Beauty and the Beast

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Beauty and the Beast

1947

1h 35m

Fantasy

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Popcornmeter

95%

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66 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

The story of a gentlehearted 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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Critics Consensus

With its magical optical effects and enchanting performances, Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast remains the most surreal -- and soulful -- of the fairy tale's film adaptations.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

08/06/2018

5/5

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.

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Kristin M. Jones

Wall Street Journal

02/14/2018

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

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Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

metro.co.uk

09/06/2017

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.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

10/28/2023

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.

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Michael J. Casey

Michael J. Cinema

09/19/2021

4/5

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

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Allen Almachar

The MacGuffin

07/25/2020

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

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G L.

@RT09869090 Jun 15

The third film adaptation from the book that I've seen & while this one is good, the animated Disney version is still the best.

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Kyle M

@RT77296778 May 31

A French classic indeed and feels closer to its source material that deepens and captures the humanistic essence as evidently written with elegant performances and surprising special effects, particularly the beastly design. But the additional surrealistic layer to the already fantasy storytelling is brow-raising to the fault which dampens this earlier adaptation to be deemed inferior to Disney’s more wondrous imagination and not by the accustomary. (B)

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Tom F

@RT55173143 Apr 16

The imagery and story are interesting to watch unfold, though it is hard to imagine in 2026 how this must have looked to audiences in 1946.

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Tim M

@tgmacman Mar 31

A hauntingly effective adaptation of the classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast captures the magic through pathos and striking lighting.

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sean O.

@seandaddy0 Jan 24

The special effects for the time period were superb.

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Simon T

@MovieTart Nov 10

Echoes of several fairy tales and myths, particularly Phantom of the Opera and Cinderella. But Jean Cocteau's version is mind-numbingly tedious and incredibly slow. It's also woodenly acted and strangely uninvolving. Its reputation is baffling. If I heard the Beast preface another utterance with 'Belle, Belle...' I'd have screamed. But what do I know: I'm someone who also loathes Les Enfants du Paradis.

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Jean Cocteau

Director

Jean Marais

Avenant

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Synopsis

The story of a gentlehearted 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.

Director: Jean Cocteau
Screenwriter: Jean Cocteau, Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Jean Cocteau
Production Co: Les Films André Paulvé
Genre: Fantasy
Original Language: Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 1, 1947, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jun 21, 2002
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 14, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $138.2K
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)