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Summary: La Belle et la Bete-A Cocteau Masterpiece
Review: This is an absolutely brilliant movie. There are wonderful effects, the finest example being the arms holding the candlesticks. Yes, the ending's weird, but the movie is great. I shouldn't even mention the-shudder-Disney version in the same sentence as a gem like this. Jean Cocteau is a genius.
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Summary: Astounding
Review: I was astounded at how captivated I was watching this movie. Every one knows the story - put Cocteau's rendition is pure art.
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Summary: That one is not for your kids, it's for you.
Review: Before I have known Cocteau like a very interesting poet and stage writer and La Belle et La Bete is the first (but sure not the last) of his films for me. I was stunned by the visual beauty and surreal mood of the movie. It's amazing how a fairy tale, which is nowadays considered being a child's thing can be turned to a such at the same time macabre and beautiful piece of art by a great artist. Or maybe just returned to the roots? Take your kid's book, forget the Walt Disney images and try to think of what the fairy tales really mean. You will be scared to go to bed (there's something under it). To return to the film - the end left me totally perplexed: I'm not at all sure that they lived happily ever after.
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Summary: 54 Years Later And Still The Unbeatable Version
Review: Sometimes artists can't improve on what's already been done. Cocteau's "Beauty and The Beast" is such a masterpiece. That it is shot in black and white only adds to its allure because it enhances the dream-like, fairy tale quality throughout. This version is faithful to the beloved tale and Marais is so wonderful as the beast that you are almost disappointed at the end when he returns to being a handsome prince. The film's artistry also makes it gender-blind, that is, your husband will love it as much as you do without feeling like a wimp. Mine does at any rate!
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Summary: The Magic of the World of Disney
Review: Criterion has always been pointed at bringing difficult-to-find pieces such as this one into people's homes. This is also the best way to look at Beauty and the Beast-a surreal fairy tale that was almost lost availability-wise among the crowd of conventional films. There is a certain magic about it, as the low-budget production was blessed by the invention of its creator, Jean Cocteau. He possessed the ability to transport an audience into the poetic and magical world of his. His love for this world makes it all the more credible and respectable. Criterion has restored the image beautifully, though the sound sometimes gets scratchy. If you liked this, try Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy.
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Summary: Just the Best
Review: There hasn't been a better filmed version of "Beauty &the Beast" either before or since this film. ((I know Disney dida film with the same title, but it wasn't the real story.))Most people ought to know the story -- the well-to-do merchant who loses everything, his one last chance to recoup that falls through, the journey through the spooky forest that leads to the magic castle, the rose the merchant picks for his daughter, the angry Beast who demands the merchant's life, Beauty's return to the Beast's castle in her father's place, (...) and so on. But you really don't KNOW the story till you see this film and let Cocteau make it clear for you. Done on an obviously shoe-string budget, brilliantly applied, with camera-work and incredibly simple but effective "special effects" that truly enhance the story without calling undo attention to their own cleverness, with beautiful costume and makeup designs adding even more, this film is simply a visual treat. (An example of the simple-but-effective effects is Beauty's return to her father's home -- the actress stepped backward through a paper "wall"... and they ran the film backward.) [This film is/was good enough that when the cable "Faerie Tale Theatre" series did "B&B", they basically did a 60-minute remake in color of this film, including most of the visual touches, especially the Beast's makeup.] Beautiful, dreamlike and entrancing.
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Summary: eat your heart out, disney
Review: the most visually stunning movie i've ever seen. i don't know anyone who dislikes this movie. i can't say enough good things about it. it's a masterpiece.
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Summary: ENCHANTING AND CAPTIVATEING
Review: FROM THE VERY FIRST TIME I SAW THIS FILM IT TOOK ALL MY ENERGY TO DIVIDE MY EYES BETWEEN THE BEAUTY OF THE FILM, AND THE BEAUTIFUL WRITTEN WORD. IT CONTINUES TO BE ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ATTRACTED TO FANTASY. EVERY GIRL WANTS TO BE BELLE TO HER BEAST.
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Summary: Good job Criterion!
Review: This is a great way to own a classic piece of film making. The video has been greatly cleaned up and is very watcheable considering it's now several decades old, the sound is clear, and the extras provide real insight into the background.
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Summary: Five stars are not enough
Review: Beauty and the Beast has been my favorite fairy tale since childhood, and I have seen and read countless versions. This is the one which eclipses them all, and is as magical today on my fortieth viewing as it was twenty-odd years ago, on the first. If someone were to ask me which five films I could take with me to a desert island, this would be first on the list. In a world with too little magic, La Belle et la Bete contains all you will ever need.
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