Beauty and the Beast: The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray] Reviews

The world of the movies is perfect for pulling off fantasies and fairy tales where the unbelievable and impossible can be made to seem very believable and quite possible. Today, CGI techniques can give a filmmaker just about any magic he needs to cast an appropriate spell, but one look at Jean Cocteau’s magisterial 1946 fairy tale-come-to-life Beauty and the Beast, and all thoughts of CGI effects and green screen manipulations fade into the mist. This exquisite, enchanting work from the mind of one of France’s premiere artists is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, a fairy tale that breathes delight and wonder with its every frame. How incredible that the film even exists given the monumental obstacles the filmmakers had to overcome to bring it to life after France’s existing chaotic conditions after World War II. The film itself is a miracle, and its creation exceeds even that nomenclature.

For the complete review, please go here.