The B&W photography by Henri Alekan shimmers, and the eerie imagery (created entirely in camera) creates a texture of visual poetry and cinema magic never been equaled in the years of fairy tale cinema since.

| Oct 28, 2023

The characters are familiar, and the story is typical, but unless you have seen Cocteau's 1946 version of the story, you really haven't seen the magic and wonder of a fairy tale on the screen

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 19, 2021

It's a mesmerizing experience of the highest order, hitting on every emotional beat and nailing every visual trick.

| Jul 25, 2020

One of the most beautiful and brooding films ever made.

| Dec 11, 2019

Cocteau's enduring fable remains just as enchanting and charming as it ever was.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 5, 2019

Adults and children alike will still easily be swept up in the bizarre and extravagant spectacle of this gothic romantic fantasy.

| Dec 27, 2018

What's mesmerising about Cocteau's film is the seriousness with which it regards the fairytale material, combined with an eerie, dreamlike production design that's more effective precisely because it's more real.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Aug 6, 2018

It's the style with which Cocteau brings his fairy tale realm to life that makes this film stand the test of time.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jul 31, 2018

"Beauty and the Beast" remains a profound exploration of the human and animal worlds, light and darkness, and love and art.

| Feb 14, 2018

More exquisite than ever thanks to a 4K restoration, Jean Cocteau's dreamy 1946 black-and-white retelling of Beauty And The Beast is a real spellbinder.

| Sep 6, 2017

Beauty and the Beast is literally full of smoke and mirrors, and this is why it never ages: it doesn't depend on the vagaries of zippy, rapidly outdated technology but, instead, on the allure of shadows, light and tactile things,.

| Jun 22, 2016

Beauty is fragile. Magic is rare. And it's precisely the blessing of the cinema that it affords us such opportunities to indulge in fantasy.

| Feb 9, 2016

It's precisely the questions and challenges of visibility-of what's obvious and to whom and why-that the film so masterfully explores.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Feb 7, 2016

If the first act of La Belle et la Bête showcases familial insecurity in all its ferociousness, the second part, which actually involves a monster, is amazingly peaceful, full of surrealist cinema tricks and haunting mise-en-scene.

Full Review | Dec 5, 2014

So enchanting it takes your breath away, Jean Cocteau's 1946 live-action version of the famous fairy tale remains one of the most magical films ever made.

| Dec 5, 2014

La belle et la bête is full of wonder and mystery. It's cinema's ultimate love story, dressed up as a monster.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 5, 2014

Children, as well as adults, may find the atmosphere dangerously addictive.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 3, 2014

When bodies appear through walls or fly up into the air, it is almost as if Cocteau's camera has miraculously recorded a dream.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 2, 2014

By using the tangible magic of hands through walls, moving statues, steamy paws and the rest, Cocteau makes rapt believers of us all - adults and children alike.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Dec 31, 2013

With interiors that owe much to the paintings of Doré and Vermeer, this visual feast is enhanced by the magical realism of Henri Alekan's photography, Christian Bérard's exquisite costumes and Georges Auric's audacious score.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 20, 2013