Black Orpheus

For other uses, see Black Orpheus (disambiguation).

Black Orpheus
Original poster
PortugueseOrfeu Negro
Directed byMarcel Camus
Screenplay by
Based onOrfeu da Conceição
by Vinicius de Moraes
Produced bySacha Gordine
Starring
CinematographyJean Bourgoin
Edited byAndrée Feix
Music by
Production
companies
  • Dispat Films (France)
  • Gemma (Italy)
  • Tupan Filmes (Brazil)
Distributed byLopert Pictures
Release date
  • 12 June 1959 (1959-06-12) (France)
Running time
107 minutes
Countries
  • Brazil
  • France
  • Italy
LanguagePortuguese
Box officeUS$750,000[1]

Black Orpheus (Portuguese: Orfeu Negro [ɔɾˈfew ˈneɣɾu]) is a 1959 romantic tragedy[2][3][4][5] film directed by French filmmaker Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes, which set the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice in a contemporary favela in Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval. The film was an international co-production among companies in Brazil, France and Italy.

The film is particularly noted for its soundtrack by two Brazilian composers: Antônio Carlos Jobim, whose song "A felicidade" opens the film, and Luiz Bonfá, whose "Manhã de Carnaval" and "Samba de Orfeu" have become classics of bossa nova. The songs performed by Orfeu were dubbed by singer Agostinho dos Santos.[6] Lengthy passages of filming took place in the Morro da Babilônia, a favela in the Leme neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro.[7][8]

Black Orpheus won the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival,[9] the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film,[10] the 1960 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film and was nominated for the 1961 BAFTA Award for Best Film.

While the 1959 adaptation has been celebrated internationally, it has been criticized by Brazilians and scholars for exoticizing Brazil for an international audience and reinforcing harmful stereotypes.[11][12]

  1. ^ "M-G-M Cashing In on Oscar Victory: Ben-Hur Gross Expected to Reach 7 Million by Week's End – Spartacus Booked", The New York Times, 7 April 1960, p. 44.
  2. ^ Youssefnia, Julia (19 July 2007). "Black Orpheus".
  3. ^ Eli Kooris (16 August 2002). "Review: Black Orpheus (1959)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  4. ^ Dewar-Watson, Sarah (10 June 2014). Tragedy. Macmillan International Higher Education. ISBN 9780230392595 – via Google Books.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Parkinson, David (2000). "Black Orpheus". Empire.
  6. ^ Castro, Ruy (1990). Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music That Seduced the World. Chicago: A Capella Books. pp. 166–167. ISBN 978-1-55652-494-3.
  7. ^ Valladares, Licia. Social Science Representations of Favelas in Rio De Janeiro: A Historical Perspective.
  8. ^ Bellos, Alex. "Movie palace", The Guardian (14 January 2006).
  9. ^ "Interview with Amir Labaki about Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro), the 1959 Palme d'or". Festival de Cannes. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  10. ^ "The 32nd Academy Awards (1960) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Black Orpheus | Brazil: Five Centuries of Change". library.brown.edu. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  12. ^ Veloso, Caetano (20 August 2000). "An Orpheus, Rising From Caricature". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 7 March 2023.