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Beauty and the Beast

Original title: La belle et la bête
  • 19461946
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
26K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
La belle et la bête (1946)
Trailer for Beauty and the Beast
Play trailer1:11
2 Videos
96 Photos
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
  • Romance

A beautiful young woman takes her father's place as the prisoner of a mysterious beast, who wishes to marry her.A beautiful young woman takes her father's place as the prisoner of a mysterious beast, who wishes to marry her.A beautiful young woman takes her father's place as the prisoner of a mysterious beast, who wishes to marry her.

IMDb RATING
7.9/10
26K
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Jean Cocteau
    • René Clément(uncredited)
  • Writers
    • Jean Cocteau(dialogue)
    • Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont(story)
  • Stars
    • Jean Marais
    • Josette Day
    • Mila Parély
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Jean Cocteau
    • René Clément(uncredited)
  • Writers
    • Jean Cocteau(dialogue)
    • Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont(story)
  • Stars
    • Jean Marais
    • Josette Day
    • Mila Parély
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 150User reviews
    • 95Critic reviews
    • 92Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 3 nominations

    Videos2

    Beauty and the Beast
    Trailer 1:11
    Beauty and the Beast
    Guillermo del Toro and Neil Gaiman Find Hope in Powerful, Eclectic Films
    Clip 8:43
    Guillermo del Toro and Neil Gaiman Find Hope in Powerful, Eclectic Films

    Photos96

    Josette Day and Jean Marais in La belle et la bête (1946)
    Jean Marais in La belle et la bête (1946)
    La belle et la bête (1946)
    La belle et la bête (1946)
    La belle et la bête (1946)
    La belle et la bête (1946)
    La belle et la bête (1946)
    La belle et la bête (1946)
    La belle et la bête (1946)
    La belle et la bête (1946)
    La belle et la bête (1946)
    38 x 52 cm

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jean Marais
    Jean Marais
    • La Bête (The Beast)as La Bête (The Beast)…
    Josette Day
    Josette Day
    • Belleas Belle
    Mila Parély
    • Félicieas Félicie
    Nane Germon
    • Adélaïdeas Adélaïde
    Michel Auclair
    Michel Auclair
    • Ludovicas Ludovic
    Raoul Marco
    Raoul Marco
    • Merchantas Merchant
    • (scenes deleted)
    • (credit only)
    Marcel André
    • Belle's Fatheras Belle's Father
    Janice Felty
    • La Belle (1995 opera version)as La Belle (1995 opera version)
    • (singing voice)
    John Kuether
    • The Fatheras The Father
    • (singing voice)
    • …
    Jacques Marbeuf
    Ana María Martinez
    • Félicie (1995 opera version)as Félicie (1995 opera version)
    • (singing voice)
    Hallie Neill
    • Adélaïde (1995 opera version)as Adélaïde (1995 opera version)
    • (singing voice)
    Gregory Purnhagen
    • La Bêteas La Bête
    • (singing voice)
    • …
    Zhengzhong Zhou
    • Ludovic (1995 opera version)as Ludovic (1995 opera version)
    • (singing voice)
    Noël Blin
    • Footmanas Footman
    • (uncredited)
    Jean Cocteau
    Jean Cocteau
    • Voice of Magicas Voice of Magic
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Christian Marquand
    Christian Marquand
    • Footmanas Footman
    • (uncredited)
    Gilles Watteaux
    • Footmanas Footman
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Jean Cocteau
      • René Clément(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • Jean Cocteau(dialogue) (screenplay) (story)
      • Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont(story)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Adélaïde, Belle, Félicie and Ludovic are young adult siblings who once lived in grandeur until their father's merchant ships were lost at sea. The family is now near ruin, but Adélaïde and Félicie nonetheless still squander away the family money on themselves and keeping beautiful, whereas Belle slaves around the house, doting on her father. Ludovic detests his two spoiled sisters, but is protective of Belle, especially with his friend Avenant, a handsome scoundrel who wants to marry Belle. Crossing the forest one dark and stormy evening, the father gets lost and takes refuge in a fantastical castle. Upon leaving, he steals a blossom off a rose bush, which Belle requested. The castle's resident, an angry beast, sentences him to one of two options for the theft of the rose: his own death, or that of one of his daughters. As she feels she is the cause of her father's predicament (despite her sisters asking for far more lavish gifts), Belle sacrifices herself to the beast. Upon arriving at the castle, Belle finds that the beast, whose grotesqueness she cannot deny, does not want to kill her, but wants to marry her and lavish her with riches. He does not force her, but he will ask her every night to marry him, these times the only ones when he will appear to her. She vows never to say yes. As Belle resigns herself to her mortal fate and looks deeper into the beast - whose grotesque exterior masks a kind but tortured soul - will her thoughts change? Meanwhile, Belle's family, who learn of her situation, have their own thoughts of what to do, some working toward what they believe is Belle's best welfare, and others working toward their own benefit. —Huggo
    • beast
    • cult film
    • based on fairy tale
    • surrealism
    • fairy tale
    • 83 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Do Women Prefer The Beast In Men?
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Romance
    • Certificate
      • Not Rated
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The effect of the candles lighting themselves as the merchant passes them was achieved by blowing them out and then running the film in reverse as he walked backward past them. The entire sequence was done in one long take and reversed - a quick glimpse of the fireplace shows the flames appearing to move downward.
    • Goofs
      As Belle and The Beast walk in the garden, a comparatively modernly dressed boy in short pants is visible for a few seconds to the top right behind them.
    • Quotes

      Opening Title: Children believe what we tell them. They have complete faith in us. They believe that a rose plucked from a garden can plunge a family into conflict. They believe that the hands of a human beast will smoke when he slays a victim, and that this will cause the beast shame when a young maiden takes up residence in his home. They believe a thousand other simple things. I ask of you a little of this childlike simplicity, and, to bring us luck, let me speak four truly magic words, childhood's "Open Sesame": "Once upon a time..." Jean Cocteau

    • Crazy credits
      The title and some of the opening credits are written with chalk on a blackboard, and then erased.
    • Alternate versions
      The 1946 American release of the film had an entirely different set of opening credits, and is the one available on VHS. In that release, these credits were presented straightforwardly, with nothing unusual about them, and with the title in English. In the film's original release, available on DVD, the credits were written on a blackboard, in what is known as cursive handwriting, the same type of writing in which the opening prologue appears. After every credit, Jean Cocteau's hand would erase it and write the next credit with what appeared to be chalk. Then, after the credits ended, a film clapboard was seen, it was slammed together, as they always are just before a film director yells "Action!", and then the film's written prologue was seen.
    • Connections
      Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Fatale beauté (1994)
    • Soundtracks
      La belle et la bête
      an opera by Philip Glass

      (Not part of the original soundtrack, and not heard in the film's first two releases)

      © 1995 Nonesuch Records for the US and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States

    User reviews150

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Magical masterpiece
    Based on the classic French fairy tale of the same name, Jean Cocteau's fantastical fantasy masterpiece is as grand and lavish as it is thought provoking and beautiful. Through a haunting and mystical atmosphere, French director Jean Cocteau creates a fairy tale world that completely lives and breathes on it's own. This world is complimented by an assortment of characters that all have their own unique charm, along with serving relevance to the poetic tale itself. The story follows a man that gets lost in the woods and happens upon an enchanted castle. While there, he takes a rose on the request of his youngest daughter, Belle. However, the castle is owned by a half man, half beast that likes to be called, simply, 'The Beast'. The Beast tells the man that the penalty for taking his beloved roses is death, but offers him a chance to get out of it, in exchange for one of his daughters...an offer which Belle accepts.

    Most people will know this classic story as the Disney animated film from the early 1990's. That one wasn't bad for Disney, but I think most will agree that this largely ignored version is a far superior telling of the tale. The Beauty and the Beast works because underneath it's fairytale setting; it's a tender love story. It's a story of how love can transcend superficial boundaries. The Beast is, obviously an ugly character on the outside, albeit one with a heart of gold on the inside, thus allowing Belle to fall in love with him and the audience to feel for the character in spite of his physical affliction. This story has become legend, in both cinema and literature and several stories have taken influence from it since - from soft-core bestiality porn flick, 'The Beast', to the classic 'King Kong'; The Beauty and the Beast is one of the most important stories ever written, and Jean Cocteau has more than done it justice with this film.

    This is my first taste of Jean Cocteau. I've heard many a good thing about the man (including that he inspired the majestic 'Eyes Without a Face'), and judging by this film alone; they would appear to be true. The way that Cocteau creates the atmosphere in the movie is superb, and also very subtle. There's no real macabre imagery on display, and Cocteau relies on smoke and the lavish Gothic settings to do it for him. It's true that the beast itself looks a little rubbish; but it still looks a damn sight better than a lot of the CGI incarnations that we see all too much of today. If what I've heard is right; Cocteau is responsible for much of what cinema has come to rely on, but even if it isn't true; this film is a must see.
    helpful•6
    1
    • The_Void
    • Dec 20, 2004

    FAQ4

    • Is this movie based on a book?
    • Can the original fairy tale be read online?
    • Why was the same actor cast as both the Beast and as Avenant?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 23, 1947 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • France
    • Language
      • French
    • Also known as
      • La bella y la bestia
    • Filming locations
      • Château de Raray, Senlis, Oise, France
    • Production company
      • Les Films André Paulvé
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $298,718
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $3,708
      • Jun 23, 2002
    • Gross worldwide
      • $298,718
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 33 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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