicks. But sometimes you gotta shake things up a bit. This adult fairy tale glides with an enchanting splendor and overwhelming grace. No seriously.
The horrors of the real world can corrupt us. As adults we try to push away the spirit of our childhood and repress all the indelible figments of our imagination. Any rekindling of our past fantasies is deemed a weakness, which is sad.
You probably know this story, Beauty is held captive by The Beast. She recognizes a warm tenderness hidden beneath the ... Read More
Rating: - A Masterpiece
This movie is beautiful from beginning to the end. By far one of my favourite movies of all time. The effects are superb. The costume, especially the Beast's are breathtaking. The sets and design of the movie are second to none. A true classic Movie Masterpiece!
Rating: - A Movie to Remember
If you want to know what these "Fairy Tales" were originally meant to impart, then this is the movie for you. Beyond that is the level of acting and directing that you wouldn't expect in a "dress-up" production. Everything is superb and that includes the emotions that you catch yourself reliving days later.
Words do not do this movie justice. Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast" needs to be experienced for the event and adventure that it is, but for the beauty and tenderness, as well. It envelopes you like a cloud and long after it is over you are still feeling it. There are scenes between ... Read More
