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Black Orpheus

Play trailer Poster for Black Orpheus PG 1959 1h 40m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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88% Tomatometer 72 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Young lovers Orfeu and Eurydice run through the favelas of Rio during Carnaval, on the lam from a hitman dressed like Death and Orfeu's vengeful fiancée Mira and passing between moments of fantasy and stark reality. This impressionistic retelling of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice introduced bossa nova to the world with its soundtrack by young Brazilian composers Luiz Bonfá and Antônio Carlos Jobim.
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Black Orpheus

Black Orpheus

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Critics Consensus

Colorful, atmospheric, and infections, Black Orpheus takes an ancient tale and makes it fresh anew, thanks in part to its bewitching bossa nova soundtrack.

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Critics Reviews

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Marjory Adams Boston Globe Jul 27, 2021
It is amazingly exciting -- sometimes, with the quick voluptuous beat of the music, and the mad gusto of the costumed dancers, the pace seems unbearable in its speed and passion. There is realism and imagery; fantasy and truth. Go to Full Review Kate Cameron New York Daily News Jul 27, 2021
4/4
The picture represents a beautiful and touching concept of the old legend. Go to Full Review Mildred Martin Philadelphia Inquirer Jul 27, 2021
A stunning example of ingenuity and art. Go to Full Review Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl Apr 19, 2025
8/10
...the Brazil of the film is a European fantasy (it was a French-Italian-Brazilian production and director Marcel Camus was French)...but the music is real and so is the talent of the performers... Go to Full Review Justine Smith Vague Visages Nov 21, 2023
Black Orpheus brings this story into the contemporary world, utilizing the carnival as a metaphor for the supernatural world. Go to Full Review John Beaufort Christian Science Monitor Aug 17, 2022
Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro) is the most imaginative, colorful, and lyric expression of French “new wave-ism” to reach North American screens at this writing. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Leaburn O @RT35452347 Sep 18, 2026 Colourful, camp, wild plot and characters. A storyline that in places has aged terribly but in other ways feels ahead of its time. This clever retelling of the Greek myth is a very easy watch and definitely worth the time. Watched on YouTube. See more Donna H @dpdhamm Jul 27, 2026 Fascinating and thank you heart pounding, beautiful view wonderful performance See more Leprechaun K @LeprechaunKing Jun 4, 2026 The wonderful performances and the colors throughout the film is invigorating. The upbeat theme and perpetual dancing can be overwhelming, but the ending hits hard and pays off handsomely. See more Robert R @RobertRiley Aug 28, 2025 Evocative of both time and place above all else (to a fault, a lot of the time), "Black Orpheus" starts as a frenetic, slice of life piece before morphing into something much more to my liking: this weird, almost phantasmagorical acid trip in the second half, where things become much more expressionistic and even metaphorical in stature. I only wish the bulk of the movie adhered to this bleak aesthetic. I dunno, man, that shot of Orfeu and the janitor walking down those spiral steps made me feel some type of way about everything I'd watched up until that point. Not that all of it was bad or anything (in fact all the Chico scenes put quite a smile on my face), but once things take. . .a turn, we'll say. . .the movie starts firing on a whole different level of RPMs. As for some of the problematicism that's come about as of late regarding this movie? I honestly don't know where to start and I'm certainly not an authority on any of the cultures represented here. If there are legitimate grievances in play here, I'm not opposed to folks lending a more critical eye to the material here. That said, I'm still glad I watched. See more harwee h @RT06454255 Mar 16, 2024 Loved the cinemgratophy, photographically ahead of its time. Narrative didn't quite reach the same level. See more John S @RT39919841 Oct 5, 2023 One of my all time favorite movies. Just rewatched it with my granddaughter, who is now in grad school in NOLO and loves carnival. The music is classic. See more Read all reviews
Black Orpheus

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Cast & Crew

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Marcel Camus

Director

Breno Mello

Orfeo

Marpessa Dawn

Eurydice

Lourdes de Oliveira

Mira

Léa Garcia

Serafina

Ademar Da Silva

Death

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Black Orpheus

Black Orpheus (1959) Black Orpheus (1959) Black Orpheus (1959) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Young lovers Orfeu and Eurydice run through the favelas of Rio during Carnaval, on the lam from a hitman dressed like Death and Orfeu's vengeful fiancée Mira and passing between moments of fantasy and stark reality. This impressionistic retelling of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice introduced bossa nova to the world with its soundtrack by young Brazilian composers Luiz Bonfá and Antônio Carlos Jobim.
Director
Marcel Camus
Producer
Sacha Gordine
Screenwriter
Vinicius de Moraes, Marcel Camus, Jacques Viot
Production Co
Gemma, Tupan Filmes, Dispat Films
Rating
PG
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Brazilian Portuguese
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 21, 2009
Runtime
1h 40m
Sound Mix
Mono, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.37:1)
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