Journal: "Beauty and the Beast" (1946 version), Directed by Jean Cocteau

There have have been many versions of "Beauty and the Beast", however Jean Cocteau's version is much more darker than all other film versions. A fantasy world in other versions is now a nightmare world in this darkly lit classic. "Beauty and the Beast" presents many messages and concepts to filmmaking as well as what makes an effective story. I've seen a few versions, which include the 1983 version of "Beauty and the Beast" along with the disney version, but Cocteau's has much more in terms of depth and character. The television series that was done in the 1980's with Ron Pearlman & Linda Hamilton is actually something worth checking out, but this 1946 version is quite superior! This movie is very surreal and transcends into such visuals that are in themselves poetry. Some very early special effects are also obvious, which would be used many times in other future films. You can kind of say that "Beauty and the Beast" employs many effects that are very much ahead of their time. Here's the trailer for "Beauty and the Beast".

The scenes involving disembodies hands and transporting from one set to another showcases a very supernatural touch that would be used in countless horror films up until even today. Almost every shot is so elaborate and crafted to convey the dark mood of this film. Although the film does end on a happy note it is actually very depressing because in order for the beast to become human again another man must first take his place in death. Not exactly the most upbeat method, but it certainly gets the point across that Cocteau's film is surreal. "Beauty and the Beast" is so different from other films of its time especially those of hollywood however, this film is considered main steam compared to Cocteau's other work. Here's a review clip I'd like to mention by Mark Bourne, "This is one of the most accessible and enjoyable of Euro "art house" fare. Cocteau's previous stint as a director had occurred 16 years before with 1930's Blood of a Poet, an avant-garde mishmash of hieroglyphic surrealist imagery. Beauty and the Beast's more grounded conventional narrative mindfully pulls cards from the surrealist deck, but it doesn't litter the card table with them. Some of Cocteau's avant-garde colleagues, in fact, tugged their beards at his making such a comparatively mainstream film". Cocteau captures the art and craft of true surreal cinema with ease. Here's another clip to watch:

Although not a horror film it certainly comes off as one a little. Here's something that Eisenstein says in his book, which I think applies to the character of the beast in this movie, " The inner monologue as a literary method of abolishing the distinction between subject and object in stating the hero's re-experience in a crystalized form, is first observed by research workers in literary experiment as early as 1887, in the work of Edouard Dujardin, pioneer on the stream of consciousness, Les lauriers sont couples". The beast is the subject and the object provided is the key, which he gives Belle. This leads to the film's climax that answers the prolonged question of what made the beast. When you think about it movie relates to our everyday world. Society can be both beauty and beast especially when you stop and look very closely at everything and everyone. What do we create worlds of fantasy? Obviously to escape the horrors of our everyday existence, but there's more behind the mask than just the beast because the mind is so intricate that few can ever figure out what makes everyone do what they do.