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Jean Cocteau

French writer and film director (1889–1963)

3.12body-of-work score · ranked #351 of 2631 directors · 5 films in our library

A director's score is the sum of their films' composite canon scores — methodology.

Born
July 5, 1889 · Maisons-Laffitte
Died
October 11, 1963 · Milly-la-Forêt
Nationality
France
Work
painter, playwright, film director, poet
Movement
theatre of the absurd, modernism
Reference
Wikipedia · Wikidata
Portrait of Jean Cocteau
Agence de presse Meurisse · Public domain

Films in our library, ranked

Ranked by composite canon score across 20+ authoritative lists, awards and polls — our ordering, with every placement citing its evidence on the film's page.

  1. 1
    Beauty and the BeastLa Belle et la Bête

    1946 · France · fantasy, drama

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1948 #6 · Scorsese's 39 essential foreign films · Empire 500 (2008) #292

    1.458 citations
  2. 2
    OrpheusOrphée

    1950 · France · fantasy, drama

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1951 #4 · Kurosawa's 100 favorite films · Criterion Collection spine #68

    1.015 citations
  3. 3
    Les Parents terribles

    1948 · France · drama

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1949 #7

    0.331 citation
  4. 4
    The Blood of a PoetLe Sang d'un poète

    1932 · France · fantasy, drama

    Criterion Collection spine #67

    0.161 citation
  5. 5
    Testament of OrpheusLe Testament d'Orphée

    1960 · France · fantasy, drama

    Criterion Collection spine #69

    0.161 citation

Complete filmography

All 9 directorial credits recorded on Wikidata, in chronological order; films in our library link to their canon-score page.