To complement this year’s pantomime Beauty And Ahe Beast, we have this special presentation of a newly restored version Cocteau's dreamlike adaptation of the classic fairy tale. Hands though walls, candle lit shadow play, wonderful costumes, shimmering lighting and surrealist settings make for a magical cinematic experience that is still as beguiling now as it was in 1946. Followed by a Q&A with Dr Debby Thacker from the University of Gloucestershire.

1hr 39mins
Dir: Jean Cocteau Cast: Jean Marais, Josette Day, and Mila Parély
In French with Subtitles

Contains mild language and scary scenes
Click here for full classification information at BBFC Insight

"Jean Cocteau's erotic and surreal fable is now revived on the big screen as part of the BFI's fascinating Gothic season. Watched now, 67 years after its first release, you can sense how its echoes have reverberated in the figures of Guillermo del Toro and Michael Jackson. Its special effects are prehistoric compared to those of our digital 21st century, and yet they are deeply disturbing. When bodies appear through walls or fly up into the air, it is almost as if Cocteau's camera has miraculously recorded a dream"

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