Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Black Orpheus (Full Screen) [Criterion Collection]
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images

Black Orpheus (Full Screen) [Criterion Collection]

Breno Mello (Actor), Marpessa Dawn (Actor), Marcel Camus (Director) | Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | Format: DVD
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 49.99
Price: CDN$ 44.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
You Save: CDN$ 5.00 (10%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Usually ships within 1 to 2 months.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.
There is a newer version of this item:
Black Orpheus: The Criterion Collection Black Orpheus: The Criterion Collection 4.9 out of 5 stars (35)
Currently unavailable

Frequently Bought Together

Black Orpheus (Full Screen) [Criterion Collection] + The Red Shoes (Criterion) + Black Narcissus (Criterion)
Price For All Three: CDN$ 120.62

Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Show details

Buy the selected items together

  • Usually ships within 1 to 2 months.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details

  • The Red Shoes (Criterion) ~ Anton Walbrook DVD CDN$ 41.24

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details

  • Black Narcissus (Criterion) ~ Deborah Kerr DVD CDN$ 34.39

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

› Explore similar items

Product Details

Product Description

Amazon.ca

Blame it on the bossa nova. French director Marcel Camus created an international sensation, and a craze for all things Brazilian, when he released Black Orpheus in 1959. Black Orpheus, based on a play by Vinicius de Moraes, is a valentine to Rio, Carnaval, and the infectious sounds of salsa and the then-just-emerging sultry bossa nova. When it was released, despite having won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, Black Orpheus had not been widely known, but after it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, audiences worldwide sparked to its joyous cinematography and unforgettable soundtrack. Much as Leonard Bernstein did two years later with Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story, Camus takes a centuries-old tale of love and doom, the Greek legend of Orpheus, and sets it in modern times, against an unforgettable musical backdrop. The actors are all splendid, including Breno Mello making his screen debut as Orfeo, a streetcar conductor musician with an untamed heart. The American-born Marpessa Dawn, who had been acting in France, plays the lovely, innocent Eurydice, who captures Orfeo's heart. Yet the entire cast is unforgettable, including Lourdes de Oliveira as the gorgeous, hot-tempered Mira, Orfeo's intended, and the lit-from-within Léa Garcia as Serafina. Even the young boys who follow Orfeo's every move are winning and natural young actors. But it's Rio itself that takes center stage in Black Orpheus--a place, through Camus's eyes, where even walking through the marketplace or disembarking a ferry is a dance--joyful, intricate, free, full of possibility. As the characters' stories build into the free-for-all climax of Carnaval itself, they encompass life and death, tragedy and comedy, and beautiful, sensual music that will haunt the viewer long after the final scenes.

The new Criterion Collection set features a wealth of extras, including a new digital print that showcases the vibrant colors and textures of Rio and its hillside favelas. Most memorable and impressive are the documentaries on the making of Black Orpheus--especially the mixed feelings, remembered quite bluntly, of playwright de Moraes when he saw the liberties that Camus had taken with his work. There are wonderful short features from the early '60s, while the initial impact of Black Orpheus was still being felt, including a casual interview with Dawn, serene and composed, about the sensation she and her cast members had created. Not to be missed is the feature on the creation of the soundtrack, by jazz historian Ruy Castro, focusing on how Camus chose the music that would define the world's view of Brazil for a generation, with amazing interviews with influential musicians and artists, including Gilberto Gil and Seu Jorge. "The soundtrack was at least as popular as the film," says Gil, and while that may be true, it would be hard to imagine one without the other. --A.T. Hurley

Video Details

1960 Academy Award Winner and winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, Marcel Camus' Black Orpheus retells the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice against the madness of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. With its magnificent color photography and lively soundtrack, this film brought the infectious bossa nova beat to the United States. Criterion is proud to present the extended international version of Black Orpheus in a gorgeous new transfer.

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

 

Customer Reviews

35 Reviews
5 star:
 (32)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (35 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Keeping the for Orpheus alive, July 3 2003
By 
carol crowley (NEW YORK,, NEW YORK United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Black Orpheus (VHS Tape)
When I first saw this movie in 74, I was in my early teens.

I was aware of Africa and its many different people, but I had

no idea (besides African Americans) that there were other

people of African decent, and (who looked like me)spoke a

foreign language. I was filled with even more Black Pride!

In the 80's I purchased a VCR. I inquired to a friend as to

whether I could find Black Orpheus on tape, my friend said "all

movies were on tape now." Ever since then I have had several

copys.I've shared my tapes with everyone, most of the time they

were not returned but thats alright because it meant the

person enjoyed it. Many of my friends and co-workers thought

that they would not enjoy a foreign film but were intriqued by

Black Orpheus.

I would like say in closing that for many years I've searched

for info on the cast of this movie, very little has been found.

A couple of days ago I read that Adhemar da Silva (death) had

died in '01. He was not only an actor but an outstanding Olympic

athelete of the 52-56 games. Between both games he won seven gold

medals in the triple jump. Mr.da Silva was also a lawyer.

Why do we always allow good people to go to the wayside before

we give recognition. I would definitely like to known about the

lives of the surviving actors, especially the children whom are

not that much older than I.

PEACE

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Greatest films Ever Made, April 12 2003
By 
K. Gibson (Oakland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Black Orpheus (Full Screen) [Criterion Collection] (DVD)
This fabulous film is one of the greatest ever made combining three powerful strands of the human experience. First, the basic plot is drawn from the classical Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Second, the film production is basically French drawing on a great tradition of world class, sophisticated cinema. Third, the detail elements of the story are drawn from the cultures of Africa as they were transposed to the new world.

As part of the African diaspora myself, I fell in love with this film as a college student in the 1960's. It was my first visual exposure to the black culture of Brazil. The beautiful skin, the beautiful faces, the beauty of the setting of Rio de Janiero combined to overwhelm my visual sensation, while the incredible lilting sounds of Brazilian speech seduced my aural sensibility and the rythms of samba took my heartbeat to my feet. Twenty years later on the dance floor I realized I could dance samba because I'd seen this film twice, and every time I hear samba I think of this film.

This film does not age, does not need to be remade, has never been surpassed.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A film that you will enjoy, remember, and probably recommend to others..., Jan 8 2007
By 
M. B. Alcat "Curiosity killed the cat, but sa... (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Black Orpheus (Full Screen) [Criterion Collection] (DVD)
This film, directed by Marcel Camus and based on a play written by Brazilian writer Vinicius de Moraes, updates the tragic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, setting that hauntingly beautiful and tragic story in Brazil against the vibrant backdrop provided by the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro.

In "Black Orpheus", Orpheus (Bruno Mello) is a trolley car conductor, a samba dancer and outstanding musician. He is also a womanizer who is being dragged into marriage by his latest girlfriend, Mira (Lourdes de Oliveira). Something unexpected happens, though: Orpheus meets a newcomer to Rio, Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn), and falls in love with her. Eurydice arrived to Rio seeking refuge in the house of her cousin from a stalker that wants to kill her. However, when she meets Orpheus, Eurydice also falls in love with him and his songs.

The story of the two lovers develops during the Carnival, and despite the problems provided by Mira, the discarded girlfriend, and the stalker that frights Eurydice and represents Death. The musical score, composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luis Bonfa, provides an excellent support to the story and adds just the right finishing touch. It is something that along a great plot, a wonderful cast, and a very good director, manages to make this film something that you will enjoy, remember, and probably recommend to others.

I think that this is one of the best films I have seen, and I regret the fact that is not more well-known. Of course, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Belen Alcat
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
› Go to Amazon.com to see all 99 reviews  4.7 out of 5 stars 
 
 		 Most recent customer reviews











Only search this product's reviews


Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject























i.e., each DVD must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Amazon.ca Privacy Statement Amazon.ca Shipping Information Amazon.ca Returns & Exchanges