Black Orpheus
Encyclopedia
Black Orpheus is a 1959 film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus. It is based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes
, which is an adaptation of the Greek legend
of Orpheus
and Eurydice
, setting it in the modern context of a favela
in Rio de Janeiro
during the Carnaval
. The film was an international co-production between production companies
in Brazil, France and Italy.
The film is particularly renowned for its soundtrack by two Brazilian composers: Antônio Carlos Jobim
, whose song "A felicidade" opens the film; and Luiz Bonfá
, whose "Manhã de Carnaval" and "Samba of Orpheus" have become bossa nova
classics.
Black Orpheus won the Palme d'Or
at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival
as well as the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
and the 1960 Golden Globe Award
for Best Foreign Film
(in those awards the film was credited as a French production; only in the 1961 BAFTA Award
for Best Foreign Language Film was Brazil credited together with France and Italy).
Large tracts of the film were shot in the Morro da Babilônia
, a favela in the Leme
neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. In 1999, the film was remade as Orfeu
by Carlos Diegues
, this time with a soundtrack featuring Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso
.
statues that explode to reveal black
men dancing samba
to drums in a favela
. Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn) arrives in Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
and takes a trolley
driven by Orfeu (Breno Mello). New to the city, she rides to the end of the line. Orfeu introduces her to the station guard, Hermes (Alexandro Constantino), who gives her directions to the home of her cousin Serafina (Léa Garcia).
Although engaged to Mira (Lourdes de Oliveira), Orfeu is a playboy and not very enthusiastic about the upcoming marriage. Orfeu and Mira go to get a marriage license. When the clerk at the courthouse hears Orfeu's name, he jokingly asks if Mira is Eurydice, annoying her. Afterward, Mira insists on getting an engagement ring. Though Orfeu has just been paid, he would rather use his money to get his guitar out of the pawn shop for the carnival. Mira finally offers to loan Orfeu the money to buy her ring.
When Orfeu goes home, he is pleased to find Eurydice staying next door with Serafina. Eurydice has run away to Rio to hide from a strange man she believes wants to kill her. The man (Death dressed in a stylized skeleton costume) finds her, but Orfeu gallantly chases him away. Orfeu and Eurydice fall in love, yet are constantly on the run from both Mira and Death. When Serafina's sailor boyfriend Chico (Waldemar De Souza) shows up, Orfeu offers to let Eurydice sleep in his home, while he takes the hammock outside. Eurydice invites him to her bed.
Orfeu, Mira, and Serafina are the principal members of a samba school
, one of many parading during Carnival
. Serafina decides to have Eurydice dress in her costume so that she can spend more time with her sailor. A veil conceals Eurydice's face; only Orfeu is told of the deception. During the parade, Orfeu dances with Eurydice rather than Mira.
Eventually, Mira spots Serafina among the spectators and rips off Eurydice’s veil. Eurydice is forced once again to run for her life from first Mira, then Death. Trapped in Orfeu's own trolley station, she hangs from a power line to get away from Death and is killed accidentally by Orfeu when he turns the power on and electrocutes her. Death tells Orfeu "Now she's mine" before knocking him out.
Distraught, Orfeu looks for Eurydice at the office of Missing Persons, though Hermes has told him she is dead. The building is deserted at night, with only a janitor sweeping up. He tells Orfeu that the place holds only papers and that no people can be found there. Taking pity on Orfeu, the janitor takes him down a large darkened spiral staircase (a reference to the mythical Orpheus' descent into the underworld) and to a Macumba
ritual, a regional form of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé
.
At the gate, there is a dog named Cerberus
, after the three-headed dog of Hades
in Greek mythology. During the ritual, the janitor tells Orfeu to call to his beloved by singing. The spirit of Eurydice inhabits the body of an old woman and speaks to him. Orfeu wants to gaze upon her, but Eurydice begs him not to lest he lose her forever. When he looks anyway, he sees the old woman, and Eurydice's spirit departs (as in the Greek myth).
Orfeu wanders in mourning. He retrieves Eurydice's body from the city morgue and carries her in his arms across town and up the hill toward his home. Orfeu's shack is burning. A vengeful Mira, running amok, flings a stone that hits him in the head and knocks him over a cliff to his death.
Two children, Benedito and Zeca, follow Orfeu around throughout the film. They believe Orfeu's story that his guitar playing causes the sun to rise in the morning. After Orfeu's death, Benedito insists that Zeca pick up the guitar and play so that the sun will rise. Zeca plays, and the sun does rise. A little girl comes by, gives Zeca a single flower and the film ends with the three of them dancing.
Cast notes
as one of his early musical influences. In President Barack Obama
's bestselling memoir
Dreams from My Father
, he notes that it was his mother's favorite film.
Black Orpheus is a 1959 film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus. It is based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes
, which is an adaptation of the Greek legend
of Orpheus
and Eurydice
, setting it in the modern context of a favela
in Rio de Janeiro
during the Carnaval
. The film was an international co-production between production companies
in Brazil, France and Italy.
The film is particularly renowned for its soundtrack by two Brazilian composers: Antônio Carlos Jobim
, whose song "A felicidade" opens the film; and Luiz Bonfá
, whose "Manhã de Carnaval" and "Samba of Orpheus" have become bossa nova
classics.
Black Orpheus won the Palme d'Or
at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival
as well as the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
and the 1960 Golden Globe Award
for Best Foreign Film
(in those awards the film was credited as a French production; only in the 1961 BAFTA Award
for Best Foreign Language Film was Brazil credited together with France and Italy).
Large tracts of the film were shot in the Morro da Babilônia
, a favela in the Leme
neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. In 1999, the film was remade as Orfeu
by Carlos Diegues
, this time with a soundtrack featuring Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso
.
statues that explode to reveal black
men dancing samba
to drums in a favela
. Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn) arrives in Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
and takes a trolley
driven by Orfeu (Breno Mello). New to the city, she rides to the end of the line. Orfeu introduces her to the station guard, Hermes (Alexandro Constantino), who gives her directions to the home of her cousin Serafina (Léa Garcia).
Although engaged to Mira (Lourdes de Oliveira), Orfeu is a playboy and not very enthusiastic about the upcoming marriage. Orfeu and Mira go to get a marriage license. When the clerk at the courthouse hears Orfeu's name, he jokingly asks if Mira is Eurydice, annoying her. Afterward, Mira insists on getting an engagement ring. Though Orfeu has just been paid, he would rather use his money to get his guitar out of the pawn shop for the carnival. Mira finally offers to loan Orfeu the money to buy her ring.
When Orfeu goes home, he is pleased to find Eurydice staying next door with Serafina. Eurydice has run away to Rio to hide from a strange man she believes wants to kill her. The man (Death dressed in a stylized skeleton costume) finds her, but Orfeu gallantly chases him away. Orfeu and Eurydice fall in love, yet are constantly on the run from both Mira and Death. When Serafina's sailor boyfriend Chico (Waldemar De Souza) shows up, Orfeu offers to let Eurydice sleep in his home, while he takes the hammock outside. Eurydice invites him to her bed.
Orfeu, Mira, and Serafina are the principal members of a samba school
, one of many parading during Carnival
. Serafina decides to have Eurydice dress in her costume so that she can spend more time with her sailor. A veil conceals Eurydice's face; only Orfeu is told of the deception. During the parade, Orfeu dances with Eurydice rather than Mira.
Eventually, Mira spots Serafina among the spectators and rips off Eurydice’s veil. Eurydice is forced once again to run for her life from first Mira, then Death. Trapped in Orfeu's own trolley station, she hangs from a power line to get away from Death and is killed accidentally by Orfeu when he turns the power on and electrocutes her. Death tells Orfeu "Now she's mine" before knocking him out.
Distraught, Orfeu looks for Eurydice at the office of Missing Persons, though Hermes has told him she is dead. The building is deserted at night, with only a janitor sweeping up. He tells Orfeu that the place holds only papers and that no people can be found there. Taking pity on Orfeu, the janitor takes him down a large darkened spiral staircase (a reference to the mythical Orpheus' descent into the underworld) and to a Macumba
ritual, a regional form of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé
.
At the gate, there is a dog named Cerberus
, after the three-headed dog of Hades
in Greek mythology. During the ritual, the janitor tells Orfeu to call to his beloved by singing. The spirit of Eurydice inhabits the body of an old woman and speaks to him. Orfeu wants to gaze upon her, but Eurydice begs him not to lest he lose her forever. When he looks anyway, he sees the old woman, and Eurydice's spirit departs (as in the Greek myth).
Orfeu wanders in mourning. He retrieves Eurydice's body from the city morgue and carries her in his arms across town and up the hill toward his home. Orfeu's shack is burning. A vengeful Mira, running amok, flings a stone that hits him in the head and knocks him over a cliff to his death.
Two children, Benedito and Zeca, follow Orfeu around throughout the film. They believe Orfeu's story that his guitar playing causes the sun to rise in the morning. After Orfeu's death, Benedito insists that Zeca pick up the guitar and play so that the sun will rise. Zeca plays, and the sun does rise. A little girl comes by, gives Zeca a single flower and the film ends with the three of them dancing.
Cast notes
as one of his early musical influences. In President Barack Obama
's bestselling memoir
Dreams from My Father
, he notes that it was his mother's favorite film.
Black Orpheus is a 1959 film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus. It is based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes
, which is an adaptation of the Greek legend
of Orpheus
and Eurydice
, setting it in the modern context of a favela
in Rio de Janeiro
during the Carnaval
. The film was an international co-production between production companies
in Brazil, France and Italy.
The film is particularly renowned for its soundtrack by two Brazilian composers: Antônio Carlos Jobim
, whose song "A felicidade" opens the film; and Luiz Bonfá
, whose "Manhã de Carnaval" and "Samba of Orpheus" have become bossa nova
classics.
Black Orpheus won the Palme d'Or
at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival
as well as the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
and the 1960 Golden Globe Award
for Best Foreign Film
(in those awards the film was credited as a French production; only in the 1961 BAFTA Award
for Best Foreign Language Film was Brazil credited together with France and Italy).
Large tracts of the film were shot in the Morro da Babilônia
, a favela in the Leme
neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. In 1999, the film was remade as Orfeu
by Carlos Diegues
, this time with a soundtrack featuring Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso
.
statues that explode to reveal black
men dancing samba
to drums in a favela
. Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn) arrives in Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
and takes a trolley
driven by Orfeu (Breno Mello). New to the city, she rides to the end of the line. Orfeu introduces her to the station guard, Hermes (Alexandro Constantino), who gives her directions to the home of her cousin Serafina (Léa Garcia).
Although engaged to Mira (Lourdes de Oliveira), Orfeu is a playboy and not very enthusiastic about the upcoming marriage. Orfeu and Mira go to get a marriage license. When the clerk at the courthouse hears Orfeu's name, he jokingly asks if Mira is Eurydice, annoying her. Afterward, Mira insists on getting an engagement ring. Though Orfeu has just been paid, he would rather use his money to get his guitar out of the pawn shop for the carnival. Mira finally offers to loan Orfeu the money to buy her ring.
When Orfeu goes home, he is pleased to find Eurydice staying next door with Serafina. Eurydice has run away to Rio to hide from a strange man she believes wants to kill her. The man (Death dressed in a stylized skeleton costume) finds her, but Orfeu gallantly chases him away. Orfeu and Eurydice fall in love, yet are constantly on the run from both Mira and Death. When Serafina's sailor boyfriend Chico (Waldemar De Souza) shows up, Orfeu offers to let Eurydice sleep in his home, while he takes the hammock outside. Eurydice invites him to her bed.
Orfeu, Mira, and Serafina are the principal members of a samba school
, one of many parading during Carnival
. Serafina decides to have Eurydice dress in her costume so that she can spend more time with her sailor. A veil conceals Eurydice's face; only Orfeu is told of the deception. During the parade, Orfeu dances with Eurydice rather than Mira.
Eventually, Mira spots Serafina among the spectators and rips off Eurydice’s veil. Eurydice is forced once again to run for her life from first Mira, then Death. Trapped in Orfeu's own trolley station, she hangs from a power line to get away from Death and is killed accidentally by Orfeu when he turns the power on and electrocutes her. Death tells Orfeu "Now she's mine" before knocking him out.
Distraught, Orfeu looks for Eurydice at the office of Missing Persons, though Hermes has told him she is dead. The building is deserted at night, with only a janitor sweeping up. He tells Orfeu that the place holds only papers and that no people can be found there. Taking pity on Orfeu, the janitor takes him down a large darkened spiral staircase (a reference to the mythical Orpheus' descent into the underworld) and to a Macumba
ritual, a regional form of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé
.
At the gate, there is a dog named Cerberus
, after the three-headed dog of Hades
in Greek mythology. During the ritual, the janitor tells Orfeu to call to his beloved by singing. The spirit of Eurydice inhabits the body of an old woman and speaks to him. Orfeu wants to gaze upon her, but Eurydice begs him not to lest he lose her forever. When he looks anyway, he sees the old woman, and Eurydice's spirit departs (as in the Greek myth).
Orfeu wanders in mourning. He retrieves Eurydice's body from the city morgue and carries her in his arms across town and up the hill toward his home. Orfeu's shack is burning. A vengeful Mira, running amok, flings a stone that hits him in the head and knocks him over a cliff to his death.
Two children, Benedito and Zeca, follow Orfeu around throughout the film. They believe Orfeu's story that his guitar playing causes the sun to rise in the morning. After Orfeu's death, Benedito insists that Zeca pick up the guitar and play so that the sun will rise. Zeca plays, and the sun does rise. A little girl comes by, gives Zeca a single flower and the film ends with the three of them dancing.
Cast notes
as one of his early musical influences. In President Barack Obama
's bestselling memoir
Dreams from My Father
, he notes that it was his mother's favorite film.
Vinicius de Moraes
Marcus Vinicius de Moraes , known as Vinicius de Moraes and nicknamed O Poetinho , was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Son of Lydia Cruz de Moraes and Clodoaldo Pereira da Silva Moraes, he was a seminal figure in contemporary Brazilian music...
, which is an adaptation of the Greek legend
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
of Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
and Eurydice
Eurydice
Eurydice in Greek mythology, was an oak nymph or one of the daughters of Apollo . She was the wife of Orpheus, who loved her dearly; on their wedding day, he played joyful songs as his bride danced through the meadow. One day, a satyr saw and pursued Eurydice, who stepped on a venomous snake,...
, setting it in the modern context of a favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
during the Carnaval
Brazilian Carnival
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Carnival celebrations...
. The film was an international co-production between production companies
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
in Brazil, France and Italy.
The film is particularly renowned for its soundtrack by two Brazilian composers: Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim , also known as Tom Jobim , was a Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist. He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within...
, whose song "A felicidade" opens the film; and Luiz Bonfá
Luiz Bonfá
Luiz Floriano Bonfá was a Brazilian guitarist and composer best known for the compositions he penned for the film Black Orpheus.-Biography:...
, whose "Manhã de Carnaval" and "Samba of Orpheus" have become bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
classics.
Black Orpheus won the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival
1959 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Marcel Achard *Antoni Bohdziewicz *Michael Cacoyannis *Carlos Cuenca *Pierre Daninos *Julien Duvivier *Max Favalelli *Gene Kelly *Carlo Ponti *Micheline Presle...
as well as the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
and the 1960 Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Foreign Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
(in those awards the film was credited as a French production; only in the 1961 BAFTA Award
British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square...
for Best Foreign Language Film was Brazil credited together with France and Italy).
Large tracts of the film were shot in the Morro da Babilônia
Morro da Babilônia
The Morro da Babilônia is a favela in the Leme neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, built on a steep ridge separating Copacabana beach from Botafogo....
, a favela in the Leme
Leme (Rio de Janeiro)
Leme is a neighborhood in the Zona Sul of the City of Rio de Janeiro, next to Copacabana, Urca and Botafogo. The neighborhood takes its name from a nearby rock formation whose shape resembles the rudder of a ship....
neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. In 1999, the film was remade as Orfeu
Orfeu
Orfeu is a 1999 Brazilian film by direct by Carlos Diegues based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes. It retells the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. The film sets this legend in the modern context of Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. This film is also considered to be a much...
by Carlos Diegues
Carlos Diegues
Carlos Diegues, also known as Cacá Diegues, is a Brazilian film director. He is best known as a member of the Cinema Novo movement.-Filmography:* 2010 O Grande Circo Místico...
, this time with a soundtrack featuring Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
.
Plot
The movie opens with images of white GreekGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
statues that explode to reveal black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
men dancing samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
to drums in a favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
. Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn) arrives in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and takes a trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
driven by Orfeu (Breno Mello). New to the city, she rides to the end of the line. Orfeu introduces her to the station guard, Hermes (Alexandro Constantino), who gives her directions to the home of her cousin Serafina (Léa Garcia).
Although engaged to Mira (Lourdes de Oliveira), Orfeu is a playboy and not very enthusiastic about the upcoming marriage. Orfeu and Mira go to get a marriage license. When the clerk at the courthouse hears Orfeu's name, he jokingly asks if Mira is Eurydice, annoying her. Afterward, Mira insists on getting an engagement ring. Though Orfeu has just been paid, he would rather use his money to get his guitar out of the pawn shop for the carnival. Mira finally offers to loan Orfeu the money to buy her ring.
When Orfeu goes home, he is pleased to find Eurydice staying next door with Serafina. Eurydice has run away to Rio to hide from a strange man she believes wants to kill her. The man (Death dressed in a stylized skeleton costume) finds her, but Orfeu gallantly chases him away. Orfeu and Eurydice fall in love, yet are constantly on the run from both Mira and Death. When Serafina's sailor boyfriend Chico (Waldemar De Souza) shows up, Orfeu offers to let Eurydice sleep in his home, while he takes the hammock outside. Eurydice invites him to her bed.
Orfeu, Mira, and Serafina are the principal members of a samba school
Samba school
A samba school is a club or dancing school. They practice and often perform in huge square-compounds devoted to practicing and exhibiting samba, an African-Brazilian dance. The schools are traditionally associated with a particular neighborhood, often shanty towns...
, one of many parading during Carnival
Brazilian Carnival
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Carnival celebrations...
. Serafina decides to have Eurydice dress in her costume so that she can spend more time with her sailor. A veil conceals Eurydice's face; only Orfeu is told of the deception. During the parade, Orfeu dances with Eurydice rather than Mira.
Eventually, Mira spots Serafina among the spectators and rips off Eurydice’s veil. Eurydice is forced once again to run for her life from first Mira, then Death. Trapped in Orfeu's own trolley station, she hangs from a power line to get away from Death and is killed accidentally by Orfeu when he turns the power on and electrocutes her. Death tells Orfeu "Now she's mine" before knocking him out.
Distraught, Orfeu looks for Eurydice at the office of Missing Persons, though Hermes has told him she is dead. The building is deserted at night, with only a janitor sweeping up. He tells Orfeu that the place holds only papers and that no people can be found there. Taking pity on Orfeu, the janitor takes him down a large darkened spiral staircase (a reference to the mythical Orpheus' descent into the underworld) and to a Macumba
Macumba
Macumba is a word of African origins. Various explanations of its meaning include "a musical instrument", the name of a Central African deity, and simply "magic". It was the name used for all Bantu religious practices mainly in Bahia Afro-Brazilian in the 19th Century...
ritual, a regional form of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé
Candomblé
Candomblé is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion, practised chiefly in Brazil by the "povo de santo" . It originated in the cities of Salvador, the capital of Bahia and Cachoeira, at the time one of the main commercial crossroads for the distribution of products and slave trade to...
.
At the gate, there is a dog named Cerberus
Cerberus
Cerberus , or Kerberos, in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound which guards the gates of the Underworld, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping...
, after the three-headed dog of Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
in Greek mythology. During the ritual, the janitor tells Orfeu to call to his beloved by singing. The spirit of Eurydice inhabits the body of an old woman and speaks to him. Orfeu wants to gaze upon her, but Eurydice begs him not to lest he lose her forever. When he looks anyway, he sees the old woman, and Eurydice's spirit departs (as in the Greek myth).
Orfeu wanders in mourning. He retrieves Eurydice's body from the city morgue and carries her in his arms across town and up the hill toward his home. Orfeu's shack is burning. A vengeful Mira, running amok, flings a stone that hits him in the head and knocks him over a cliff to his death.
Two children, Benedito and Zeca, follow Orfeu around throughout the film. They believe Orfeu's story that his guitar playing causes the sun to rise in the morning. After Orfeu's death, Benedito insists that Zeca pick up the guitar and play so that the sun will rise. Zeca plays, and the sun does rise. A little girl comes by, gives Zeca a single flower and the film ends with the three of them dancing.
Cast
- Breno MelloBreno MelloBreno Mello was an athlete and actor.He was born in Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, a state of Southern Brazil. In the beginning of his career, Breno Mello was a soccer player. He played soccer in Gremio and Fluminense, where he met Pelé...
as Orfeu - Marpessa DawnMarpessa DawnMarpessa Dawn , also known as Gypsy Marpessa Dawn Menor was an American-born French actress, singer, and dancer....
as Eurydice - Marcel Camus as Ernesto
- Fausto Guerzoni as Fausto
- Lourdes de Oliveira as Mira
- Léa GarciaLéa GarciaLéa Garcia is a Brazilian actress. She is known for her numerous television and film roles. Her breakout role was in the Oscar winning Black Orpheus, in which she portrayed Serafina, Eurydice's crazy cousin....
as Serafina - Adhemar da SilvaAdhemar da SilvaAdhemar Ferreira da Silva is a former Brazilian athlete who competed in the triple jump. He won two Olympic gold medals and set four world records in athletics, the last being 16.56 metres in 1955 Pan American Games.He was born in São Paulo, in a poor family, and began competing in the triple jump...
as Death - Alexandro Constantino as Hermes
- Waldemar De Souza as Chico
- Jorge Dos Santos as Benedito
- Aurino Cassiano as Zeca
Cast notes
- Marpessa Dawn was not from Brazil, but rather Pittsburgh.
- Da Silva, the actor who played Death, was a triple jumpTriple jumpThe triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...
er who won two Olympic gold medals, in 1952 and 1956. - A young boy who dances across the screen playing a pandeiroPandeiroThe pandeiro is a type of hand frame drum.There are two important distinctions between a pandeiro and the common tambourine. The tension of the head on the pandeiro can be tuned, allowing the player a choice of high and low notes...
grew up to win a national pandeiro-playing contest and play his instrument around the world. Currently, Carlinhos Pandeiro de OuroCarlinhos Pandeiro de Ourothumb|alt=Alt text|Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro, a Brazilian of African and Portuguese descent, is a percussionist best known for playing the pandeiro, and is one of the instrument's major proponents....
teaches in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and at California Brazil Camp.
Influence
Black Orpheus was cited by Jean-Michel BasquiatJean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting.-Early life:...
as one of his early musical influences. In President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's bestselling memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
Dreams from My Father
Dreams from My Father
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance is a memoir by United States President Barack Obama. It was first published in July 1995 as he was preparing to launch his political career, five years after being elected the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review in...
, he notes that it was his mother's favorite film.
See also
- List of submissions to the 32nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of French submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
External links
- Criterion Collection essay by David Ehrenstein
- Culture Vulture review of Black Orpheus
- Orfeu Negro new production web site
Black Orpheus is a 1959 film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus. It is based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes
Vinicius de Moraes
Marcus Vinicius de Moraes , known as Vinicius de Moraes and nicknamed O Poetinho , was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Son of Lydia Cruz de Moraes and Clodoaldo Pereira da Silva Moraes, he was a seminal figure in contemporary Brazilian music...
, which is an adaptation of the Greek legend
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
of Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
and Eurydice
Eurydice
Eurydice in Greek mythology, was an oak nymph or one of the daughters of Apollo . She was the wife of Orpheus, who loved her dearly; on their wedding day, he played joyful songs as his bride danced through the meadow. One day, a satyr saw and pursued Eurydice, who stepped on a venomous snake,...
, setting it in the modern context of a favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
during the Carnaval
Brazilian Carnival
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Carnival celebrations...
. The film was an international co-production between production companies
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
in Brazil, France and Italy.
The film is particularly renowned for its soundtrack by two Brazilian composers: Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim , also known as Tom Jobim , was a Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist. He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within...
, whose song "A felicidade" opens the film; and Luiz Bonfá
Luiz Bonfá
Luiz Floriano Bonfá was a Brazilian guitarist and composer best known for the compositions he penned for the film Black Orpheus.-Biography:...
, whose "Manhã de Carnaval" and "Samba of Orpheus" have become bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
classics.
Black Orpheus won the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival
1959 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Marcel Achard *Antoni Bohdziewicz *Michael Cacoyannis *Carlos Cuenca *Pierre Daninos *Julien Duvivier *Max Favalelli *Gene Kelly *Carlo Ponti *Micheline Presle...
as well as the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
and the 1960 Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Foreign Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
(in those awards the film was credited as a French production; only in the 1961 BAFTA Award
British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square...
for Best Foreign Language Film was Brazil credited together with France and Italy).
Large tracts of the film were shot in the Morro da Babilônia
Morro da Babilônia
The Morro da Babilônia is a favela in the Leme neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, built on a steep ridge separating Copacabana beach from Botafogo....
, a favela in the Leme
Leme (Rio de Janeiro)
Leme is a neighborhood in the Zona Sul of the City of Rio de Janeiro, next to Copacabana, Urca and Botafogo. The neighborhood takes its name from a nearby rock formation whose shape resembles the rudder of a ship....
neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. In 1999, the film was remade as Orfeu
Orfeu
Orfeu is a 1999 Brazilian film by direct by Carlos Diegues based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes. It retells the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. The film sets this legend in the modern context of Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. This film is also considered to be a much...
by Carlos Diegues
Carlos Diegues
Carlos Diegues, also known as Cacá Diegues, is a Brazilian film director. He is best known as a member of the Cinema Novo movement.-Filmography:* 2010 O Grande Circo Místico...
, this time with a soundtrack featuring Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
.
Plot
The movie opens with images of white GreekGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
statues that explode to reveal black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
men dancing samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
to drums in a favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
. Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn) arrives in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and takes a trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
driven by Orfeu (Breno Mello). New to the city, she rides to the end of the line. Orfeu introduces her to the station guard, Hermes (Alexandro Constantino), who gives her directions to the home of her cousin Serafina (Léa Garcia).
Although engaged to Mira (Lourdes de Oliveira), Orfeu is a playboy and not very enthusiastic about the upcoming marriage. Orfeu and Mira go to get a marriage license. When the clerk at the courthouse hears Orfeu's name, he jokingly asks if Mira is Eurydice, annoying her. Afterward, Mira insists on getting an engagement ring. Though Orfeu has just been paid, he would rather use his money to get his guitar out of the pawn shop for the carnival. Mira finally offers to loan Orfeu the money to buy her ring.
When Orfeu goes home, he is pleased to find Eurydice staying next door with Serafina. Eurydice has run away to Rio to hide from a strange man she believes wants to kill her. The man (Death dressed in a stylized skeleton costume) finds her, but Orfeu gallantly chases him away. Orfeu and Eurydice fall in love, yet are constantly on the run from both Mira and Death. When Serafina's sailor boyfriend Chico (Waldemar De Souza) shows up, Orfeu offers to let Eurydice sleep in his home, while he takes the hammock outside. Eurydice invites him to her bed.
Orfeu, Mira, and Serafina are the principal members of a samba school
Samba school
A samba school is a club or dancing school. They practice and often perform in huge square-compounds devoted to practicing and exhibiting samba, an African-Brazilian dance. The schools are traditionally associated with a particular neighborhood, often shanty towns...
, one of many parading during Carnival
Brazilian Carnival
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Carnival celebrations...
. Serafina decides to have Eurydice dress in her costume so that she can spend more time with her sailor. A veil conceals Eurydice's face; only Orfeu is told of the deception. During the parade, Orfeu dances with Eurydice rather than Mira.
Eventually, Mira spots Serafina among the spectators and rips off Eurydice’s veil. Eurydice is forced once again to run for her life from first Mira, then Death. Trapped in Orfeu's own trolley station, she hangs from a power line to get away from Death and is killed accidentally by Orfeu when he turns the power on and electrocutes her. Death tells Orfeu "Now she's mine" before knocking him out.
Distraught, Orfeu looks for Eurydice at the office of Missing Persons, though Hermes has told him she is dead. The building is deserted at night, with only a janitor sweeping up. He tells Orfeu that the place holds only papers and that no people can be found there. Taking pity on Orfeu, the janitor takes him down a large darkened spiral staircase (a reference to the mythical Orpheus' descent into the underworld) and to a Macumba
Macumba
Macumba is a word of African origins. Various explanations of its meaning include "a musical instrument", the name of a Central African deity, and simply "magic". It was the name used for all Bantu religious practices mainly in Bahia Afro-Brazilian in the 19th Century...
ritual, a regional form of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé
Candomblé
Candomblé is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion, practised chiefly in Brazil by the "povo de santo" . It originated in the cities of Salvador, the capital of Bahia and Cachoeira, at the time one of the main commercial crossroads for the distribution of products and slave trade to...
.
At the gate, there is a dog named Cerberus
Cerberus
Cerberus , or Kerberos, in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound which guards the gates of the Underworld, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping...
, after the three-headed dog of Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
in Greek mythology. During the ritual, the janitor tells Orfeu to call to his beloved by singing. The spirit of Eurydice inhabits the body of an old woman and speaks to him. Orfeu wants to gaze upon her, but Eurydice begs him not to lest he lose her forever. When he looks anyway, he sees the old woman, and Eurydice's spirit departs (as in the Greek myth).
Orfeu wanders in mourning. He retrieves Eurydice's body from the city morgue and carries her in his arms across town and up the hill toward his home. Orfeu's shack is burning. A vengeful Mira, running amok, flings a stone that hits him in the head and knocks him over a cliff to his death.
Two children, Benedito and Zeca, follow Orfeu around throughout the film. They believe Orfeu's story that his guitar playing causes the sun to rise in the morning. After Orfeu's death, Benedito insists that Zeca pick up the guitar and play so that the sun will rise. Zeca plays, and the sun does rise. A little girl comes by, gives Zeca a single flower and the film ends with the three of them dancing.
Cast
- Breno MelloBreno MelloBreno Mello was an athlete and actor.He was born in Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, a state of Southern Brazil. In the beginning of his career, Breno Mello was a soccer player. He played soccer in Gremio and Fluminense, where he met Pelé...
as Orfeu - Marpessa DawnMarpessa DawnMarpessa Dawn , also known as Gypsy Marpessa Dawn Menor was an American-born French actress, singer, and dancer....
as Eurydice - Marcel Camus as Ernesto
- Fausto Guerzoni as Fausto
- Lourdes de Oliveira as Mira
- Léa GarciaLéa GarciaLéa Garcia is a Brazilian actress. She is known for her numerous television and film roles. Her breakout role was in the Oscar winning Black Orpheus, in which she portrayed Serafina, Eurydice's crazy cousin....
as Serafina - Adhemar da SilvaAdhemar da SilvaAdhemar Ferreira da Silva is a former Brazilian athlete who competed in the triple jump. He won two Olympic gold medals and set four world records in athletics, the last being 16.56 metres in 1955 Pan American Games.He was born in São Paulo, in a poor family, and began competing in the triple jump...
as Death - Alexandro Constantino as Hermes
- Waldemar De Souza as Chico
- Jorge Dos Santos as Benedito
- Aurino Cassiano as Zeca
Cast notes
- Marpessa Dawn was not from Brazil, but rather Pittsburgh.
- Da Silva, the actor who played Death, was a triple jumpTriple jumpThe triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...
er who won two Olympic gold medals, in 1952 and 1956. - A young boy who dances across the screen playing a pandeiroPandeiroThe pandeiro is a type of hand frame drum.There are two important distinctions between a pandeiro and the common tambourine. The tension of the head on the pandeiro can be tuned, allowing the player a choice of high and low notes...
grew up to win a national pandeiro-playing contest and play his instrument around the world. Currently, Carlinhos Pandeiro de OuroCarlinhos Pandeiro de Ourothumb|alt=Alt text|Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro, a Brazilian of African and Portuguese descent, is a percussionist best known for playing the pandeiro, and is one of the instrument's major proponents....
teaches in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and at California Brazil Camp.
Influence
Black Orpheus was cited by Jean-Michel BasquiatJean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting.-Early life:...
as one of his early musical influences. In President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's bestselling memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
Dreams from My Father
Dreams from My Father
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance is a memoir by United States President Barack Obama. It was first published in July 1995 as he was preparing to launch his political career, five years after being elected the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review in...
, he notes that it was his mother's favorite film.
See also
- List of submissions to the 32nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of French submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
External links
- Criterion Collection essay by David Ehrenstein
- Culture Vulture review of Black Orpheus
- Orfeu Negro new production web site
Black Orpheus is a 1959 film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus. It is based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes
Vinicius de Moraes
Marcus Vinicius de Moraes , known as Vinicius de Moraes and nicknamed O Poetinho , was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Son of Lydia Cruz de Moraes and Clodoaldo Pereira da Silva Moraes, he was a seminal figure in contemporary Brazilian music...
, which is an adaptation of the Greek legend
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
of Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
and Eurydice
Eurydice
Eurydice in Greek mythology, was an oak nymph or one of the daughters of Apollo . She was the wife of Orpheus, who loved her dearly; on their wedding day, he played joyful songs as his bride danced through the meadow. One day, a satyr saw and pursued Eurydice, who stepped on a venomous snake,...
, setting it in the modern context of a favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
during the Carnaval
Brazilian Carnival
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Carnival celebrations...
. The film was an international co-production between production companies
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
in Brazil, France and Italy.
The film is particularly renowned for its soundtrack by two Brazilian composers: Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim , also known as Tom Jobim , was a Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist. He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within...
, whose song "A felicidade" opens the film; and Luiz Bonfá
Luiz Bonfá
Luiz Floriano Bonfá was a Brazilian guitarist and composer best known for the compositions he penned for the film Black Orpheus.-Biography:...
, whose "Manhã de Carnaval" and "Samba of Orpheus" have become bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
classics.
Black Orpheus won the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival
1959 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Marcel Achard *Antoni Bohdziewicz *Michael Cacoyannis *Carlos Cuenca *Pierre Daninos *Julien Duvivier *Max Favalelli *Gene Kelly *Carlo Ponti *Micheline Presle...
as well as the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
and the 1960 Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Foreign Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
(in those awards the film was credited as a French production; only in the 1961 BAFTA Award
British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square...
for Best Foreign Language Film was Brazil credited together with France and Italy).
Large tracts of the film were shot in the Morro da Babilônia
Morro da Babilônia
The Morro da Babilônia is a favela in the Leme neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, built on a steep ridge separating Copacabana beach from Botafogo....
, a favela in the Leme
Leme (Rio de Janeiro)
Leme is a neighborhood in the Zona Sul of the City of Rio de Janeiro, next to Copacabana, Urca and Botafogo. The neighborhood takes its name from a nearby rock formation whose shape resembles the rudder of a ship....
neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. In 1999, the film was remade as Orfeu
Orfeu
Orfeu is a 1999 Brazilian film by direct by Carlos Diegues based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes. It retells the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. The film sets this legend in the modern context of Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. This film is also considered to be a much...
by Carlos Diegues
Carlos Diegues
Carlos Diegues, also known as Cacá Diegues, is a Brazilian film director. He is best known as a member of the Cinema Novo movement.-Filmography:* 2010 O Grande Circo Místico...
, this time with a soundtrack featuring Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
.
Plot
The movie opens with images of white GreekGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
statues that explode to reveal black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
men dancing samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
to drums in a favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
. Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn) arrives in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and takes a trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
driven by Orfeu (Breno Mello). New to the city, she rides to the end of the line. Orfeu introduces her to the station guard, Hermes (Alexandro Constantino), who gives her directions to the home of her cousin Serafina (Léa Garcia).
Although engaged to Mira (Lourdes de Oliveira), Orfeu is a playboy and not very enthusiastic about the upcoming marriage. Orfeu and Mira go to get a marriage license. When the clerk at the courthouse hears Orfeu's name, he jokingly asks if Mira is Eurydice, annoying her. Afterward, Mira insists on getting an engagement ring. Though Orfeu has just been paid, he would rather use his money to get his guitar out of the pawn shop for the carnival. Mira finally offers to loan Orfeu the money to buy her ring.
When Orfeu goes home, he is pleased to find Eurydice staying next door with Serafina. Eurydice has run away to Rio to hide from a strange man she believes wants to kill her. The man (Death dressed in a stylized skeleton costume) finds her, but Orfeu gallantly chases him away. Orfeu and Eurydice fall in love, yet are constantly on the run from both Mira and Death. When Serafina's sailor boyfriend Chico (Waldemar De Souza) shows up, Orfeu offers to let Eurydice sleep in his home, while he takes the hammock outside. Eurydice invites him to her bed.
Orfeu, Mira, and Serafina are the principal members of a samba school
Samba school
A samba school is a club or dancing school. They practice and often perform in huge square-compounds devoted to practicing and exhibiting samba, an African-Brazilian dance. The schools are traditionally associated with a particular neighborhood, often shanty towns...
, one of many parading during Carnival
Brazilian Carnival
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Carnival celebrations...
. Serafina decides to have Eurydice dress in her costume so that she can spend more time with her sailor. A veil conceals Eurydice's face; only Orfeu is told of the deception. During the parade, Orfeu dances with Eurydice rather than Mira.
Eventually, Mira spots Serafina among the spectators and rips off Eurydice’s veil. Eurydice is forced once again to run for her life from first Mira, then Death. Trapped in Orfeu's own trolley station, she hangs from a power line to get away from Death and is killed accidentally by Orfeu when he turns the power on and electrocutes her. Death tells Orfeu "Now she's mine" before knocking him out.
Distraught, Orfeu looks for Eurydice at the office of Missing Persons, though Hermes has told him she is dead. The building is deserted at night, with only a janitor sweeping up. He tells Orfeu that the place holds only papers and that no people can be found there. Taking pity on Orfeu, the janitor takes him down a large darkened spiral staircase (a reference to the mythical Orpheus' descent into the underworld) and to a Macumba
Macumba
Macumba is a word of African origins. Various explanations of its meaning include "a musical instrument", the name of a Central African deity, and simply "magic". It was the name used for all Bantu religious practices mainly in Bahia Afro-Brazilian in the 19th Century...
ritual, a regional form of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé
Candomblé
Candomblé is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion, practised chiefly in Brazil by the "povo de santo" . It originated in the cities of Salvador, the capital of Bahia and Cachoeira, at the time one of the main commercial crossroads for the distribution of products and slave trade to...
.
At the gate, there is a dog named Cerberus
Cerberus
Cerberus , or Kerberos, in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound which guards the gates of the Underworld, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping...
, after the three-headed dog of Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
in Greek mythology. During the ritual, the janitor tells Orfeu to call to his beloved by singing. The spirit of Eurydice inhabits the body of an old woman and speaks to him. Orfeu wants to gaze upon her, but Eurydice begs him not to lest he lose her forever. When he looks anyway, he sees the old woman, and Eurydice's spirit departs (as in the Greek myth).
Orfeu wanders in mourning. He retrieves Eurydice's body from the city morgue and carries her in his arms across town and up the hill toward his home. Orfeu's shack is burning. A vengeful Mira, running amok, flings a stone that hits him in the head and knocks him over a cliff to his death.
Two children, Benedito and Zeca, follow Orfeu around throughout the film. They believe Orfeu's story that his guitar playing causes the sun to rise in the morning. After Orfeu's death, Benedito insists that Zeca pick up the guitar and play so that the sun will rise. Zeca plays, and the sun does rise. A little girl comes by, gives Zeca a single flower and the film ends with the three of them dancing.
Cast
- Breno MelloBreno MelloBreno Mello was an athlete and actor.He was born in Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, a state of Southern Brazil. In the beginning of his career, Breno Mello was a soccer player. He played soccer in Gremio and Fluminense, where he met Pelé...
as Orfeu - Marpessa DawnMarpessa DawnMarpessa Dawn , also known as Gypsy Marpessa Dawn Menor was an American-born French actress, singer, and dancer....
as Eurydice - Marcel Camus as Ernesto
- Fausto Guerzoni as Fausto
- Lourdes de Oliveira as Mira
- Léa GarciaLéa GarciaLéa Garcia is a Brazilian actress. She is known for her numerous television and film roles. Her breakout role was in the Oscar winning Black Orpheus, in which she portrayed Serafina, Eurydice's crazy cousin....
as Serafina - Adhemar da SilvaAdhemar da SilvaAdhemar Ferreira da Silva is a former Brazilian athlete who competed in the triple jump. He won two Olympic gold medals and set four world records in athletics, the last being 16.56 metres in 1955 Pan American Games.He was born in São Paulo, in a poor family, and began competing in the triple jump...
as Death - Alexandro Constantino as Hermes
- Waldemar De Souza as Chico
- Jorge Dos Santos as Benedito
- Aurino Cassiano as Zeca
Cast notes
- Marpessa Dawn was not from Brazil, but rather Pittsburgh.
- Da Silva, the actor who played Death, was a triple jumpTriple jumpThe triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...
er who won two Olympic gold medals, in 1952 and 1956. - A young boy who dances across the screen playing a pandeiroPandeiroThe pandeiro is a type of hand frame drum.There are two important distinctions between a pandeiro and the common tambourine. The tension of the head on the pandeiro can be tuned, allowing the player a choice of high and low notes...
grew up to win a national pandeiro-playing contest and play his instrument around the world. Currently, Carlinhos Pandeiro de OuroCarlinhos Pandeiro de Ourothumb|alt=Alt text|Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro, a Brazilian of African and Portuguese descent, is a percussionist best known for playing the pandeiro, and is one of the instrument's major proponents....
teaches in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and at California Brazil Camp.
Influence
Black Orpheus was cited by Jean-Michel BasquiatJean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting.-Early life:...
as one of his early musical influences. In President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's bestselling memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
Dreams from My Father
Dreams from My Father
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance is a memoir by United States President Barack Obama. It was first published in July 1995 as he was preparing to launch his political career, five years after being elected the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review in...
, he notes that it was his mother's favorite film.
See also
- List of submissions to the 32nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of French submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film