Beauty and the Beast

In Jean Cocteau’s exquisite adaptation of the eighteenth-century fairy tale La Belle et la Bête, Jean Marais stars as the prince transformed into a dignified but feral Beast who suffers rejection until he meets pure, self-sacrificing Beauty (Josette Day). Set during the Dutch Renaissance and lit like a Vermeer painting, Cocteau’s follow-up to the seminal Blood of a Poet is a landmark of motion picture magic: when Beauty weeps, her tears become diamonds; real arms emerge from the wall of the Beast’s castle to light Beauty's way, and marble busts gaze with human eyes while exhaling white smoke. “When it comes to ‘fairy-tale movies’ there is Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast and then there is everything else. It is a safe bet that no one who surrenders to it at an impressionable age ever quite escapes the distinct and disturbing enchantments it sets in motion.”—Geoffrey O’Brien

Bing Theater | FAQs

$10 for the general public, $7 for LACMA members, seniors (62+), and students with valid ID | Tickets available Thursday, July 5 at 5 pm. | Tickets: 323 857-6010 or purchase online.

$5 for Film Independent, LACMA Film Club, and New York Times Film Club members | Pre-sale tickets available Thursday, June 28 at 5 pm |  Members of these groups will be required to show proof of membership when retrieving their tickets | Tickets: 323 857-6010 or purchase online.