Orpheus [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Jean Cocteau Jean Cocteau

Overview

Cinematic poet Jean Cocteau explored the myth of Orpheus on no fewer than three occasions: Le Sang d'Un Poete (Blood of a Poet, 1930), Orphee (Orpheus, 1949) and Le Testament d'Orphee (1960). This second of his "Orpheus" trilogy stars Jean Marais in the title role. Updated to contemporary Paris (albeit a Paris never seen before or since), the story concerns a sensitive young poet named Orpheus, who is married to the lovely Eurydice (Marie Dea). Orpheus' friend Cegeste (Edouard Dermit) is killed in a traffic accident. In the hospital morgue, Cegeste's patroness, The Princess of Death (Maria Casares), revives the young man; then, both Cegeste and Princess pass into the Underworld. Back on earth, Orpheus receives cryptic messages from Cegeste's spirit, as well as nocturnal visitations from the Princess. Meanwhile, Orpheus' wife enters into an affair with Heurtebise (Francois Perier). After seeking advice on her mixed-up love life, Eurydice is herself struck down and killed by the same cyclist who snuffed out Cegeste's life. It appears to Heurtebise that the ghostly Princess has claimed Eurydice so that she, the Princess, can be free to love Orpheus. Heurtebise persuades Orpheus to accompany him into the Underworld in hopes of returning Eurydice to life. By now, however, Orpheus cares little for his wife; he is completely under the Princess' spell. Offered her own liberation from the Underworld by the powers-that-be, the Princess dolefullly agrees to restore Eurydice to life, and to never have anything to do with Orpheus again. Orpheus has weathered much controversy to take its place among the director's most acclaimed works. Originally released at 112 minutes, the film was whittled down to 95 minutes for its American release.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/30/2011
UPC:	0715515085410
Original Release:	1950
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Language:	English
Time:	1:35:00
Sales rank:	12,476

Special Features

Audio commentary featuring French-film scholar James S. Williams; Jean Cocteau: Autobiography of an Unknown (1984), a feature-length documentary; Jean Cocteau and His Tricks (2008), a video interview with assistant director Claude Pinoteau; 40 Minutes with Jean Cocteau (1957), an interview with the director ; In Seach of Jazz (1956), an interview with Cocteau on the use of jazz in the film; La villa Santo-Sospir (1951), a 16mm color film by Cocteau; Gallery of images by French-film portrait photographer Roger Corbeau; Raw newsreel footage from 1950 of the Saint-Cyr military academy ruins, a locatin used in the film; Theatrical trailer; Plus: a booklet featuring an essay by author Mark Polizzotti, an excerpted article by Cocteau on the film, and an essay on La villa Santo-Sospir by Williams

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jean Marais	Orphée
Maria Déa	Eurydice,Eurydice
María Casares	The Princess,Actor
François Périer	Heurtebise
Juliette Greco	Aglaonice
Edouard Dermit	Cegeste
Henri Cremieux	Friend in Cafe
Pierre Bertin	Police Commissioner
Roger Blin	Writer
Jacques Varennes	Judge
Andre Carnege	Judge
Rene Worms	Judge
Renee Cosima	Bacchante
Jean-Pierre Melville	Hotel Manager
Jean Cocteau	Narrator,Narrator
François Perier	Heurtebise
Claude Mauriac	Actor
Francois Perier	Actor
Maria Dea	Actor
Edouard Dermithe	Actor
Georges Auric	Composer

Technical Credits

Jean Cocteau

Jean Cocteau	Director,Screenwriter
Emil Darbon	Producer

Editorial Reviews

The second of filmmaker Jean Cocteau's films about the myth of Orpheus is the most accessible and well-crafted. The Criterion DVD is the best way to experience the film, especially for cinematographer Nicolas Hayer's noir-ish black-and-white imagery. Jean Marais, usually more a screen icon than persuasive actor, is a bit overwrought as Orpheus, but everyone in the supporting cast is solid, especially Maria Casares as the alluring Princess of Death and Francois Perier as Heurtibise, her lovestruck chauffeur. Cocteau expands on some of the themes he suggested in Blood of a Poet concerning the struggle of the artist to understand his role in the physical world and what death may entail, and he continues to explore his fascination with mirrors as portals between this life and the afterlife. Setting the film in the present allows Cocteau to employ one witty touch: Orpheus sitting in the Princess' Rolls Royce, listening to the car radio, which broadcasts messages from the afterlife.

All Movie Guide - Tom Wiener