Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Black Orpheus Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 27, 2010

Winner of the prestigious Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival and Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Marcel Camus' "Orfeu Negro" a.k.a "Black Orpheus" (1959) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental feature on the disc include an interview with Marcel Camus recorded at the Cannes Film Festival; rare interview with actress Marpessa Dawn; interview with Brazilian film scholar Robert Stam; interview with jazz historian Gary Giddins and Brazilian author Ruy Castro; Rene Letzgus and Bernard Tournois' feature-length documentary "Looking for Black Orpheus"; and original theatrical trailer. The disc also arrives with a 20-page illustrated booklet. In Portuguese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Eurydice and Orfeo

Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn), a beautiful girl from the countryside, arrives in Rio de Janeiro to stay with her cousin Serafina (Lea Garcia). She meets Orfeo (Breno Mello), a tram conductor, who is already in a relationship with Mira (Lourdes de Oliveira), a wild and outspoken girl who desperately wants to marry him.

In his spare time Orfeo plays the guitar. He is so good that some of the local kids believe his music makes the sun rise each morning. When Eurydice hears Orfeo play, she immediately falls in love with him. Later on, when Mira learns that Eurydice and Orfeo have been spending time together, she goes berserk.

Everyone in Rio de Janeiro is getting ready for the Carnival. Mira has bought a beautiful dress hoping to impress Orfeo. Eurydice, who has never before been at the Carnival, does not have one, but Serafina lets her have her dress so that she could join the festivities and be with Orfeo.

The Carnival begins. Dressed as the Queen of Night with her face covered by a veil, Eurydice dances with Orfeo. When Mira sees them together she assumes that the Queen of Night is Serafina.

A man (Ademar Da Silva) dressed as Death, who has apparently followed Eurydice from her village to Rio de Janeiro, appears and she immediately runs away; Orfeo loses her. Eurydice hides in a deserted tram terminus, hoping that Orfeo will find her and chase Death away.

Based on Vinicius de Moraes' play "Orfeu do Carnaval", French director Marcel Camus’ Black Orpheus is a very important film for a number of different reasons. It popularized Brazilian culture and specifically bossa nova in a distinctively European manner - retelling the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. It also introduced an image of Brazil, one of a country proud of its black heritage, which before the film won the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival was actually very unpopular amongst Brazilian political leaders.

Black Orpheus also introduced the world to the Carnival. The music, the dances, the atmosphere of the Carnival fascinated those who saw Black Orpheus around the world. Interestingly enough, while many non-Brazilians embraced Black Orpheus as a realistic portrait of Brazil and the Carnival, most Brazilians dismissed it as a flawed film, unjustifiably romanticizing favela life.

Technically, Black Orpheus is certainly a remarkable achievement, one whose authenticity cannot be critiqued. The Carnival images from the streets of Rio de Janeiro, for instance, buzz with incredible energy and overflow with beautiful colors. Orfeo’s trip to the underworld (Rio de Janeiro’s Missing Persons Department) is also very well done.

Black Orhpeus, however, is probably most famous for its intoxicating soundtrack. It features such bossa nova classics as Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes’ "A Felicidate" and Luiz Bonfa’s "Manha De Carnaval". The soundtrack became such a big hit in the United States that it inspired jazz legends Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd to record their Jazz Samba, which officially started the samba craze.

Note: In 1959, Black Orpheus won the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival. A year later, the film also won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Black Orpheus Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Marcel Camus' Black Orpheus arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:

"This new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit HD Datacine from a 35mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system, while Digital Vision's DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.

Telecine colorist: Richard Deusy/Scanlab LTC, Paris."

This is a strong high-definition transfer. Despite the fact that there are signs of aging, such as extremely mild color pulsations and some background flicker, fine object detail, clarity and contrast levels are very pleasing. The color-scheme does not disappoint either; yellows, greens, blues, reds, browns, blacks and whites look rich and well saturated. Minor noise corrections have been performed, but the fine film grain has been preserved. Heavy edge-enhancement and macroblocking are not a serious issue of concern. There are no serious stability issues to report in this review either.

Criterion's Blu-ray release of Black Orpheus represents a notable upgrade over their old SDVD release of the film. Even viewers with mid-size screens - 40' to 55' - will immediately notice dramatically improved fine detail and better color reproduction. Stability, especially around the edges, is also improved.

(Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Black Orpheus Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Portuguese LPCM Mono and English Dolby Digital Mono. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:

"The monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical track print. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated audio workstation."

The Portuguese LPCM Mono (1.0) track is solid. The dialog is clean, stable and easy to follow, and there is no excessive background hiss to report in this review. There are no balance issues with Luiz Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim's music score either. All in all, this is likely the best audio treatment Black Orpheus has ever received.

I tested only a couple of scenes with the English Dolby Digital Mono track. For the most part it is actually rather good, though some of the British accents are quite hilarious. I still prefer the original Portuguese LPCM Mono track.

Black Orpheus Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Marcel Camus - a short interview with the French director recorded at the Cannes Film Festival in 1959 where Black Orpheus won the prestigious Palme d'Or award. The interview is conducted by Francois Chalais for the French television program Reflets de Cannes. It was originally broadcast on May 10, 1959. In French, with optional English subtitles. (4 min, 1080i).

Marpessa Dawn - a rare interview with actress Marpessa Dawn, who plays Euridice in Black Orpheus, recorded for the French television program Nord actualites tele and originally broadcast on March 20, 1963. In the interview Mrs. Dawn recalls her first encounter with director Marcel Camus. In French, with optional English subtitles. (6 min, 1080i).

Revisiting Black Orpheus - an interview with Brazilian film scholar Robert Stam in which he discusses the importance of Black Orpheus as well as some of the most common misconceptions about it. In English, not subtitled. (17 min, 1080p).

Black Orpheus and that bossa nova sound! - a special program, produced by Criterion in 2010, featuring jazz historian Gary Giddins and Brazilian author Ruy Castro discussing the music score of Black Orpheus and its role in popularizing the bossa nova sound. In English, not subtitled. (19 min, 1080p).

Looking for "Black Orpheus" - this 2005 feature-length documentary by Rene Letzgus and Bernard Tournois traces the making of Black Orpheus, its cultural and musical roots, and its resonance in Brazil today. It features interviews with actors Breno Mello and Lea Garcia; musicians Gilberto Gil, Seu Jorge, Roberto Menescal, and Milton Nascimento; filmmaker Carlos Diegues; film historian Tunico Amancio; and Silvio Autuori, onetime assistant to director Marcel Camus. In French, with optional English subtitles. (89 min, 1080i).

Trailer - the film's original theatrical trailer. In Portuguese, with optional English subtitles. (5 min, 1080i).

Booklet - a 20-page illustrated booklet containing Michael Atkinson's essay "Dancing in the Streets" (the author writes about film for Sight & Sound, IFC.com, the Village Voice, and the L Magazine. He has also written seven books, including the novels Hemingway Deadlights and Hemingway Cutthroat).

Black Orpheus Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Marcel Camus' Black Orpheus is a cultural phenomenon - it inspired an entire generation of Brazilian filmmakers and started the bossa nova craze in America. It is a very special film I urge you to see. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Criterion, looks and sounds very good. It also contains a number of very strong supplemental features. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.