Cocteau Is Brought to Light : Film: Series at Severin Wunderman Museum in Irvine attempts to bring perspective to his works.

“I write with a pen of light.”

Jean Cocteau described his filmmaking in many ways, but that was his favorite.

It’s probably the most apt as well, for he was an adventurer who combined Dadaist impulses with an often unusual but determined sense of storytelling. His films feature strong narratives along with an overriding poetic expression--the best are digressions on the lyrical and dreamlike.

Film was easily his most accomplished medium. Inspired by the modern movements and the likes of Picasso and Dali, Cocteau dabbled as a painter, ceramist, lithographer and many other things, but he excelled as a director and writer.

The curators at the Severin Wunderman Museum may be more enchanted by his artifacts, but they also recognize his importance as a screen innovator. The museum is offering a bimonthly series of his movies that continues through the end of the year and, according to curatorial administrator John Ahr, is likely to extend into 1992. “The Eternal Return” (L’Eternel Retour) will be shown Sunday; “Beauty and the Beast” (La Belle et la Bete) on Oct. 27; and “The Strange Ones” (Les Enfants Terribles) on Dec. 8.

“To be honest, we realize that most people recognize Cocteau for his films, but we hope that they will also see what a great artist he was in the other areas that the museum specializes in,” said Ahr. “This series works two ways, to celebrate him as a director and, hopefully, bring people into the museum so they can have an appreciation” for his other mediums.

He added that the series also attempts to bring perspective to the films by pairing them with other movies by Cocteau’s contemporaries or newsreels from the same era. “The Eternal Return,” for instance, will be preceded by newsreels from 1943 and ’44 that show life in France during the war and after the liberation.

“Beauty and the Beast” will be followed by the 1933 American classic “King Kong,” and “The Strange Ones” will be preceded by painter Fernand Leger’s 1924 foray into film, “Ballet Mechanique.”

“We’re really having a little fun, being playful with putting in ‘King Kong,’ especially because it’s so close to Halloween,” said Ahr. “In general, though, the motivation is to show the influence and relationship with the other artists who were making films at the same time.”

As for Cocteau’s movies, Ahr was effusive about their “sheer beauty and symbolic qualities.” What impresses him most is their technical creativity.

“His technical development is really remarkable. He was such a spontaneous director that many of them were happy accidents that turned into wonderful innovations. So many of his effects and ideas eventually entered the mainstream of filmmaking.”

Perhaps the best example of that is “Beauty and the Beast,” which (along with “Orpheus,” released in 1950) uses surrealist-inspired visions and graceful camera chicanery to steep Mme. Le Prince de Beaumont’s Gothic fairy tale in archetypes, moralism and fancy. Metaphorical flourishes--statues with animated human faces, chairs with arms and claws--are everywhere in the 1946 film, especially in the Beast’s (Jean Marais) chateau.

In many of Cocteau’s films, ancient myths and legends were touchstones of inspiration. “The Eternal Return” (1943) recasts the tale of Tristan and Isolde in typically romanticized ways.

Cocteau is only credited with the screenplay here, handing the director’s reins to Jean Delannoy, a significant French filmmaker in his own right. Movie historians are divided on Cocteau’s influence--most agree that he was the force, exerting his influence over Delannoy throughout--but his impact is obvious.

The film plays mightily with the Tristan and Isolde story, in particular by throwing in Achille (Pierre Pieral), a glowering dwarf fixated on death and evil. He’s the one who engineers the tragic fate of Patrice (Jean Marais) and Nathalie (Madeleine Sologne), the Cocteau incarnations of Tristan and Isolde. Patrice’s uncle Marc (Jean Murat) serves as the legend’s King Mark.

In the last film offered this year, “The Strange Ones” (1950), Cocteau reinterprets his novel of the same name with director Jean-Pierre Melville. The film is considered a masterpiece almost as important to Cocteau’s career as “Orpheus,” which is noted for its evocative qualities and extraordinary visuals. “The Strange Ones” had a big impact on French intellectuals as a novel in the 1920s and spoke to a new generation when it was released on film. It tells of the obsessive, insular and eventually tragic relationship between a brother (Edouard Dermit) and Elisabeth (Nicole Stephane).

“The Eternal Return” and the 1943-44 newsreels will begin at 2 p.m. (as will the other programs) Sunday at the Severin Wunderman Museum, 3 Mason, Irvine. Tickets: $3 and $6. Information: (714) 472-1138.