Watch As Many Jean Cocteau Movies As Possible!

Jean Cocteau was one of the greatest filmakers, a visionary, a visual poet, a fantasist. The Orpheus trilogy is one of greatest achievements in the history of cinema. The Blood of the Poet is a beautiful, enigmatic movie, one of the first avant-garde movies ever made, full of mysterious, dream-like scenes that invite us to reflect about their meaning for ages.

Orpheus and The Testament of Orpheus are amaizng forays into fantasy, sensitive explorations of the power of creativity, of memory, of time, of Death. Who doesn't love the old school special effects, so involving? The way he depicts time moving backwards, the way he shoots people going through mirrors. And the costumes! Who can forget that lonely horse-dressed figure walking past the poet, stopping to look back at him, such a melancholy scene.

And what to say about Beauty and the Beast? Jean Marais' performance, the costume so ahead of its time. The magical castle, with whispering objects and arms jutting from the walls?

You'd have to hate poetry, fantasy, imagination, and beautiful cinematography to hate the work of Jean Cocteau.

This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.