Orfeu: Negro -1959- ((exclusive))

The poet and critic Carlos Diegues argued that Orfeu Negro was a beautiful lie. In response, he directed a radical remake in 1999, Orfeu , which set the same myth in the violent reality of modern Rio’s drug wars, trading the whimsical skeleton of "Death" for a ruthless police helicopter. This tension—between the film’s aesthetic triumph and its social falseness—is what keeps the debate about Orfeu Negro alive.

The film strips the Greek myth down to its emotional bones but dresses it in modern clothes. Orfeu (played by Brazilian actor Breno Mello) is a streetcar conductor and a remarkably gifted guitarist. He is the most beloved man in his hillside slum ( favela ) not just for his charm, but for his music—he is the life of the impending Carnival. orfeu negro -1959-

Despite its flaws, one cannot deny the visual power of Orfeu Negro . Cinematographer Jean Bourgoin (who later shot The Longest Day ) used the newly available Eastmancolor film stock to its absolute breaking point. The colors are not realistic; they are expressionist. The sun is a blinding white orb, the hills are a green so deep it looks artificial, and the costumes of Carnival explode in primary reds, blues, and yellows. The poet and critic Carlos Diegues argued that

Orfeu Negro Black Orpheus ), released in 1959, is a vibrant and influential film that reimagines the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice within the modern, pulsating setting of a Rio de Janeiro favela during Carnival. Brown University Library The Story & Setting The film strips the Greek myth down to