Poet, playwright, artist and filmmaker, Jean Cocteau was widely considered to be one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century and one of its most poetic filmmakers. You want proof? Check out his extraordinary 1946 version of the Beauty and the Beast legend, La Belle et la Béte, a cinematic fairy-tale like no other that was recently released on UK DVD by the BFI, which will soon be joined by the film that many consider Cocteau's masterpiece, the 1950 Orphée.

This magical re-telling of the Orpheus myth turns the lyre-playing singer of Greek legend into a famous left-bank poet in post-war Paris. Having fallen out of favour and lost for poetic inspiration, Orphée becomes obsessed with a mysterious black-clad princess who first claims the life of a rival poet, and then Eurydice, his wife.

With its unforgettable imagery – the dissolving mirror through which characters pass into the next world, the leather-clad, death-dealing motorcyclists, and Cocteau's magical special effects – Orphée is a work of haunting beauty that follows the poetic logic of a dream. It won the Prix International de la Critique at the Venice Film Festival in 1950, and in 1951 took first prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Orphée is to be released on UK DVD by the BFI on 20th October 2008 at the RRP of £19.99. Featuring a 1.33:1 transfer from a new high-definition digital restoration, the disc will have the following extras:

• Feature commentary by French film expert Dr Roland-François Lack;
• Original trailer;
• Illustrated booklet containing posters, stills and an extensive interview with Cocteau.