THE CRITERION COLLECTION: BLACK ORPHEUS (1959, Blu-ray released August 17, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
Until Fernando Meirelles‘ 2002 City of God, it can undoubtedly be said that the most famous and most influential film to come out of Brazil wasn’t a Brazilian film at all. French director Marcel Camus‘ Black Orpheus, set in the favelas of Rio during the sensory overload of Carnival, won the Palme d’Or in 1959 and the Academy Award for Best Foreign-language Film in 1960, introduced the Bossa Nova sound to the world and was responsible for creating an international sensation of its country of concern. At the same time as it was winning awards and admiration, Black Orpheus was causing quite a stir for not accurately representing the Brazilian people, culture or social issues. Despite some perceived artistic failure, it remains a beautiful, poetic, idealized fantasy now given fresh, new life on Blu-ray disc by The Criterion Collection.
There’s a rumour that Camus wasn’t, in fact, as in love with the Brazilian people as Black Orpheus might make it seem. He paints the culture with such passionate and seemingly specific strokes in the film that its easy to believe he had fallen for it, head over heels. But the reality is that he fashioned the portrayal of the Brazilian people to best suit the story and the themes of the film – a tale culled from the Greek romance and tragedy of lovers Orpheus and Eurydice.
Adapted from Brazilian poet Vinicius de Moraes‘ theatrical take on the famous myth, Black Orpheus‘ titular hero is a streetcar driver and popular salsa-school instructor in Rio, engaged to local diva, Mira but with a heart as free as the wind. Preparations for Carnival celebrations proceed on track, Orpheus organizing his schools performance, until the arrival of lost beauty, Eurydice, who quickly steals his heart. But, as the classic story goes, death is hot on her heels. And no Carnival costume, quick dance step or brave salsa instructor can help her escape her date with destiny.
Camus doesn’t change up the plot of the myth as much as play with the details – the setting, the colours and music. He leaves the poetry of the narrative to the playwrights and focuses on offering us up sumptuous and exotic new images and sounds to inspire. And oh, are they ever inspirational! The poverty and misery of Brazil’s favelas, not suited to the spirited, optimistic tone of his film, transformed in Camus’ hands into a joyous, colourful town of charming wooden planks and golden-aluminum sheeting, filled with everlasting song and dance set to the new rhythms of composers Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto. Their music, as plucked on nylon-stringed guitar, is the sound that awakes the Brazilian sun from its sleep every morning and starts the dance, and as it turns out, the Orphic cycle over anew for us all, day after day.
Black Orpheus is another Criterion Collection treasure on Blu-ray. It’s a significant upgrade over their previously available DVD edition of the film, offering up a vast improvement in detail and colour fidelity.
From the included booklet:
- “This new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit HD Datacine from a 35mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFClean system, while Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.
Telecine colorist: Richard Deusy/Scanlab LTC, Paris.”
While not the picture of HD perfection (there are still notable signs of age) you’ll find Black Orpheus to be extremely pleasing and film-like, all around.
The Portuguese LPCM Mono track is likely the finest audio presentation the film has ever seen. It’s crisp and clean, with no audible issues.
From the included booklet:
- “The monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical track print. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated audio workstation.”
In addition, Criterion has provided an English Dolby Digital Mono track as well as English subtitles.
As you’d expect from a Criterion Blu-ray disc, the special features are phenomenal. The highlight has got to be the feature length 2005 feature, “Looking for Black Orpheus” – a French-language documentary by Rene Letzgus and Bernard Tournois that examines the making of the Black Orpheus, as well as the roots of its influence and resonance today. There are a coupe of short, vintage interviews with the director and his star (and later, his wife), Marpessa Dawn, a worthwhile 20-minute examination of the origins of the Bossa Nova sound and a 17-minute chat with Brazilian film scholar Robert Stam on the importance of the film. This brilliant disc package is rounded out with a trailer and a 20-page illustrated booklet featuring critic Michael Atkinson’s essay “Dancing in the Streets”.
Read more: Criterion bringing Black Orpheus and Crumb to Blu-ray
