Black Orpheus | 
| Actors: Maria Alice, Elizeth Cardoso, Aurino Cassiano, Alexandro Constantino, Arlete Costa
Studio: Homevision
List Price: $29.95
Buy Used: $5.05
You Save: $24.90 (83%)
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Rating:  71 reviews
Sales Rank: 7385
Format: Color, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Subtitled), Portuguese (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 6302784980
UPC: 037429060339
EAN: 9786302784985
ASIN: 6302784980
Theatrical Release Date: December 21, 1959
Release Date: June 16, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
Marcel Camus's 1959 update of the Greek myth features an all-black cast and a story set in the frenetic energy of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Orpheus, a trolley car conductor and superb samba dancer, is engaged to Mira but in love with Eurydice. For his change of heart, Orpheus and his new doomed lover are pursued by a vengeful Mira and a determined Death through the feverish Carnival night. Camus at once demystifies and remystifies the old story, shifting not only its location but its tone and context, forcing a reevaluation of the legend as a more passionate, pulsing, sensual experience. The film is really one-of-a-kind, an absolute whirl that barely needs words. --Tom Keogh
Description
An Academy Award -winning retelling of the Orphic legend in a modern day setting, Black Orpheus explodes with dance, music, and magnificent color photography. The tragic love between a streetcar conductor and a shy country girl unfolds against the madness of a carnival in Rio de Janeiro, with its intoxicating samba music, frenzied dancing, and colorful costumes.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 66 more reviews...
A strange and beautiful film January 25, 2003
Dennis Littrell (SoCal)
81 out of 83 found this review helpful
Do they clean the streets in Rio De Janeiro? Well, of course they do. When this carnival is over.
And if you watch this movie you will see that they do it very near the end of the last reel, as in the morning when the truck comes round spraying water, just one of a thousand little details that director Marcel Camus got right, and one of the most insignificant. But it is from a multiplicity of detail that an edifice of cinematic genius is constructed.
The true brilliance of Black Orpheus lies in the people who live on the side of the cliffs overlooking the harbor at Rio. It is their energy that prevails. Then there is the color, the costumes, the pounding rhythms, the spectacular vitality of life that is depicted as a carnival of dance and song in which we are driven along as on a wave. And yet there is the constant reality of death. And it strikes in ways we cannot comprehend, fatalistically, and we are helpless to do anything about it. And then Orpheus sings, a new Orpheus perhaps, and the sun rises again, and a little girl in white, looking like Eurydice in miniature, begins to dance as the little boy Orpheus plays his guitar, telling us that time has come round again.
Well, that's the plot as adapted by screen writer Jacques Voit from the play by Vinicius d Moraes as divined from the Greek mythology. Supporting this arresting conception is the music by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luis Bonfa. I recall the former as the composer of bossanova who gave us "The Girl from Ipanema" and made the samba international. Starring in the title role as the streetcar conductor who is loved by all is Breno Melo, who might be seen as the natural man and native of paradise. The very pretty Marpessa Dawn plays Eurydice, an innocent from the country who falls in love with Orpheus and his song. Lourdes de Oliveira plays his intended, Mira who is hot blooded, vital and beautifully ordinary. But the actress I recall most vividly from the time I first saw this in the sixties was Lea Garcia who played Serafina. Her exuberance and comedic flair struck me as something completely different from anybody I had ever seen before. And then there are the boys who follow Orpheus around and emulate his every move. With their torn shirts and unflagging optimism, they represent the new day that will dawn.
If you haven't seen this strange and beautiful film, you are in for a singular experience. There is nothing else like it that I know of. And it is as fresh today as when it was made almost half a century ago.
Wonderful interpretation of the classic October 6, 2002
R. Gawlitta (Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA)
52 out of 54 found this review helpful
A lot of people were surprised when this won for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1959 Academy Awards. It hadn't been widely seen, except for winning at Cannes, it was a French director with a Portuguese-language film, with a black cast. (I've been to Rio and there's no racism, though some class-ism and other political nonsense). I saw this film in the 60's and loved it for its sincerity and profound lesson. I was in high school, and didn't really know much about the Orpheus legend. I was taken in by the narrative presented by Marcel Camus, and never forgot it. I subsequently visited Rio, and watching this film is most interesting, because it's about real people (not what the tourists see), but the exquisite photography not only shows vast vistas of Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches, but vivid colors, as well as how seriously the Cariocas regard "Carnaval". Bruno Mello (Orpheus) was a handsome soccer star, and a fine actor. Marpessa Dawn, as Eurydice, is really excellent (according to liner notes, she was from Pittsburgh). A real natural. An interesting thing to notice is that, even when looking though an open door, there are great shots of the beaches, Rio's finest feature. I also attended a Macumba ceremony while there, and the one depicted in the film let me know that mine wasn't a fake. Then there's the brilliant score by Jobim and Bonfa, which, by now, has become standard/classic. The music truly carries the film, the acting is first-rate, and the use of color by cinematographers Louis Stein & Rene Persin is breath-taking. This is indeed a great film with humor, a few scares, great love story, and just about everything anyone would want. The music alone will entertain; everything else is like a fine sauce over an excellent entree.
An Orpheus Oddessy December 20, 1999
Robert Melhorn (Washington, DC)
26 out of 27 found this review helpful
A wonder-filled whirl of color and sound, this movie will provide a boost for the hopeless romantic. The never-ending love story of Orpheus and Eurydice is regenerated in "modern" Rio during Carnival. Beautifully photographed with an excellent sound track, this movie is a must-see for any serious film connoisseur.Links to the original Greek tragedy will test your knowledge of mythology and the trip to "Hades" with its voodoo incantations will stick in your mind like a fever-induced dream. The beauty and rhythm of this film will make you think of your first true love, and, if you're one of the lucky ones out there, make you glad you never let that person go. I first saw Black Orpheus in New Orleans. One of my life's fondest memories is viewing this film at a local repertory theater. Whenever there were carnival street scenes, balcony-bound moviegoers would let loose with Mardi Gras beads and doubloons, adding to the carnival atmosphere. Also, although I have a copy of the subtitled Orpheu Negro, which I would never part with, I have seen a dubbed version, only once and then on television. I would very much like to acquire a dubbed copy. Can anyone out there help? I remember there being much more to the story line revealed with the dubbed version. (For example, when at the pawn shop, as patrons are passing the guitar down to Orpheus, they are saying, "This is for Orpheus. This is for Orpheus." This phrase is transposed from person to person into "This is Orpheus. Here's Orpheus.", giving the guitar mystical properties and seeming to make it the embodiment of the spirit of Orpheus. Inscribed on the guitar are the words "Orpheus is my master." I would give this film my highest recommendation and would encourage anyone to view it at least one a year. rmelhorn@aol.com
Beautiful restoration of a magnificent film. March 8, 2000
Marmez1@aol.com (Los Angeles, CA USA)
23 out of 26 found this review helpful
This is a magnificent film beautifully restored and presented on DVD by Criterion. As other reviewers have noted, it is the story of Orpheus and Eurydice updated to Brazil at Carnival time. The photography and sound are superb. The music is outstanding. The story involves Orpheus, a fun loving ladies man who is finally talked into marriage by his current girl friend. When his neighbor's cousin arrives, Orpheus immediately falls in love with her. She is being pursued by a messenger from the underworld and has fled to Rio to evade him. The interplay among the women is fascinating and wonderfully acted. Against the backdrop of Carnival death finally identifies Eurydice. As she attempts to flee again Orpheus pursues her and inadvertently contributes to her death. His search for her among the numberless archives of the missing persons bureau is one of the most touching moments in the film. As in the myth, he turns around after locating her voice and loses her. His jealous fiancee's rage brings about an additional tragedy. The film closes with Orpheus' guitar being passed to the next generation as the sun rises over Rio. I first saw this film in the early 1960's in a small art house in college. It moved me then and has never failed to move me since. This gorgeous transfer does the film the justice it deserves. Very highly recommended!
This is one of the greatest films ever made! Bossa Nova! July 9, 2000
Lance Swanson (Santa Clara, CA United States)
22 out of 26 found this review helpful
Quite simply, Marcel Camus' sublime "Black Orpheus" is the best representation of the Greek myth of Eurydice and Orpheus ever attempted by an artist. By filling the romantic tragedy with the wonderful music of Brazil and the carnival in Rio de Janeiro, he uplifts the audience into a state of blissfull glee. The film, which won the Grand Prize at Cannes in 1959, is a one-of-a-kind experience, with Death (in a magnificent costume) chasing Eurydice at the Carnival and Orpheus trying to save her. The transfer is absolutely perfect, and the music by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luis Bonfa is magical, rhythmic and out of this world. It was soon after the release of this perfect film that the Bossa Nova and the Samba were introduced to the world and of course, the rest is history, and the Brazilian music is justifiably known worlwide. Here is your chance to own one of the great classics of international cinema, and one that lends itself to repeated viewings. As usual, the Criterion Collection outdoes itself, giving the world the difinitive, director's cut of "Black Orpheus." The disc also offers improved subtitle translation and remastered sound. In Portuguese with English subtitles.
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