Essential Art House: Black Orpheus

UPC: 715515043113

Studio: Criterion

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language]

Summary: Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro) is literally what its title suggests: a retelling of the "Orpheus and Eurydice" legend enacted by black performers. This time the setting is the annual Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Orpheus (Breno Mello) is a streetcar conductor; Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn) has just jilted her lover and is attempting to escape his wrath. Orpheus himself falls in love with Eurydice, whereupon her ex-lover, disguised as the Angel of Death shows up and kills Eurydice. To reclaim his lost love, Orpheus enters "Hell" (the Rio morgue) and uses supernatural methods to revive the dead girl. A multi-award winner on the international film scene, Black Orpheus features a samba musical score by Luiz Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Fantasy

Awards: Best Foreign Film – null Best Foreign Language Film – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Palme d'Or – Cannes Film Festival Best Foreign Film – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best British Film – British Academy of Film and Television Arts

Essential Art House: Black Orpheus

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 02/10/2009

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 107 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) Portuguese

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Essential Art House: Black Orpheus
1. Opening Credits [3:48]
2. Eurydice Arrives [3:31]
3. Streetcar Pickup [5:40]
4. One Thousand Years of Love? [5:14]
5. Serafina's Visitor [3:49]
6. Kisses on Account [3:05]
7. "Orpheus Is My Master" [8:39]
8. Death in a Costume [15:20]
9. Houses in Heaven [5:58]
10. Sunrise Serenade [3:35]
11. Identical Cousins [7:02]
12. Cardinal Unravels [10:07]
13. The Serpent's Bite [5:33]
14. Ambulance Chaser [6:49]
15. The Descent [12:14]
16. Dionysian Onslaught [4:34]
17. A New Day [2:17]

Michael Buening

Black Orpheus was something of a phenomenon of its time, an international success with a best-selling soundtrack that was crucial to launching a bossa nova craze in the United States. It won the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival and the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Since then, the novelty of seeing Rio de Janeiro's Carnival played out backed by the strains of seductive Brazilian jazz has worn off, revealing a winningly energetic movie with some noticeable faults. Director Marcel Camus reworks the Orpheus myth for no discernible reason, and while the straightforward transliteration is agreeably unpretentious, he doesn't add much to the story. The Technicolor cinematography is notable for its vivacious use of saturated colors and real-life location shooting in Rio's favelas and mountainous countryside. The choreography of people and color in front of the camera is well executed, but not much is done with the camera itself. There is little movement and the action occasionally feels constrained by the frame. During moments of play, when the characters are flirting, dancing, or playing music, the filmmaking gels into a sensual reverie, but in moments of seriousness the movie feels rather pedestrian, and the actors in particular are drab and unconvincing. However, time has not effected Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfa's charming samba score and it's hard to be too disappointed in a movie that begins and ends with the upward lilt of "Samba de Orfeo." ~ Michael Buening, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Marcel Camus  Actor 
Aurino Cassanio  Actor 
Adhemar de Silva  Actor 
Waldetar de Souza  Actor 
Fausto Guerzoni  Actor 
Alexandro Constantino  Actor 
Jorge dos Santos  Actor 
Marcel Camus  Director 
Marcel Camus  Screenwriter 
Sacha Gordine  Producer 
Antonio Carlos Jobim  Composer (Music Score) 
Jacques Viot  Screenwriter 
Luiz Bonfa  Composer (Music Score) 
Breno Mello  Actor 
Marpessa Dawn  Actor 
Lea Garcia  Actor 
Lourdes de Oliveira  Actor 

Country: France,Italy,Portugal,Brazil