Product Details

• Actors: Jean Marais, Michel Auclair, Josette Day, Nane Germon, Marcel André
• Directors: Jean Cocteau
• Format: AC-3, Black & White, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: French
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Criterion Collection
• DVD Release Date: September 9, 2008
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001BEK8DS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,527 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Once upon a time, in a world of magic and wonder, the true love of a beautiful girl may finally dispel the torment of a feral but gentle-hearted beast. Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bˆte) is a landmark feat of cinematic fantasy in which master filmmaker Jean Cocteau conjures spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death that have never been equaled. The Criterion Collection proudly presents the original film version of Mme. Leprince de Beaumont's fairy-tale masterpiece, in a restored, spectacular special edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Artistic Beauty & Beast, Surreal Art Deco Ambience, September 26, 2009

By 

carol irvin "carol irvin" (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beauty and the Beast: Essential Art House (DVD)

Jean Cocteau was the lead artistic director in French cinema. This is a revered, beloved film of his. It is a classic retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale yet also is surreal with Dali-like sets and props and an Art Deco look and feel to it. Cocteau cast his own long time lover, Jean Marais, as the beast. Marais is a good looking man but, ironically, he is so great as the beast that it is a bit disappointing when he becomes his classically handsome self at the film's end.

The plot is that La Belle's (Beauty's) father steals a rose from La Bête (the Beast) and he must surrender his daughter to La Bête in order to remain alive. Belle moves into the La Bête's exquisite Art Deco like mansion with all its perfect accoutrements and gardens. She doesn't realize it but it is her love that can restore La Bête from his present form to his former Prince Charming handsomeness.

Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont wrote the original fairy tale and Jean Cocteau wrote the screenplay adaptation with all of its artistic, visual and surreal influences.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Cocteau Masterpiece !, March 15, 2010

By 

Thomas G. Schenk "movietom" (Western New York) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beauty and the Beast: Essential Art House (DVD)

Very nice print and very affordable. The Essential Art House films are basically Criterion without all the bells and whistles (extras). Anyway, very enjoyable. Cocteau's effects were clever for their day. Good story telling. Nice job by this seller also. Thanks.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beauty of the Best +++, August 8, 2010

By 

Kevin Kiersky "oceaneagle" (Olympia, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beauty and the Beast: Essential Art House (DVD)

The fairy tale of "Beauty and the Beast", as re-created by Jean Cocteau in cinema format, is a production with supreme finesse and vitality. Major aspects are in rarely balanced contrasting pairs. The overall dual setting of a nearly grimly real late Medieval France urban household -- with a bankrupt merchant father about to be totally stripped of posessions and dignity -- is in very effective contrast with "The Beast" [La Bete] residing in an "Otherworld" forest chateau -- reached by various surreal routes from the "Real World". Other main aspects of this movie are in similar pairs of real versus surreal and dark versus fair -- in complete harmony of the overall theme of "Beauty and the Beast". Dark versus fair shades are used for effective contrast as well as murky versus clear, rough versus slick and lower versus upper perspectives -- and all of that is just some of the visual effectiveness of the presentation. The actors and acting are in great finesse in their balanced movement, evocation, dialog and timing -- minor and major moods are done spot-on. Also -- without anything remotely like current special effects -- supreme usage is made of imaginative creative classical effects [circa 1946] -- such as isolated heads with exactly surreal smoothly tracking faces and eyes and mobile arms with gripping hands holding candelabras or various utensils. In a like manner trees, plants, doors and drapes are in animated movement in sync with the drama and persons [including "The Beast"]. I especially appreciate Josette Day as La Belle ["The Beauty"]. I am glad this Great Classic movie haunted my memory from a long ago school movie appreciation class. This Essential Art House variant is of great quality -- maybe with less non-movie frills than the Criterion variant -- but more modestly priced as well +++