Black Orpheus (1959) on Netflix
Orfeu drives a trolley in Rio and is engaged to Mira. Eurydice arrives during Carnaval, hiding from a man she fears. Orfeu falls for her, and Mira and Death both give chase.
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- IMDb7.4/1013,640 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes88%
Trailer
Plot summary
Eurydice arrives in Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval week and rides a trolley to the end of the line, where its driver, Orfeu, introduces her to Hermes, the station guard, who sends her on to her cousin Serafina. Eurydice has left her village to get away from a man she believes intends to kill her. Serafina lives beside Orfeu, who is engaged to Mira and shows little enthusiasm for the wedding. The man in the skeleton costume tracks Eurydice down, and Orfeu chases him off. Orfeu and Eurydice fall in love, and through the parades and the crowds they keep moving, away from Mira and from Death, who is still hunting Eurydice.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Black Orpheus (1959)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Breno Mello, who played Orfeu, was a soccer player with no acting experience when director Marcel Camus spotted him walking in a Rio de Janeiro street and asked if he would like to be in a film.
- Aurino Cassiano, who played the boy Zeca, was a young musician from a large family who played in the streets with his brother Amaury as "Dupla Chuvisco"; Marcel Camus saw him on location for another film, Vai que é Mole, and invited him to test for Black Orpheus.
- Vinicius de Moraes, who wrote the 1956 play Orfeu da Conceição that the film was based on, was outraged by it and walked out of the theater in the middle of a screening.
- Luiz Bonfá's "Manhã de Carnaval" and "Samba de Orfeu" from the film became classics of bossa nova, and the singing for Orfeu was dubbed by singer Agostinho dos Santos.
- Jean-Michel Basquiat cited the film as one of his early musical influences, and Barack Obama wrote in his memoir Dreams from My Father that it was his mother's favorite film.
