16mm Film Screening - Jean Cocteau's 'Beauty and the Beast'

The classic fairy tale about the kindly beast and the self-sacrificing beauty whose love releases the prince in him is brought to the screen using magical visual effects. The story takes on deeper and stranger meaning through the magical-realist techniques of Cocteau. The costumes and lighting take their inspiration from Dutch painting, particularly the work of Vermeer.

Just as Cocteau chose certain elements as agents of magic (the horse, the glove, the animated statues, the key), the original author of the tale chose the rose, the mirror, the powers of the good fairy, and the Beast as central functional symbols and characters. A comparison of the two works reveals in both cases a complex mythological thematic working through the artist that ultimately restructures the tale as primal myth.

— Rebecca M. Pauly, Literature/Film Quarterly

While no registration is required, you may register if you wish to receive a reminder a day before/day of the screening, as well as notifications about possible postponements or cancellations.

This screening will take place in-person at the Seward Park branch.

Parental guidance under 18.