Synopsis
Jean Cocteau’s 1940s update of the Orphic myth depicts Orpheus (Jean Marais), a famous poet scorned by the Left Bank youth, and his love for both his wife Eurydice (Marie Déa) and the mysterious Princess (Maria Casarès). Seeking inspiration, the poet follows the Princess from the world of the living to the land of the deceased through Cocteau’s trademark “mirrored portal.” As the myth unfolds, the director’s visually poetic style pulls the audience into realms both real and imagined in this, the centerpiece to his Orphic Trilogy.
Cast
| Orpheus | Jean Marais |
| Heurtebise | François Périer |
| The princess | María Casares |
| Eurydice | Marie Déa |
| The man | Henri Crémieux |
| Aglaonice | Juliette Gréco |
| Writer | Roger Blin |
| Cégeste | Edouard Dermithe |
| The inspector | Pierre Bertin |
| First judge | Jacques Varennes |
| Hotel manager | Jean-Pierre Melville |
Credits
| Director | Jean Cocteau |
| Written and directed by | Jean Cocteau |
| Producer | André Paulvé |
| Production manager | Émile Darbon |
| Editing | Jacqueline Sadoul |
| Sound | Calvet |
| Makeup | A. Marcus |
| Costumes | Marcel Escoffier |
| Sets | Jean d'Eaubonne |
| Cinematography | Nicolas Hayer |
| Music | Georges Auric |
Disc Features
- New transfer, with digitally restored image and sound
- New English subtitle translation
- Cocteau’s 1950 essays on the film
- A Cocteau bibliofilmography
From the Current
Orpheus
by Apr 24, 2000When I make a film, it is a sleep in which I am dreaming. Only the people and places of the dream matter. I have difficulty making contact with others, as one does when half-asleep. If a person is asleep and someone else comes into the sleeper’s room, this other person does not exist. He or she...
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