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Black Orpheus [Import]

Format: VHS Tape
4.5 out of 5 stars 374 ratings
$16.99
Additional VHS tape options Edition Discs
鶹 Price
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VHS tape
June 16 2000 		— —
$16.99
— $16.99
Format Import, NTSC, Subtitled
Manufacturer Homevision
UPC 037429060339
Global Trade Identification Number 00037429060339

Product description

An Academy Award®-winning retelling of the Orphic legend in a modern day setting, Black Orpheus explodes with dance, music, and magnificent color photography. The tragic love between a streetcar conductor and a shy country girl unfolds against the madness of a carnival in Rio de Janeiro, with its intoxicating samba music, frenzied dancing, and colorful costumes.

Product details

  • Is discontinued by manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Parcel Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 18.6 x 10.64 x 2.85 cm; 173.88 g
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Import, NTSC, Subtitled
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ June 16 2000
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Homevision
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 6302784980
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 374 ratings

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4.5 out of 5 stars
374 global ratings

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Top reviews from Canada

  • Douglas Wilson
    5.0 out of 5 stars A classic at the height of artistry in film.
    Reviewed in Canada on October 5, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Amazing to have a movie on DVD. Can repeat parts that are not clear first time. When first saw movie in 1964, understood only about 50% of it, but the DVD has made it possible to much more fully appreciate its difficult and intricate story, as well as a lot of colourful vignettes in the background which one might not notice otherwise. It seems to weave several levels of meaning together as the events drop into place. Not sure I understand fully what message was intended, but perhaps it is too deep to be summed up verbally. Now I would like to read the book it is based on but not sure there is a translation.
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  • 鶹 Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on April 2, 2017
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    A classic.
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  • T
    4.0 out of 5 stars a good film with famous music
    Reviewed in Canada on April 23, 2004
    This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.
    This movie is credited with brining Bossa nova music into the spotlight. It is well deserving of this credit as the music is groundbreaking for an internatinal release.
    The movie itself is based loosely on the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Only this time it takes place during Brazil's famous Carnival. (similar to our Mardi Gras) The film itself is well written and has good acting. The DVD has an optional English language dubbed soundtrack, but I would suggest watching it in Portuguese as dubbing is often done by bad actors. The DVD also has a theatcical trailer that was used in France.
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  • Francois Choquette
    5.0 out of 5 stars Rien à signaler
    Reviewed in Canada on January 4, 2017
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    Rien à signaler
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  • Naamshui
    5.0 out of 5 stars In the Favelas
    Reviewed in Canada on July 5, 2015
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    Beautiful -- but sad
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  • Bel
    5.0 out of 5 stars A film that you will enjoy, remember, and probably recommend to others...
    Reviewed in Canada on January 8, 2007
    This film, directed by Marcel Camus and based on a play written by Brazilian writer Vinicius de Moraes, updates the tragic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, setting that hauntingly beautiful and tragic story in Brazil against the vibrant backdrop provided by the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro.

    In "Black Orpheus", Orpheus (Bruno Mello) is a trolley car conductor, a samba dancer and outstanding musician. He is also a womanizer who is being dragged into marriage by his latest girlfriend, Mira (Lourdes de Oliveira). Something unexpected happens, though: Orpheus meets a newcomer to Rio, Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn), and falls in love with her. Eurydice arrived to Rio seeking refuge in the house of her cousin from a stalker that wants to kill her. However, when she meets Orpheus, Eurydice also falls in love with him and his songs.

    The story of the two lovers develops during the Carnival, and despite the problems provided by Mira, the discarded girlfriend, and the stalker that frights Eurydice and represents Death. The musical score, composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luis Bonfa, provides an excellent support to the story and adds just the right finishing touch. It is something that along a great plot, a wonderful cast, and a very good director, manages to make this film something that you will enjoy, remember, and probably recommend to others.

    I think that this is one of the best films I have seen, and I regret the fact that is not more well-known. Of course, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

    Belen Alcat
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Dennis Littrell
    5.0 out of 5 stars A strange and beauiful film
    Reviewed in Canada on January 25, 2003
    Do they clean the streets in Rio De Janeiro? Well, of course they do. When this carnival is over.
    And if you watch this movie you will see that they do it very near the end of the last reel, as in the morning when the truck comes round spraying water, just one of a thousand little details that director Marcel Camus got right, and one of the most insignificant. But it is from a multiplicity of detail that an edifice of cinematic genius is constructed.
    The true brilliance of Black Orpheus lies in the people who live on the side of the cliffs overlooking the harbor at Rio. It is their energy that prevails. Then there is the color, the costumes, the pounding rhythms, the spectacular vitality of life that is depicted as a carnival of dance and song in which we are driven along as on a wave. And yet there is the constant reality of death. And it strikes in way we cannot comprehend, fatalistically, and we are helpless to do anything about it. And then Orpheus sings, a new Orpheus perhaps, and the sun rises again, and a little girl in white, looking like Eurydice in miniature, begins to dance as the little boy Orpheus plays his guitar, telling us that time has come round again.
    Well, that's the plot as adapted by screen writer Jacques Voit from the play by Vinicius d Moraes as divined from the Greek mythology. Supporting this arresting conception is the music by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luis Bonfa. I recall the former as the composer of bossanova who gave us "The Girl from Ipanema" and made the samba international. Starring in the title role as the streetcar conductor who is loved by all is Breno Melo, who might be seen as the natural man and native of paradise. The very pretty Marpessa Dawn plays Eurydice, an innocent from the country who falls in love with Orpheus and his song. Lourdes de Oliveira plays his intended, Mira who is hot blooded, vital and beautifully ordinary. But the actress I recall most vividly from the time I first saw this in the sixties was Léa Garcia who played Serafina. Her exuberance and comedic flair struck me as something completely different from anybody I had ever seen before. And then there are the boys who follow Orpheus around and emulate his every move. With their torn shirts and unflagging optimism, they represent the new day that will dawn.
    If you haven't seen this strange and beautiful film, you are in for a singular experience. There is nothing else like it that I know of. And it is as fresh today as when it was made almost half a century ago.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Simple Hope
    4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Film, Bad Timing
    Reviewed in Canada on February 25, 2003
    Well, this is a well illustrated integration of a well known greek myth known as "Black Orpheus." Although I really liked the film, it still has that complex that it was been filmed by an amateur. I'd rate 5 star for the storyline and that is because the storyline is really easy to understand and it isn't procrastinated. Also, the music in the background really captured my ears and my eyes. I first saw this film when I was in highschool but I'd like to see it once more if I have the chance.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • A customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A tale of two Orpheus (Bluray, minor spoilers)
    Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Criterion has put out two fine films from the 1950s that pay homage to the Greek story of love and death they are named after, both by french directors: 'Black Orpheus', by Marcel Camus (1959) and 'Orpheus', directed by Jean Cocteau (1950).

    However, neither movie is even close to being a carbon copy of the other despite their shared roots in the same mythologic legend. In Camus' Black Orpheus, the protagonist is a charismatic and well known singer in a poor Brazilian hillside neighborhood who spends as much time womanizing as playing guitar. However, on the eve of his wedding (to take place on the same day as Carnival) he meets a young woman named Euridice who has come to town to stay with her cousin after being chased off of her family farm. Although the movie rarely takes a turn into the overt supernatural, it is understood that the man chasing her is "death", and although Orpheus and Euridice have never met before (at least in this lifetime), they quickly recognize themselves as historical soulmates fated to love one another. Between being chased by both "death" and Orpheus' jealous former bride, their courtship takes a tragic turn.

    Using the gorgeous scenery of Brazil and the bright costumes of Carnival, one has to look hard for the mythological references to the Greek legend that the movie is based upon, but they are there (for example, a german shepherd guarding a gate is named Cerebus). The music is great, and the film is frequently cited as a harbinger of the bossanova sound to the United States in the '60s. The supporting cast is very good as well, especially two young boys who help Orpheus throughout the movie and take over his mantle at the end. As they play his old guitar as the sun rises on a new day, you are left to wonder where the new Euridice is also no doubt dancing, unaware that fate will eventually draw her to the little boy in the years to come. For a movie about life and death the film carries good feelings with it much of the time, and Euridice's cousin even provides some nice touches of comedy.

    Most criticism seems to center around whether or not the poor sections of Brazil have been romanticized to the point that they hurt the film. They certainly have been idealized, there is no crime or disease about, but you also have to remember the movie is set in the days of Carnival. Even if many of the people lived in squalor for 364 days, Carnival was always seen as a joyous time that people worked towards and lived to the fullest when it came. If you don't want to take it with that grain of salt, as long as you accept that the movie is not supposed to be a social commentary on poverty you can also see why the director made such choices. The more happiness he can inject into the first part of the movie the better the contrast to death will be. Also, the costumes of Carnival allow him to give a mythologic flair to the movie without making it overtly supernatural (for example, "death" is represented by a dancer in a skeleton mask, which would have otherwise seemed downright silly). If you are offended by indigenous portrayals such as those in Black Narcissus (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] you may not enjoy this film. I respect opposing viewpoints but believe that most people will find very little to be bothered by.

    Ultimately an excellent film that can transport and immerse you completely into a different time and place, even if it is primarily not real. Fun and entertaining escapism with a soundtrack as good as the movie itself.
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  • ADALBERTO DE LA FUENTE CHÁVEZ
    5.0 out of 5 stars Buena película
    Reviewed in Mexico on February 2, 2020
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    Buen film
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  • mac leod
    5.0 out of 5 stars Orpheus Negro de Marcel Camus
    Reviewed in France on August 27, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Je l’avais en Cassette Vidéo. Je le voulais en DVD pour une meilleure qualité.
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    mac leod
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Orpheus Negro de Marcel Camus

    Reviewed in France on August 27, 2018
    Je l’avais en Cassette Vidéo. Je le voulais en DVD pour une meilleure qualité.
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  • Gregg Daly Consulting
    5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent classic film - MUST WATCH
    Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    I ordered this movie because Questlove was in the Criterion Collection Closet and recommended it. It is a beautiful film, an excellent retelling of a classic storyline, and a classic masterpiece. I am very happy I added this to my ever-growing home theater/cinema movie collection.
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  • Bibi1960
    5.0 out of 5 stars Orfeu Negro
    Reviewed in France on March 31, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Je le cherchait depuis longtemps car il était passé à la TV lorsque j'étais plus jeune et j'avais adoré. Donc, je voulais le revoir.
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