Jean Cocteau's 1946 Version

Jean Cocteau's artistic vision, the 1946 film La Belle et la Bete, is a surreal, dream-like experience. Modern viewers may have a hard time getting past its occasional hokiness, and the fact that it is a French movie and in black and white. Despite these factors, it's definitely still worth renting. The beast's make-up alone is amazing to behold, considering this movie was made over 50 years ago. The spare sets of the beast's castle, full of billowing drapes and dark shadows flow past like an eerie nightmare, in contrast to the sunny, bucolic scenes of Beauty's home. Cocteau changed several aspects of the original story, but the original fairy tale is still recognizable despite these changes.

	A skimpy site, but has a few good stills from the film.
	This site summarizes the movie, and explores some of the symbolism.
	A list of online reviews of the movie.
	A brief article discussing the film.

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