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Black Orpheus

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For other uses, see Black Orpheus (disambiguation).

Black Orpheus (Portuguese: Orfeu Negro [ɔɾˈfew ˈne.ɡɾu]) is a 1959 romantic tragedy[2][3][4][5] film
made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is
based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes, which is itself an adaptation of the Greek
legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in the modern context of a favela in Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval.
The film was an international co-production among production companies in Brazil, France and Italy.

Black Orpheus

BlackOrpheusposter.jpg

Original poster

Portuguese

Orfeu Negro

Directed by

Marcel Camus

Screenplay by

Marcel Camus

Jacques Viot

Based on
Orfeu da Conceição

by Vinicius de Moraes

Produced by

Sacha Gordine

Starring

Breno Mello

Marpessa Dawn

Cinematography

Jean Bourgoin

Edited by

Andrée Feix

Music by

Luiz Bonfá

Antônio Carlos Jobim

Production

companies

Dispat Films (France)

Gemma (Italy)

Tupan Filmes (Brazil)

Distributed by

Lopert Pictures

Release date

12 June 1959 (France)

Running time

107 minutes
Countries

Brazil

France

Italy

Language

Portuguese

Box office

US$750,000[1]

The film is particularly noted 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 de Orfeu"
have become classics of bossa nova. The songs sung by the character Orfeu were dubbed by singer
Agostinho dos Santos.[6]

Lengthy passages of the film were shot in the Morro da Babilônia, a favela in the Leme neighbourhood
of Rio de Janeiro.[7][8]

Plot Edit

A marble Greek bas relief explodes to reveal black men dancing the samba to drums in a favela. Eurydice
(Marpessa Dawn) arrives in Rio de Janeiro, and takes a trolley driven by Orfeu (Breno Mello). New to the
city, she rides to the end of the line, where 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 not very enthusiastic about the upcoming
marriage. The couple 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 who 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 first from Mira, then from 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, although 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 – 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 turns and 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, where his 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 with Eurydice still
in his arms.

Two children, Benedito and Zeca – who have followed Orfeu throughout the film – believe Orfeu's tale
that his guitar playing causes the sun to rise every 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 comes up. A little girl
appears, gives Zeca a single flower, and the three children dance.

Cast Edit

Poster by Helmuth Ellgaard for the German release

Breno Mello as Orfeu

Marpessa Dawn as Eurydice

Marcel Camus as Ernesto

Fausto Guerzoni as Fausto

Lourdes de Oliveira as Mira

Léa Garcia as Serafina

Adhemar da Silva as Death

Alexandro Constantino as Hermes

Waldemar De Souza as Chico

Jorge Dos Santos as Benedito

Aurino Cassiano as Zeca

Notes

Marpessa Dawn was not from Brazil, but from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[9]

Breno Mello was a soccer player with no acting experience at the time he was cast as Orfeu.[10] Mello
was walking on the street in Rio de Janeiro, when director Marcel Camus stopped him and asked if he
would like to be in a film.[11]

Da Silva, the actor who played Death, was a triple jumper who won two Olympic gold medals, in 1952
and 1956.[12]

The role of Zeca was played by Aurino Cassiano, a young musician from a large musical family. With
brother Amaury on cavaquinho and Aurino on pandeiro, they performed in the streets, calling
themselves "Dupla Chuvisco". In 1957, they were invited to perform in a film, Pega Ladrão,[13] and then
Aurino appeared in another, Vai que é Mole.[14] It was during the filming of Vai que é Mole that Marcel
Camus saw Aurino performing on location, and invited him to test for Black Orpheus.[15]

Reception

Influence

Remakes and adaptations

See also

References

External links

Last edited 28 days ago by Citation bot

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