Beauty and the Beast (1946)

The multi-talented Cocteau made the famous fairy tale his own with this fascinatingly surreal adaptation.

Cinematography by: Henri Alekan

Country: France

Definitely one of the more bizarre interpretations out there of the eponymous 18th century French fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. It ventures into uncanny valley territory pretty regularly with all the disembodied limbs hanging around, and the “statues” with human eyes constantly tracking the characters around the screen, but the lavish production design, ornate costumes, and the shockingly lifelike and emotive makeup effects on the Beast make the occasional unpleasantness tolerable.

Is it anywhere near my favorite movies? No, not really. But pretty much every film the multi-hyphenate Cocteau touched advanced special effects and practical effects within the form by about five years, so worth a watch just for the renaissance man’s boundless creativity both in front of and behind the camera.