Jean Cocteau’s update of the Orpheus myth depicts a famous poet (Jean Marais), scorned by the Left Bank youth, and his love for both his wife, Eurydice (Marie Déa), and a mysterious princess (Maria Casarès). Seeking inspiration, the poet follows the princess from the world of the living to the land of the dead, through Cocteau’s famous mirrored portal. Orpheus’s peerless visual poetry and dreamlike storytelling represent the legendary Cocteau at the height of his powers.
| 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 |
| 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 |
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April 13, 2017
Reflecting on Jean Marais’s performance as the hero in Orpheus, Jean Cocteau once said that the actor “illuminates the film for me with his soul.” At the heart of the visionary auteur’s . . . Read more »
By April 24, 2000
When 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 . . . Read more »
By April 24, 2000
When 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 . . . Read more »
April 13, 2017
Reflecting on Jean Marais’s performance as the hero in Orpheus, Jean Cocteau once said that the actor “illuminates the film for me with his soul.” At the heart of the visionary auteur’s . . . Read more »
By August 30, 2011
Cocteau achieved his goal of poetry on celluloid, and then some, with this ultimate tale of love and death. Read more »
By April 24, 2000
When 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 . . . Read more »
2 Discs
SRP: $29.95
Criterion Store price:$23.96
Black OrpheusMarcel Camus
Les enfants terriblesJean-Pierre Melville
