Black Orpheus
Sign in to save1959 film by Marcel Camus
Film · TMDB
7.0Young lovers Orfeu and Eurydice run through the favelas of Rio during Carnaval, on the lam from a hitman dressed like Death and Orfeu's vengeful fiancée Mira and passing between moments of fantasy and stark reality. This impressionistic retelling of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice introduced bossa nova to the world with its soundtrack by young Brazilian composers Luiz Bonfá and Antonio Carlos Jobim.
Released: 1959-06-12100 minDir: Marcel CamusDrama, Romance
Cast
- Breno Mello as Orfeo
- Marpessa Dawn as Eurydice
- Lourdes de Oliveira as Mira
- Léa Garcia as Serafina
- Adhemar Ferreira da Silva as Death
- Waldetar De Souza as Chico
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Ratings · OMDb
IMDb
7.4/10
12,918 votes
Rotten Tomatoes
88%
Metacritic
81/100
- Rated
- PG
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 4 wins & 2 nominations total
via OMDb · IMDb
Key facts
- Portuguese
- Orfeu Negro
- Directed by
- Marcel Camus
- Screenplay by
- Marcel Camus Jacques Viot
- Based on
- Orfeu da Conceição , 1956 play, 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 ( 1959-06-12 ) (France)
- Running time
Key dates
- Published
- 12 June 1959
via Wikidata · CC0
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- film
- Award
- Palme d'Or
- Genre
- comedy film
- Country of origin
- Italy
- Original language
- Portuguese
- Director
- Marcel Camus
- Screenwriter
- Marcel Camus
- Cast member
- Marcel Camus
- Composer
- Antônio Carlos Jobim
- Cinematographer
- Jean Bourgoin
Article
Black Orpheus (Portuguese: Orfeu Negro [ɔhˈfew ˈnegɾu]) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film directed by French filmmaker Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes, which set the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice in a contemporary favela in Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval. The film was an international co-production among companies in Brazil, France and Italy.
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 performed by Orfeu were dubbed by singer Agostinho dos Santos. Lengthy passages of filming took place in the Morro da Babilônia, a favela in the Leme neighbourhood of Rio.