Orfeu Negro (1959)

Director:

Marcel Camus

Writers:

Marcel Camus (writer)
Jacques Viot (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

21 December 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, set during the time of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.

Plot Keywords:

Dance | Carnival | Trolley | Samba | Latin America

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Breno Mello	...	Orfeo
Marpessa Dawn	...	Eurydice
Marcel Camus	...	Ernesto
Fausto Guerzoni	...	Fausto
Lourdes de Oliveira	...	Mira
Léa Garcia	...	Serafina
Ademar Da Silva	...	Death
Alexandro Constantino	...	Hermes
Waldemar De Souza	...	Chico
Jorge Dos Santos	...	Benedito
Aurino Cassiano	...	Zeca
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maria Alice
Ana Amélia
Elizeth Cardoso
Arlete Costa
Maria de Lourdes
Modesto De Souza
Agostinho dos Santos
Afonso Marinho
Esther Mellinger
Eunice Mendes
Dinorah Miranda
Zeni Pereira
Teresa Santos

Directed by
Marcel Camus

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Marcel Camus		writer
Vinicius de Moraes		play "Orfeu do Carnaval"
Jacques Viot		writer

Produced by
Sacha Gordine	....	producer

Original Music by
Luiz Bonfá
Antonio Carlos Jobim

Cinematography by
Jean Bourgoin

Film Editing by
Andrée Feix

Production Design by
Pierre Guffroy

Production Management
Roberto Bakker	....	assistant production manager
Jacques Gibault	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bartolomeu Andrade	....	assistant director
Robert Mazoyer	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Amaury Leenhardt	....	sound
Raymond Pierre Lemoigne	....	supervising sound editor

Editorial Department
Geneviève Winding	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Silvio Autuori	....	production assistant
Roger Blanché	....	production assistant
Francisco A. Vilela	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Dispat Films
• Gemma
• Tupan Filmes

Distributors

• Lopert Pictures Corporation (1959) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1978) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Criterion Collection, The (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• UFA Film Hansa (1959) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• CBS Video (1981) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• GAGA
• Globo Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Janus Films (????) (worldwide) (VHS)
• MGM/CBS Home Video (1981) (USA) (VHS)
• atlas Film (????) (Germany) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Black Orpheus (USA)
Orfeo negro (Italy)
Orfeu do Carnaval
Orphée noir (France)
A fekete Orfeusz (Hungary) [hu]
Czarny Orfeusz (Poland) [pl]
Musta Orfeus (Finland) [fi]
Orfeo negro (Greece) [el]
Orfeo negro (Spain) [es]
Orfeu negro (West Germany) [de]
Orfeu negro (Sweden) [sv]

Runtime:

100 min | 107 min

Country:

Brazil | France | Italy

Language:

Portuguese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1994) | West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Company:

Dispat Films

Trivia:

Although this won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, ironically it is not terribly well regarded in its native Brazil where some object to the depiction of their country as being a non-stop party.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Benedito: [to Serafina] Serafina, look how beautiful!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Babilônia 2000 (1999)

Soundtrack:

Samba de Orfeo

One of my favorite movies!

This movie dazzles me so much that whenever I'm truly depressed, I can watch it and my mood elevates. It's hard to say what aspect is best: the cinematography is superb (makes you want to take the first plane to Rio), the cast is wonderful, the music is haunting and beautiful, and the Orpheus/Eurydice myth is well suited to the setting in a Rio favela. I've only seen it on video, but I keep hoping it will be revived somewhere so I can catch it on the big screen!