La Belle et la Bête (1946)

Written and Directed by: Jean Cocteau
French with subtitles

Starring: Jean Marais (La Bête (The Beast)/The Prince/Avenant), Josette Day (Belle), Mila Parély (Félicie), Nane Germon (Adélaïde), Michel Auclair (Ludovic), Raoul Marco (The Usurer), Marcel André (Belle's Father)

Synopsis: Cocteau's stunning adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont's fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast."

Review: I've seen three versions of this movie- the Disney adaptation, the Faerie Tale Theatre adaptation and this one. Even though I loved the Disney version as a child, Cocteau's adaptation is absolutely jaw-dropping. The only thing I wished at times was a little tint of color on bits of the film. Perhaps only on the gorgeous clothes, Belle's hair and the chandeliers that would make this even more of a dream. There really isn't much to say other than I felt like a little girl again dancing around in her Belle Halloween costume. I definitely recommend this if you grew up loving fairy tales. See a bit of it here.

Before I forget, check out the Phillip Glass opera version of the film. It's his original score to the film along with dubbed in singers to match the actors' dialogue. I didn't watch it all the way through since I want to watch another movie in Netflix, but I'm sure it's beautiful.

Verdict: A