Beauty and the Beast
(La Belle et la Bête)

Jean Cocteau's beautiful film adaptation of the 18th Century fairy tale is a landmark fantasy, starring Jean Marais as the Beast and Josette Day as Belle. Photographed by Henri Alekan and underlined by Georges Auric's haunting score, Cocteau's crisp, surreal black-and-white images employ the simplest of camera tricks to conjure miracles. Writer/Director: Jean Cocteau. (France 1946) 93 min. In French with English subtitles.

Presented as part of the Essential Art House Series