Written and directed by Cocteau, this allegorical film retells the legend of Orpheus in a contemporary setting. Orphee (Marais) is a successful Parisian poet, whom--despite popular acclaim--feels isolated and uninspired. When his wife Eurydice (Dea) is stricken down by leather-clad bikers, he pursues them into the underworld, where he falls into a romantic entanglement with the dark-haired beauty Death (Casares). Stunning cinematography and surrealist flairs punctuate this beautiful, hypnotic masterpiece.
DVD Features
Region 1 Note: Audio commentary featuring French-film scholar James S. Williams Jean Cocteau: autobiography of an Unknown (1984), a feature-length documentary Jean Cocteau and His Tricks (2008), a video interview with assistant director Claude Pinoteau 40 minutes with Jean Cocteau (1957), and interview with the director In Search of Jazz (1956), an interview with Cocteau on the use of jazz in film La villa Santo-Sospir (1951), a 16mm color film by Cocteau Gallery of images by French-film portrait photographer Roger Corbeau Raw newsreel footage from 1950 of the Saint-Cyr military academy ruins, a locatin used in the film Theatrical trailer Plus: a booklet featuring an essay by author Mark Polizzotti, an excerpted article by Cocteau on the film, and an essay on La villa Santo-Sospir by Williams
Full Frame - 1.33 Audio: French Subtitles - English
