Black Orpheus (1959)

A retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, set during the time of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.

Director:

Marcel Camus

Writers:

Marcel Camus, Jacques Viot

Stars:

Breno Mello, Marpessa Dawn, Lourdes de Oliveira

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Breno Mello	...	Orfeo
Marpessa Dawn	...	Eurydice
Marcel Camus	...	Ernesto
Fausto Guerzoni	...	Fausto
Lourdes de Oliveira	...	Mira
Léa Garcia	...	Serafina
Ademar Da Silva	...	Death
Alexandro Constantino	...	Hermes
Waldemar De Souza	...	Chico
Jorge Dos Santos	...	Benedito
Aurino Cassiano	...	Zeca
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maria Alice
Ana Amélia
Elizeth Cardoso
Arlete Costa

Storyline

In the heady atmosphere of Rio's carnival, two people meet and fall in love. Eurydice, a country girl, has run away from home to avoid a man who arrived at her her looking for her. She is convinced that he was going to kill her. She arrives in Rio to stay with her cousin Serafina. Orfeo works as a tram conductor and is engaged to Mira - as far as Mira is concerned anyways. As Eurydice and Orpheus get to know one another they fall deeply in love. Mira is mad with jealousy and when Eurydice disappears, Orfeo sets out to find her.

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Plot Keywords:

samba | 1950s | rio carnival | engaged couple | jealousy | 

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Taglines:

The Music...The Dancing...The Colors!

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Brazil France Italy

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

21 December 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Orpheus

Filming Locations:

Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dispat Films,Gemma,Tupan Filmes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's two stars, Breno Mello and Marpessa Dawn died within two months of each other almost half a century after the film was made.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Benedito: [to Serafina] Serafina, look how beautiful!

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Connections

Referenced in Inside Black Orpheus: Music, Carnival and Culture (2016)

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Soundtracks

Generique
Traditional folklore, played over opening titles

User Reviews

Take me back to Rio de Janeiro

Truly a magical film! Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro) transports you and makes you long for the Rio of the late 50s (slums and all). Marcel Camus has taken a classic tale of eternal love and transplanted it into "modern times" flawlessly. It has it all -- love, suspense, myth, music, dancing, tragedy -- set amidst the frenetic backdrop of the carnival. I'll always thank the friend who introduced me to this film.