Orpheus

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Logan D A woman coerces a poet to escort the corpse of a fellow poet to her home. He is soon drawn into a world of unexpected reality. Full of symbolism, the film is paced at a slow tempo. The special effects, which I'm sure were exceptional at the time, still impress. It's a very well crafted work, maybe not for everyone, but certainly a magical film worthy of study or enjoyment. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/25/23 Full Review David D Very distinctive version of classical legend. I've just seen it for the first time and it saddened me how anti-intellectual our culture has become. Inconceivable that anything as challenging could be made now Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/30/23 Full Review elana k Its fun to simply enjoy a work art, an art film such as this. One need not dwell too long on its symbolism and/or interpretations. It is fine to simply behold the eccentricities of the filmmakers mind, to revel in and the form and style. First I found myself lost in my questions, then the experience gave way to the enjoyment of cinema and the performances, the mystery and the absurdity. And now I want to watch it again. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Christopher B Another poetic and beautifully lensed film from Jean Cocteau on a subject he is very fond of both professionally and personally. This is his take on Orpheus set in 50s Paris and featuring some eerie and gorgeously gothic imagery much like his version of Beauty and the Beast. A great symbolic and meditative film to be absorbed and thought upon. From a refined time and place by an amazing and gifted Director. This is cinema of a by-gone age that feels just like a dream, much the same as the film itself encapsulates. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/23/22 Full Review Audience Member Enjoyably clever French cinema which works better than most beyond the grave efforts. Nicely thought through with good twists and turns. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review William L Cocteau's over here going, "I'm going to make the Orpheus myth contemporary, French, and with a heaping helping of post-mortal bureaucracy. And people will love it." Orpheus is a distinctive film made particularly engaging by an ethereal feel, with Cocteau's flair for innovative camerawork and complex scene design giving the mystical atmosphere that makes sense for a piece of source material that engages in love affairs between artists and undefined, pseudo-immortal beings. But still, the screenplay preserves some of the classical elements of Greco-Roman myth - the focus on human flaws, the undoing of characters by dangling traits, and the interaction with the divine - while presenting them in an entirely novel and entertaining manner. This sort of content could have easily become pretentious if the director wasn't watching his step, but instead carries real weight and is a marvel to look at for 1950. One of the selective director's great classics. (4/5) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/09/21 Full Review Read all reviews

Orpheus

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