A retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, set during the time of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.

BLACK ORPHEUS is the retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice Greek legend set in Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. Orpheus (Breno Mello), a trolley car conductor, is engaged to Mira (Lourdes de Oliveira) but in love with Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn). A vengeful Mira and Eurydice's ex-lover, costumed as Death, pursue Orpheus and Eurydice through the intense Carnival night.

Marcel Camus, Brazil, 1958, 106m.

Director: Marcel Camus
Stars: Breno Mello, Marpessa Dawn and Lourdes de Oliveira

Genres: Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

Taglines: The film that introduced Bossa Nova to the world...

Country: Brazil | France | Italy
Language: Portuguese

Directed by
Marcel Camus

Writers
Marcel Camus
Jacques Viot
Vinicius de Moraes (play "Orfeu do Carnaval")


Cast (in credits order)
Breno Mello... Orfeo
Marpessa Dawn... Eurydice
Marcel Camus... Ernesto
Fausto Guerzoni... Fausto
Lourdes de Oliveira... Mira
Léa Garcia... Serafina
Ademar Da Silva... Death
Alexandro Constantino... Hermes
Waldemar De Souza... Chico
Jorge Dos Santos... Benedito
Aurino Cassiano... Zeca

rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maria Alice
Ana Amélia
Elizeth Cardoso
Arlete Costa
Maria de Lourdes
Modesto De Souza
Agostinho dos Santos
Afonso Marinho
Esther Mellinger
Eunice Mendes
Dinorah Miranda
Zeni Pereira
Teresa Santos

Produced by
Sacha Gordine.... producer

Original Music by
Luiz Bonfá
Antonio Carlos Jobim

Cinematography by
Jean Bourgoin

Film Editing by
Andrée Feix

Production Design by
Pierre Guffroy

Production Management
Roberto Bakker.... assistant production manager
Jacques Gibault.... production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bartolomeu Andrade.... assistant director
Robert Mazoyer.... assistant director

Sound Department
Amaury Leenhardt.... sound
Raymond Pierre Lemoigne.... supervising sound editor

Editorial Department
Geneviève Winding.... assistant editor

Other crew
Silvio Autuori.... production assistant
Roger Blanché.... production assistant
Francisco A. Vilela.... production assistant


Release date: 12 June 1959 (France)


Filming Locations: Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


Production Companies
Dispat Films
Gemma
Tupan Filmes

Distributors
Lux Films (1959) (France) (theatrical)
Lopert Pictures Corporation (1959) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1978) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
Criterion Collection, The (1999) (USA) (DVD)
Versátil Home Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
UFA Film Hansa (1959) (West Germany) (theatrical)
CBS Video (1981) (USA) (VHS)
Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
GAGA
Globo Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
Janus Films (????) (worldwide) (VHS)
MGM/CBS Home Video (1981) (USA) (VHS)
atlas Film (????) (Germany) (VHS)

Runtime: 100 min | 107 min
Sound Mix: 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints)
Color: Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1

Also Known As (AKA)
Orfeu Negro, Brazil (original title)
Orfeo negro, Greece / Italy / Spain
Black Orpheus, UK / USA
Orfeu negro, Sweden / West Germany
A fekete Orfeusz, Hungary
Czarny Orfeusz, Poland
Musta Orfeus, Finland
Orfeu do Carnaval, (undefined)
Orphée noir, France



Awards

1961 | BAFTA Awards | Londres, United Kingdom
* Nominated BAFTA Film Award: Best Film

1960 | Golden Globes | Los Angeles, USA
Won Golden Globe: Best Foreign Film, France.
Together with L'étrange obsession (1959), Le pont (1959), Les fraises sauvages (1957) and Wir Wunderkinder (1958).

1960 | Sant Jordi Awards | Barcelona, Spain
Won Sant Jordi: Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera), Marcel Camus

1960 | Academy Awards | Los Angeles, USA
* Won Oscar (Best Foreign Language Film), France

1959 | Cannes Film Festival | Cannes, France
Won Golden Palm (Palme d'Or)


Source
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053146/