Orphée (1950)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

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.

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 16

2:00 AM

TCM

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
Philippe Bordier	...	Young Man at Café des Poètes (uncredited)
Claude Borelli	...	Une bacchante (uncredited)
Jean Cocteau	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Renée Cosima	...	Une bacchante (uncredited)
Jacques Doniol-Valcroze	...	Young Man at Café des Poètes (uncredited)
René Lacourt	...	Postman (uncredited)
Julien Maffre	...	Un agent de police (uncredited)
Jean-Pierre Melville	...	Le directeur de l'hôtel (uncredited)
Jean-Pierre Mocky	...	Le chef de bande (uncredited)
Henri San Juan	...	Young Man at Café des Poètes (uncredited)
Victor Tabournot	...	Young Man at Café des Poètes (uncredited)

Directed by
Jean Cocteau

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean Cocteau		writer

Produced by
André Paulvé	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Georges Auric

Cinematography by
Nicolas Hayer

Film Editing by
Jacqueline Sadoul		(as J. Sadoul)

Production Design by
Jean d'Eaubonne		(as D'Eaubonne)

Set Decoration by
Albert Volper		(as A. Volper)

Costume Design by
Marcel Escoffier

Makeup Department
Alexandre Marcus	....	makeup artist (as A. Marcus)

Production Management
Émile Darbon	....	production manager
Jean-Marie Loutrel	....	unit manager (as J. Loutrel)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Claude Pinoteau	....	assistant director (as C. Pinoteau)

Art Department
Alfred Marpaux	....	assistant production designer (as Marpeaux)

Sound Department
Pierre-Louis Calvet	....	sound (as Calvet)

Camera and Electrical Department
Roger Corbeau	....	still photographer (as R. Corbeau)
Noël Martin	....	camera operator (as N. Martin)

Editorial Department
Hélène Basté	....	assistant film editor (as H. Baste)

Music Department
Jacques Métehen	....	conductor (as Jacques Météhen)

Other crew
Sylvette Baudrot	....	script assistant
Claude Pinoteau	....	technical advisor
Claude Vériat	....	script supervisor (as C. Vériat)

Thanks
Christian Bérard	....	film dedicated to

Production Companies

• Andre Paulve Film
• Films du Palais Royal

Distributors

• DisCina (1950) (France) (theatrical)
• DisCina International (1950) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Oefram Filmgesellschaft (1951) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (video)
• Home Vision Cinema (USA) (VHS)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2007) (New Zealand) (DVD)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• RTL Film Klub (2004) (Hungary) (DVD)
• René Chateau Video (????) (France) (DVD)
• René Chateau Video (????) (France) (VHS)
• Sultan Video (video)
• Video Yesteryear (video)

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)

Surreal and Poetic

This film is an updating of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The film updates the action to post-war France, with Orpheus (played by Jean Marais) a famous but dis-satisfied poet.

The film focuses on the themes of love and death. Most notably Orpheus falling in love with a glamorous incarnation of Death (Maria Casares).

Writer-director Jean Cocteau turns the everyday world into a magical realm. Mirrors turn to pools which are portals to other worlds, car radios pick up coded messages from Death's World. In less talented hands than Cocteau's, the delicate fantasy could have easily become ridiculous but he handles it with brilliance and the film works perfectly.

Here Cocteau creates a truly poetic film. The story is magical and entertaining and the film is filled with wonderously surreal images (particularly striking is the frequent use of filming an action performed backwards, and then reversing it which creates a very strange impression).