Flavorwire's 50 Spellbinding Fairy Tales on Film - Page 2

World cinema distributor Janus has released a new 35mm print from a 4k restoration of La Belle et La Bête , Jean Cocteau's magical retelling of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast. The sublime adaptation plays exclusively at Film Forum, opening today through February 18. Now in its 70th year, Cocteau's lyrical film is an artistic feat — especially considering the hurdles the filmmaker experienced during production. Film stock was scarce due to the war; electricity was limited, forcing the crew to occasionally work by candlelight (which only adds to the film's allure); and a painful skin condition hospitalized the director. Inspired by Flemish painters like Johannes Vermeer and the gorgeously dense engravings of Gustave Doré, Cocteau's baroque revision is one of the most enduring fairy tales to ever grace the screen. In the spirit of Cocteau's fantastical masterpiece, here are 50 other spellbinding fairy tales on film.