Popular reviews

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  Review by sydney ★★★★★ 12

  show this to your kids instead of the cartoon so they'll know that magic is real.

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  Review by reibureibu ★★★★½ 8

  Cleverly maintains its critiques to the end in making the Beast's transformation into that of something even more horrifying despite appearances, and in doing so becomes the definitive adaptation of the tale. Cocteau could have opted to turn him into a conventional human prince as other versions do, but instead the Prince resembles that of her incessant suitor Avenant (played by Jean Marais who also plays the Beast). The film acknowledges this tension in having Belle and the Prince discuss such similarity and in her clear hesitancy towards this development, something she initially says she is disappointed in before saying she is not. In doing so the 'happily ever after' faerie-tale ending is subverted, or at least invites viewer inspection…

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  Review by SilentDawn ★★★★★

  Jean Cocteau's Beauty and The Beast is a magical and transcendent ode to the limits of fantasy, brought to life with exceptional performances, awe-inspiring production design, startling atmosphere, and luscious direction. In particular, the close ups are given a mesmerizing and transfixing sense of purity, adding to the theatrical and intimate feel of the entire film.

  This is the first time I've seen this masterpiece, and I can't wait to fall under its spell again.

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  Review by Sally Jane Black

  This film gets just about everything right.

  I realized watching this one of the things that puts me off on Disney's retelling of so many fairytales, and that's that they gloss over what makes fairytales both so intriguing to me and so frustrating--the tendency in them for superstition and fantasy to overpower plot. The most egregious examples are always when the hero wanders away and runs into just exactly the right witch he needs to save the day or whatnot. It's absurd and off-putting, but it also adds to the sense of wonder and possibility that make fairytales so great.

  There are good and bad fairytales as far as narrative goes, of course, and good and bad retellings (and not…

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  Review by Justin Decloux ★★★★ 1

  Oh no. I've turned into one of those dweebs that pushes the glasses up their noses and goes, "Did you know that the English subtitle translation doesn't actually capture the reality of what is being said in the original language?"

  In the final moments as the Beast asks Belle if he's afraid of her, Belle's response is:

  "I don't mind being frightened... with you."

  Which reads like a wishy-washy reading on the Beastly Kinkiness she's admitting to in the final moment.

  When in reality, she says:

  "I love to be frightened... with you."

  Which is a much more definitive statement that tells you more about her. That's a big difference from a character standpoint!

  And now you know.

  *resets glasses*

  Next up, the actual meaning of the last line from Jean-Luc Godard's A WOMAN IS A WOMAN...

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  Review by Justin Peterson ★★★★½ 3

  Criterion Collection Spine #6
  (Foreign language film - French)

  Long before the Disney animated musical masterpiece, there was the original French version of this tale as old as time.

  "The Beast let me come to see you ... Then that monster has a soul? ... He suffers, Father. One half of him is in constant struggle with the other half. He's more cruel to himself than he is to human beings."

  What an amazing visionary fairy tale of early cinema. It was great to finally experience this classic version of Beauty and the Beast and see how it compared to the version I saw countless times growing up.

  (Quick Hits) ... spoilers:

  - Cool chalkboard opening credits scene

  - The…

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  Review by Robin ★★★½

  The beast was so submissive, love that.

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  Review by Paul Elliott ★★★★★ 5

  The rich visual artistry on display in this adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's timeless fairytale Beauty and the Beast possesses the authority to captivate through its consummative visual poetry. It's significantly due to the confidence of Henri Alekan’s cinematography, and he delivers an extraordinary otherworldly atmosphere that generates the materialisation of an assertive illusion of childlike innocence.

  It contains an energetic rhythmical movement throughout its presentation, and the allegorical nature of the tale about man's feral nature curbed by the generous affections of a virtuous woman is endowed with Jean Marais portraying three distinct characters. The unusual lighting and backdrops are equally impressive, and the costume designs by Antonio Castillo and Marcel Escoffier are stunning. This film is enchanting and saturated in symbolism as well as having the distinction of being the first, and unconditionally the best, interpretation of the classic fairytale.

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  Review by sakana1 ★★★★ 24

  I. APPEARANCES.

  The Beast, Adelaide, and Felicie are consumed by appearances; for all three, wearing finery is a signifier of a prestigious past, one cruelly and unjustly torn away. As far as they're able, the trio dress in fabrics and styles that recall their better days, and fervently wish for people to assume that their outside reflects the truth of what is inside, as well.

  The difference, however, is that the Beast is rigorously truthful, whereas for Belle's sisters, their appearances are simply the centerpiece of their life of deception. Whereas the sisters trade in untruths in an effort to establish their own status and importance, the Beast refuses to lie. He wears finery because he is a noble of…

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  Review by Hannah 1

  just want to give a shoutout to the guy in my film class who after viewing this, said “i don’t like watching movies that aren’t in english because i have to read subtitles” thanx! your stupidity means a lot to me!

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  Review by Evan T ★★★★½ 3

  An optically mesmerising, operatic masterstroke, Jean Cocteau’s spellbinding fairytale is the bravest fantasy of its time. The dizzying affirmation of magic is boundless; devoted hands reaching out from the walls, spectral statues keeping an ever-present guard, teardrops transforming to diamonds in the light. In its opening scene Cocteau apologises to the audience for the risks of sensationalism, asking us to suspend our disbelief. Although the film’s pacing has slightly aged, the apology isn’t necessary all the same. Lighting and set design somehow supersede the gargantuan heights of Universal horror, making it a truly unique treasure of French cinema. Walt Disney was tiptoeing around the story in the 40’s, scared away from the prospect of an attempt after this beamed onto the screen. A mirror of magic, shielded in heavenly smoke. This is the Beauty and the Beast for me.

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  Review by Joshua Dysart ★★★★★ 10

  Once, when I was maybe twelve or thirteen, I went to stay at my father’s house after he had gotten “clean” for the third or fourth time. He took me to the library, and we checked out Jean Cocteau’s 1946 film, Beauty and the Beast. He talked it up to me. He said it was one of the most beautiful movies ever made. I couldn’t wait to watch it with him. But my father went to take a nap as soon as we got back to his place. It was the middle of our first day together in some time; he had been bailing on me for a while by then, often promising to come pick me up for the…