June 18, 2009
What the Wizard of Oz would have been had it been made in Europe.
Jean Marais, Josette Day, Michel Auclair
A half-ruined merchant lives in the country with his son Ludovic and his three daughters. Two of the daughters, Felicie and Adelaide, are real shrews, selfish, pretentious, evil. They exploit the thir...( read more
)
DVD Release Date: June 2, 1998
Stats: 666 reviews
Flixster Reviews (666)
-
-
January 31, 2009I can't help but wonder if this was not the most popular "date movie" of 1946 (and by "date movie" I mean CHICK FLICK). In spite of it's overtly sappy nature and stylish melodramatics, La Belle et la Bęte is sheer poetry captured on film. The haunting effects of Bęte's a...( read more)
-
August 12, 2008Here's another lesson of how all the CGI in the world can't do shit against a creative use of traditional effects. Yes, the beast looks like a stuffed doll, but it never works against the dreamy atmosphere of the film. It's those rare type of films that you can say that you "drea...( read more)
-
-
November 30, 2007The most enchanted and enchanting of cinematic fairy tales. I think I slightly prefer Cocteau's later "Orpheus" to this but it's a very close contest. The word 'magical' is over-used in fantasy cinema criticism but there is no better word to describe this film.
-
October 15, 2009Sure, it has some unintentionally comical parts but it's also wonderfully dream-like. Big screen does it most justice, afterwards you think you've dreamt the whole thing. Besides, I prefer this kind of version of Beauty and the Beast (father stealing a rose etc).
-
August 28, 2009All fairytales are derivatives of the guilt-innocence syndrome of the children's notion of the world.Beast is the vicious but kind-hearted soul thus Belle becomes the penultimate saint in Cocteau's mind.A Saint without wings,nonetheless a spirit of the most divine emotions a chil...( read more)
-
July 22, 2009An unbelieveably great film which just captures the magic of the story even 60 years ago. Having been familear with the Disney version I must say that this isnt so different (see previous review) but where that just failed on the slightest of details this one flurishes from the c...( read more)
-
July 18, 2009Enchanting, evocative and surreal in the European fashion. The scene where Josette Day enters the mansion is dreamy and worth rewinding.
-
July 7, 2009Truly unbelievable! A surrealistic, magical, and hauntingly beautiful classic French film. Even with a familiar plot, I had no idea what was coming up next. Josette Day and Jean Marais were perfect as the Beauty and the Beast. This film will always be remembered for its wonderful...( read more)
Critic Reviews
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Comments
This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "Beauty and The Beast (La Belle et la bęte)" !
Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
All Rotten Tomatoes content is used under license from Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes, Certified Fresh, and the Tomatometer are the trademarks of Incfusion Corporation, d/b/a Rotten Tomatoes, a subsidiary of IGN Entertainment, Inc.
