Orphée (1950)

Director:

Jean Cocteau

Writer:

Jean Cocteau (writer)

Release Date:

29 November 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Orphee is a poet who becomes obsessed with Death (the Princess). They fall in love. Orphee's wife, Eurydice...

Plot Keywords:

Underworld | Poet | Death | Reporter | Glove

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Jean Marais	...	Orphée
François Périer	...	Heurtebise
María Casares	...	The Princess - Death
Marie Déa	...	Eurydice
Henri Crémieux	...	L'éditeur
Juliette Gréco	...	Aglaonice
Roger Blin	...	The Poet
Edouard Dermithe	...	Jacques Cégeste
René Worms	...	Judge
Raymond Faure
Pierre Bertin	...	Le commissaire
Jacques Varennes	...	Judge
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
André Carnège	...	Judge
Claude Mauriac

Also Known As:

Orpheus (USA)

Runtime:

95 min | France:112 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Franstudio, rue Francoeur, Paris 18, Paris, France

Company:

Andre Paulve Film

Trivia:

During the making of this film, Cocteau was granted the Legion d'Honneur, one of France's highest citizen honors.

Quotes:

Heurtebise: I am letting you into the secret of all secrets, mirrors are gates through which death comes and goes. Moreover if you see your whole life in a mirror you will see death at work as you see bees behind the glass in a hive.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Angels in America" (2003)

"Astonish us"

Although this is definitely Jean Cocteau up to his old cinematic tricks, Orphee is beyond criticism as it's Art that has stood the test of time. And updated Classical Art at that. Keep your guard up and you won't get it. But drop your guard and it's still an astonishing film, an allegorical atmospheric magical poetic potboiler, and a film I've seen over 10 times over the decades without failing to admire its self-possession and panache.

Orphee is a self-obsessed cult poet, who gets immersed in writing down and publishing the cryptic word gems the Princess of Death's talking car tells him. "The bird sings with its fingers" is especially ridiculously impressive, but of course, all of this was a reference to Resistance methods during the War of disguising their intentions from the Nazis. Allegorical to ... what? During this period his wife Eurydice is murdered by the Princess, who fancies Orphee while Heurtebise her Underworld chauffeur fancies Eurydice. Hem. This is not only a four dimensional, but a multi-dimensional tour de force, travelling back and forth through the worlds of life and death. The intellectual complexities involved can be enormous, you can lose the plot by thinking too deeply about one line of dialogue, or why "Orpheus's Death" is coming through the mirror at night to look at Eurydice. On the other hand, you might view it all as totally ridiculous and pretentious and laugh out loud at some of the scenes - but that only makes you a realist and not a poet. Auric's dreamy music helps a lot, although Passport to Pimlico keeps coming to mind!

Cocteau revisited Orphee later on near the end of his life, but The Testament of Orphee unfortunately really was pretentious even if startlingly different for 1960 - to quote: "his life had decayed, rotten with success". But this is the Real Secret of Secrets - Orphee is an utterly unique treasure, conceived and executed by an irreplaceable talent - and his second best effort too, after Belle et la Bete! Worth the weight of its nitrate stock in gold.