Beauty and the Beast

4.67
    Beauty and the Beast
    1946

    Synopsis

    The story of a gentle-hearted beast in love with a simple and beautiful girl. She is drawn to the repellent but strangely fascinating Beast, who tests her fidelity by giving her a key, telling her that if she doesn't return it to him by a specific time, he will die of grief. She is unable to return the key on time, but it is revealed that the Beast is the genuinely handsome one. A simple tale of tragic love that turns into a surreal vision of death, desire, and beauty.

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    Cast

    • Jean MaraisLa Bête / Le Prince / Avenant
    • Josette DayBelle
    • Marcel AndréBelle's Father
    • Mila ParélyFélicie
    • Nane GermonAdélaïde
    • Michel AuclairLudovic
    • Raoul MarcoThe Insurer
    • Jean CocteauThe Voice of Magic (uncredited)
    • Noël BlinFootman (uncredited)
    • Christian MarquandFootman (uncredited)

    Recommendations

    • 100

      Portland Oregonian

      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

      Christian Science Monitor

      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

      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.
    • 100

      Chicago Sun-Times

      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

      Chicago Tribune

      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

      Dallas Observer

      So enchanting it takes your breath away.
    • 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.

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