Search - Orpheus [1950, IMPORT, ALL REGIONS] on DVD

Intriguing, Captivating, Haunting

L. Landfried | 11/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Visually and audibly enchanting. Cocteau magically portrays the life cycle of the poet in the most poetic of films. Each scene is stunning from the plot to the music to the special effects to the dialogue. Unpretentious and brilliant, Orfeé never trivializes or attempts to abstract answers. The film is a brilliant display of the possibility of just asking. Cocteau's thoughts on the multiple deaths of poets, mirrors as signs of aging and ultimately our deaths, and immortality of a poet through sacrifice of another are expressed psycho automatically. Most impressively, Cocteau maintains a linear plot while creating overlapping worlds of life, death, love, and desire. Artistically much of the film can be superficially comprehended without knowledge of Orpheus or of Cocteau himself. His use of the Orpheus myth as a skeleton for his thought brings both Orfee and Eurydice into a modern light and into the viewers' eyes. This film strongly influenced my idea of the breadth and width of film as an art. This piece of art is truly a genius orchestration of music and dialogue set against thousands of incredible still frames. Beyond the visual intricacies of each shot, his use of special effects and backward playing film create art all of their own. Cocteau has said this is a realistic film which is why it is particularly relevant. While his cinematography is fantastic it is a tool used to express truth apparent to Cocteau. The result of this knowledge is a three dimensional masterpiece of literature."

Orpheus

Leanne Koontz | Delaware, OH USA | 12/05/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This film is an interesting interpretation of the Greek myth about the poet Orpheus whose wife (Eurydice) is stolen from him by the god of death (Hades). Orpheus then travels into the underworld to retrieve her, but he can only have her back if he does not look at her lest he lose her again.

This rendition of the tale is changed somewhat, but the special effects are rather intriguing. The god of death is a woman (the princess) who travels between both worlds via mirrors wearing a pair of rubber gloves. There is a lot of backwards photography and slow motion scenes in the underworld that give the place a very mysterious feel to it. It is an odd sort of movie and a little hard to follow (even with the subtitles), but I like it anyway."