La Belle et la bete (Beauty and the Beast)

When it comes to blurbing this legendary 1946 film from Jean Cocteau what can I add to the thousands of pages and observations written and made over the years. It still stands as a landmark in surrealism, this is a given but what I can mention is it is one of the few black and white films, subtitled no less, I've seen able to hold the attention younger viewers. The language seems to be of no import to them and it is the very fairy tale imagery Cocteau was so famous for that keeps them riveted to the screen. One interesting bit of trivia many are not aware of is the famous fashion designer Pierre Cardin supervised the making of the costumes at the Jeanne Lanvin house. Every bit as powerful as I remember it, do your kids the service and scrap the Disney version in favour of this.