Black Orpheus

Some of the most beautiful cinematography and intense use of color in movies ever. Though the narrative drags at times, the beauty and honesty of some scenes can't fail to capture the esence of the original myth. A joy to watch.

It's 115 degrees outside with 100% humidity, let's dance.

Superfunastic and musicalicious.

A decent adaptation of a classic story, but despite the music and all the carnaval hoopla it never really captivated me.

Beautiful to watch, but overrated by any standard of storytelling.

Black Brazilian culture is shown in all its vibrancy here; the joy of carnival is shown to be a mask for the despair of poverty. No wonder that many Brazilians (I suspect white, wealthy ones) didn't like this film. That said, criticism can be made of the plot contrivances - I enjoyed the creative attempts to match the key beats of the original myth, but doing so killed off the pacing and vigour of the movie.

Images of immense mythic and aesthetic power. Great in its simplicity, genius in its concept. Astonishing location shooting in Rio, fabulous dancing and costumes, and compelling music.

Tropical modernism capped off by a wonderful conclusion.

Every frame is bursting with color and life. One of the most visually beautiful films I've seen. Makes up for the meandering story and spandex man personifying death. Wonderfully charming side characters abound

This really is Carnival in film form; the music, dancing and costumes are fabulous. It looks and sounds superb, all except for the constant shouting (everyone seems unnecessarily hysterical, but then again Hermes does say that "no one can resist the madness!"). It seems likely that Jodorowsky saw this as a young man as the carnivalesque nature of his films (remembering that he is Chilean) is evident in Camus' film. Watching this made me long even more for Orson Welles incomplete "It's All True".

Carnaval! A visual and aural marvel with a near-perfectly executed sense of setting and a wonderfully layered use of diegetic sound. It's a retelling of Orpheus' retrieval of his wife Eurydice from the underworld, and to its credit, the film knows when to stick to the original myth and when to wander off. This film shines brighter in my estimation with every viewing.

The movie makes clever deviations to the Orpheus myth changing the context of various moments to fit the setting in cool ways; albeit, it lacks much of the gravitas and tragic hubris that elevated the original story. I'm also not really big on some of the weird metaphorical shit like how death was personified by a guy in a skeleton suit which takes off the edge of Eurydice's death in the original. Still, it stands on its own with beautiful, well-shot scenery and a lively cast of characters.

Saw this in class. The myth of Orpheus but from the perspective of the Favela. Not bad.

This retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice set in Rio de Janeiro is one of the most joyously colourful and musical films I have ever seen. It's fair to say that at least somebody is dancing in about 95% of the film. The soundtrack is primarily bossa nova by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfá ... music that was set to transform North American jazz after Charlie Byrd visited Brazil the year after this film was released.

All the carnival, music and dance scene's sure do swing, making it a vibrant movie. But they serve very little function for the plot, thereby taking the pacing out of what is a very simple story. Beside while the movie have quasi-documentary/neorealist intentions by setting the story in a real setting, that setting is clearly shown from a Western romanticized view. Which takes away from the intention of showing the real Rio de Janeiro.

Not the good kind of sleep inducing

The ludicrous amount of padding and music really start to become grating after a while. And still, the movie feels rushed. It is fine, but nothing extraordinary.

Lots of colors and carnival music. The story was mess. I've got the symbolism but it did not save much.

A bit overrated. So exotic and drunk in Brazilian music and colors it almost forgets to tell a decent story. Camus also can't quite direct his cast. Last 30 minutes are really powerful, though.

Fabulous music and a vibrant setting make this film go down easily. That said, I couldn't help but wonder if we weren't getting a rather sanitized version of life among the poor, one that focuses purely on celebration and washes right over the deprivation of that world. The classic story is thinly drawn here, and while the bit in the missing person's office is appropriately creepy/despairing, the rest of the film seems to skim the surface of its emotional territory in favor of a good time.

Undoubtedly one of the most vivid films of all time thanks to its exuberant color and its fantastic soundtrack, BLACK ORPHEUS turns a well-known Greek myth into a sensory exaltation. The film's magnificence is tempered by the way it tends to ogle its characters and their culture as exotic fetish objects--there's a scene where a voluptuous bombshell literally sambas into and out of a courthouse--but it's still worth bearing to experience the movie's hedonistic rapture of the senses.

Orpheus adapted to Brazil favelas during carnival. Dancin' niggas in the street, almost musical like. Extremely screechy to me. A strange form of the poverty porn subgenre.

Star Rating: ★★★1/2

very enjoyable. it's good that it didn't take itself too seriously, unlike cocteau's version, because the orpheus legend is very, very stupid. the constant rhythms helped a lot.

the kids! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jnz_c-eskoM#t=73s

#960

I know perfectly well how acclaimed this movie is. I have just never been that impressed with it, not even the much-heralded soundtrack. Believe it or not, the Jim Henson "Storyteller" TV show did a better job with the Orpheus legend IMHO than this or Cocteau's film, and I went through a Greek mythology phase when I was a kid. So sue me :-)

904

4/5

863

isso fede, isso fede, ISSO FEDE!!!!

Score based on distant memory.

Good music.

# 801

Hypnotic and worth watching, but has a cold center at the heart of all the hot emotions.