Jean Cocteau’s sublime adaptation of Mme. Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy-tale masterpiece—in which the pure love of a beautiful girl melts the heart of a feral but gentle beast—is a landmark of motion picture fantasy, with unforgettably romantic performances by Jean Marais and Josette Day. The spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death in Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête) have become timeless icons of cinematic wonder.
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
New, high-definition digital transfer from restored film elements, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
Philip Glass’s opera La Belle et la Bête, as an alternate soundtrack, presented in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition
Two commentaries: one by film historian Arthur Knight and one by writer and cultural historian Sir Christopher Frayling
Screening at the Majestic, a 1995 documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew
Interview with cinematographer Henri Alekan
Rare behind-the-scenes photos and publicity stills
Film restoration demonstration
Original trailer, directed and narrated by Jean Cocteau, and the 1995 restoration trailer
New and improved English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by film critic Geoffrey O’Brien and, for the Blu-ray edition, a 1947 piece on the film by Cocteau, excerpts from Francis Steegmuller’s 1970 Cocteau: A Biography, and an introduction to Glass’s opera by the composer
