Beauty and the Beast

Exquisite French fantasy. Dreamily photographed in settings that seem literally to be alive (and were modeled on the drawings of Gustave Dore), this film's spell is so expertly woven that you hardly even notice that the actors aren't speaking English. None of the remakes have the ability to capture the imagination and feel of a fairy tale brought to life as does this definitive version.

Jean Cocteau wants you to believe in fairy tales again and presents a good argument in his favor.

A magical, beautiful tale that deserves to be just as well known as the Disney version. Jean Marais delivers one of the best performances under make up in the history of cinema.

At first, I wasn't really into this film, but once we get to the Beast's castle, everything became awesome and I was surprisingly drawn in. The last bit of the film, when the beast became a prince, made me sad....prolly because the prince just looked like a prick.

The movie only really captivated me when it's at the Beast's castle: a gorgeous ethereal, mystifying realm of shadow and light, flowing curtains and decadent vines, walls merely suggested rather than seen, and populated by gazing busts and autonomous arms of uncertain nature. A setting most evocative of classic fantasy which was defined by mood and mystery, where things left vague and implied are just as telling as what's spoken or seen.

A magnificent film. The photography is haunting, magical. Performances, especially by La Bete (the beast) are first rate. The only reason it gets a 95 and not 100, is the last 60 seconds of the film. Ahh, Beast!

A lavish, surrealistic film of great interest. Cocteau's wild imagination never lets up as he follows the heroine through her unconventional love story with the Beast. Brilliant.

At least fifty times better than the Disney version.

beautiful