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 & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Breno Mello	...	Orfeu
Marpessa Dawn	...	Eurydice
Lourdes de Oliveira	...	Mira
Léa Garcia	...	Serafina
Adhemar Ferreira da Silva	...	Death (as Adhemar Feirrera da Silva)
Waldemar De Souza	...	Chico
Alexandro Constantino	...	Hermes
Jorge Dos Santos	...	Benedito
Aurino Cassiano	...	Zeca
Maria Alice
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ana Amélia
Elizeth Cardoso
Arlete Costa
Maria de Lourdes
Modesto De Souza

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 | rio carnival | orpheus and eurydice | favela | bossa nova | 

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Taglines:

The film that introduced Bossa Nova to the world...

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Clips from the film were used to create the music video for 'Afterlife' by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire.

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Goofs

During the Macumba ritual Orfeu turns his head toward the janitor in reaction to being called but there is no sound of talking. Then on the two-shot of the janitor and Orfeu; the janitor moves his lips however there is no sound coming out of his mouth. On the next immediate cut you then hear the janitor talking and moving his lips in the same pattern as the previous cut that had no sound.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Benedito: Serafina, look what a beauty!

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Connections

Remade as Orfeu (1999)

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Soundtracks

Scenes De La Macumba
Traditional folklore
(Macumba ceremony scene)

User Reviews

One of the best scores ever!

A lot of users will not believe it,but in his native France ,Marcel Camus's name is slowly fading.Worse,"Orfeo negro" is demeaned :it is given only one star in the French dictionary of films.Part of the reason can be found,I think ,in the rest of Camus's career which is mediocre and tarnished his magnum opus by association.But it's unfair.It's a shame a lot of young FRench young people do not even know the existence of this jewel.

"Orfeo negro" is perfection itself: -Its score is one of the most marvelous I can think of ,now stirring,now wistful as this unforgettable song to make the sun rise.

-The Greek myth is superbly recreated ,and the exotic landscapes add magic to the script.

-The actors are dynamic ;the three leads ,Breno Mello,Lourdes de OLiveira and the wunderkind Marpessa Dawn are excellent-why didn't she make the career she deserved?- -The original version is in Portuguese ,which shows Camus's respect for his audience.

-Best scenes:perhaps the scenes in the house of death,with the walk in the papers;also the final scene where children are still there ,to help the sun rise again and again.The meeting with Death in a power station.

An hymn to the sun and to immortality,"Orfeo Negro" is all this and more.

Details

Country:

Brazil France Italy

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

21 December 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Orpheus

Filming Locations:

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