It must have taken a certain boldness to attempt another version of the Orpheus myth so soon – only eight years – after Jean Cocteau's beautiful filmed dream. But then, everything about Black Orpheus is bold. The colours and the music almost jump out of the screen and Marcel Camus tells the tale with the broadest brushstrokes.
The story is relocated to contemporary Brazil, albeit a Brazil where men and women are named after Greek myths with which they aren't familiar. Orpheus (Mello), the best singer and dancer around, is gearing up for Mardi Gras when he falls for Eurydice (Dawn), a young woman from the country. But she's been followed to the city by a violent stalker and his carnival costume is that of death himself.
Camus plays things on a less metaphysical plain than Cocteau, preferring to draw his imagery from the explosions of freedom that characterise Brazilian Mardi Gras, where folk behave with altogether less decorum than do the British on pancake day. There are masks in abundance and an inventive use of location too, with a deserted government building doubling for the land of the dead.
It's this spectacle that is the director's greatest achievement. The first two thirds of the film are utterly brazen, driven along by propulsive rhythms and sweaty eroticism. Whole reels are taken up with people dancing, beautifully and unselfconsciously. The film has been credited with bringing Latin American music to European notice and it's certainly hard not to swayed by the insistent beats and undercurrents of s-e-x.
Of course, there's always a danger with pictures like this that the 'exotic' elements will be overplayed and the film collapse into picturesque banality, a travelogue for complacent Europeans. Yet the carnival elements are so well integrated into the story that the characters are never eclipsed. And any story robust enough to last 2,500 years – or maybe more, in Orpheus's case – isn't easily diminished. Sure enough, once Orpheus starts searching for Eurydice, a powerful emotional dynamic takes over.
Scrubbed up and looking its best for this new DVD, Black Orpheus stands proud – boldly even – as a masterpiece of musical cinema.
Making a huge impact on its release, Marcel Camus’ Oscar, Golden Globe and Palm D’Or winning film retells the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice against the vibrant backdrop of the Rio carnival. The infectious soundtrack by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfa is credited with bringing the bossa nova sound to a world-wide audience and in this new transfer, featuring the extended version of the film, full justice is done to the glorious colour photography. Black Orpheus remains as fresh and intoxicating today as it was when it thrilled audiences at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival. Combining innocence with lushly metaphorical imagery, this is doomed love at its most entrancing.
