Present at the birth of the cinematic medium and responsible for some of its most revolutionary early innovations, the career of Jean Cocteau served as a blueprint for the developing auteurs of 20th century cinema. Lydia Crowson examines the filmmaker's work in depth, exploring the technique and approach that made Cocteau's work singular, yet on a cross-disciplinary par with the work of artists such as Stravinsky, Picasso, and Satie.