Jean Marais’ journey through the underworld gains new strangeness and rapture in this restoration of Jean Cocteau’s 1950 Orpheus myth
Jean Cocteau’s Orphée from 1950 is now re-released nationally, as part of the BFI Southbank season: Fantastique: The Dream Worlds of French Cinema. It has the mystery and elasticity of a dream, and all the farcical comic horror of chancing across the intricate contents of the Blessed Virgin’s lingerie collection. Cocteau’s reworking of the Orpheus myth includes new layers of strangeness and rapture. The setting would appear to be the present: that is, postwar France; Orphée (Jean Marais) is a celebrated poet – sufficiently celebrated, in fact, to be at one stage surrounded by excitable young autograph hunters that might otherwise be entranced by the burgeoning pop culture. Orphée witnesses a noted younger poet being killed by a couple of bikers after a brawl: this is Cégeste (Edouard Dermithe...
Jean Cocteau’s Orphée from 1950 is now re-released nationally, as part of the BFI Southbank season: Fantastique: The Dream Worlds of French Cinema. It has the mystery and elasticity of a dream, and all the farcical comic horror of chancing across the intricate contents of the Blessed Virgin’s lingerie collection. Cocteau’s reworking of the Orpheus myth includes new layers of strangeness and rapture. The setting would appear to be the present: that is, postwar France; Orphée (Jean Marais) is a celebrated poet – sufficiently celebrated, in fact, to be at one stage surrounded by excitable young autograph hunters that might otherwise be entranced by the burgeoning pop culture. Orphée witnesses a noted younger poet being killed by a couple of bikers after a brawl: this is Cégeste (Edouard Dermithe...
- 10/18/2018
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Chicago – “Interpret as you wish,” invites narrator and filmmaker Jean Cocteau prior to his contemporary retelling of the Orpheus legend and the second installment of his Orphic Trilogy, which also includes 1930’s “The Blood of a Poet” and 1960’s “Testament of Orpheus.” Cocteau’s 1950 masterwork, simply titled “Orpheus,” is one of his most emotionally complex and deeply personal projects. It’s also a lot of fun.
Unlike other avant-garde filmmakers, Cocteau sports a immensely playful spirit that causes viewers to wholly embrace his onscreen abstractions rather than dissect them for their intended meaning. The titular protagonist in “Orpheus” is told by another character that the “dreamer must accept his dreams,” and Cocteau expects his audience to follow suit. This results in a picture of unforgettable images as whimsically absurd as they are dramatically resonant.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Jean Marais stars as Orpheus, the poet famous in Greek mythology for journeying into...
Unlike other avant-garde filmmakers, Cocteau sports a immensely playful spirit that causes viewers to wholly embrace his onscreen abstractions rather than dissect them for their intended meaning. The titular protagonist in “Orpheus” is told by another character that the “dreamer must accept his dreams,” and Cocteau expects his audience to follow suit. This results in a picture of unforgettable images as whimsically absurd as they are dramatically resonant.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Jean Marais stars as Orpheus, the poet famous in Greek mythology for journeying into...
- 9/6/2011
- by [email protected] (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.