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MOVIES / ON DVD / BLACK ORPHEUS
Black Orpheus

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Black Orpheus (1958)

100%
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91%
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100 %
Reviews Counted: 16 Fresh: 16  Rotten:0 Average Rating: 8/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Synopsis: Camus' winner of the Palme d'Or winner at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival is a modern reinterpretation of the myth of Orpheus which simultaneously celebrates the beauty, music and people of Brazil. In this version of the ages-old tale, Orpheus is a streetcar conductor and star Carnival dancer... Camus' winner of the Palme d'Or winner at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival is a modern reinterpretation of the myth of Orpheus which simultaneously celebrates the beauty, music and people of Brazil. In this version of the ages-old tale, Orpheus is a streetcar conductor and star Carnival dancer who is betrothed to the determined Mira but is in love with Eurydice. As Mira and Death himself pursue the doomed Orpheus and his lover through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Carnival literally brings the streets to life. Lush photography and the timeless and brilliant bossa nova sounds of Jobim give the film a distinct power and beauty. [More]

Genre: Foreign Films

Starring: Breno Mello, Marpessa Dawn, Lea Garcia

Director: Marcel Camus
Screenwriter: Venitius De Moraes, Jacques Viot
Producer: Sacha Gordine
Composer: Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa

DVD Info

Release:

May 25, 1999

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1 Encoding
  • Dual Layer
  • Available Audio Tracks: Portuguese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dubbed) (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
  • New Transfer with Four Minutes of Never Before Seen Footage
  • French Theatrical Trailer
  • New and Improved English Subtitle Translation
  • Option English Subtitles or Dubbed Track
  • Remastered Sound

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Reviews

 
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1 - 19 (sorted by date)
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Full Review | comment Comment
07/22/08
Variety
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N/A

Despite that, Black Orpheus, while not being a cinematic full meal nevertheless is a sweet piece of candy, and thus has to be judged more on its entertainment value than its artistic value; mindful that, unlike the Orphic films of Cocteau, it, at least su

Full Review | comment Comment
03/12/07
Dan Schneider
culturevulture.net
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3.5/4

One of the great musicals.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/03/06
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
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3.5/5

Dated, to put it mildly. But still colorful, with charming lead performances and that wonderful score.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/12/06
Phil Hall
Film Threat
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N/A

Dated in its sentimentality but timeless in splendor.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/03/06
Donald J. Levit
ReelTalk Movie Reviews
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3/4

Even when the streamers, confetti, and brass bands aren't there, you can see and hear them.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/14/06
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
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N/A

A riotous, rapturous explosion of sound and color.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/13/06
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
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4/5

What gives the film its mesmerising atmosphere is cinematographer Jean Bourgoin’s discrete contrasts between the vibrancy of the daylight revels and the looming malevolence of the nocturnal sequences.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/01/06
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
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5/5

No review available.

comment Comment
10/27/05
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
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3/5

The Technicolour film's strongest suit remains the way it captures the jubilant celebrations in the city, and the dance sequences which showcase the samba skills of the leads.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/25/05
Tom Dawson
BBC
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5/5

No review available.

comment Comment
12/18/04
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
03/11/04
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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4/5

A surface pleasure, mostly, but what a surface! Exquisitely colorful and wonderfully rhythmic.

comment Comment
01/23/04
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks
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5/5

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
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3/5

Swarms of sinuous girls and children shimmy and race to the samba beat, which is insistent through most of the footage. That's what makes the picture alive.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
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5/5

No review available.

comment Comment
08/14/02
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire
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3.5/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
06/05/01
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
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Black Orpheus - edit?
by: darbymom 11/11/07

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