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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "Orpheus" or "Orfeo" or "Orfeas" or "Orfeus" )
directed by Jean Cocteau
France 1950
Poet, playwright, artist and filmmaker, Jean Cocteau was one
of the most significant artists of the twentieth century and
Orphée his finest work of cinema. *** Jean Cocteau’s 1940s update of the Orphic myth depicts Orpheus (Jean Marais ), a famous poet scorned by the Left Bank youth, and his love for both his wife Eurydice (Marie Déa) and the mysterious Princess (Maria Casarès). Seeking inspiration, the poet follows the Princess from the world of the living to the land of the deceased through Cocteau’s trademark “mirrored portal.” As the myth unfolds, the director’s visually poetic style pulls the audience into realms both real and imagined in this, the centerpiece to his Orphic Trilogy. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: September 29th, 1950 (France)
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Criterion (Spine # 68) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. BFI - Region 2 - PAL vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT 2) BFI - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) Criterion Region 'A' - Blu-ray THIRD4) BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray RIGHT
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Box Covers |
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Distribution |
Criterion Region 0 - NTSC |
BFI Region 2 - PAL |
Criterion Collection - Spine #68 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:35:03 | 1:31:46 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:36:01.797 | 1:35:41.235 |
Video |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,596,585,890 bytesFeature: 21,556,512,768 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 25.98 Mbps |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,117,398,731 bytes Feature: 27,971,604,864 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.65 Mbps |
Bitrate BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray |
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Audio | French (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
French (LPCM) |
LPCM Audio French 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152
kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps |
DTS-HD Master Audio
French 1077 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1077 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core:
1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps |
Subtitles | English, None | English, None | English, None | English, None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 18 |
Release Information: Studio: BFI Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD Release Date: October
27th, 2008 Chapters 16 |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,596,585,890 bytesFeature: 21,556,512,768 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 25.98 Mbps
Edition Details: Chapters 1 7 |
Release Information: Studio: BFI
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,117,398,731 bytes Feature: 27,971,604,864 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.65 Mbps
Edition Details: Chapters 1 0 |
Comments |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - January 19': The BFI Blu-ray appears to be from a newer transfer but same source than as the Criterion 1080P that came out in 2011. The BFI looks much better - sharper, showing more information in the frame (notable on the side edges - BFI have some rounded-corners) - you can see by toggling between the clickable full-resolution captures where the Criterion is softer and possible a shade digitized. In testing both version on my system - it was easy to distinguish which was the superior BFI HD presentation. Contrast is about the same but the film's textures are supported in a higher degree on the BFI. The UK edition is also on a dual-layered disc but exports the film with much more robust (max'ed out bitrate) visuals. It looks very impressive in-motion.
NOTE:
like the BFI DVD this
Blu-ray
offers either the French of English opening credit
sequence (seamlessly branched) when you press 'Play'.
BFI also do a 24-bit, lossless mono, French-language,
track - but via a DTS-HD Master track. My ears could
notice a difference with the Criterion being a bit more
hollow and tinny but I am not confident enough to say
one was better than the other. I can only say the BFI
sounded consistent, clean and, authentically flat. It
offers optional English subtitles and their
Blu-ray
is Region 'B'-locked.
BFI offer a the same feature-length commentary by
Roland-François Lack as found on their DVD of 10 years
ago, It is very professional - with fascinating
information and analysis. From 2008 is the 35-minute
Jean Cocteau by Pierre Bergé and Dominque Marny with
reflections on the director - in French with English
subtitles - by the former and current presidents of the
Jean Cocteau Committee who provide a portrait of the
filmmaker, discussing his family background, influences
and the key relationships of his life. Memories of
Filming by Jean-Pierre Mocky and Eric Le Roy is also
from 2008. It runs 1/4 hour and has actor and filmmaker
Jean-Pierre Mocky reminiscing with film historian Eric
Le Roy about working on Orphée and the impact
Jean Cocteau had on his own career. Jean Cocteau and
His Tricks runs 13-minute and was made 10-yerars ago
- it has assistant director Claude Pinoteau sharing his
experiences of shooting Orphée and reveals some
of the tricks employed by Cocteau and his crew. The
Queer Family Tree - Reflections on Jean Cocteau is
new running exactly 15-minutes. It has director John
Maybury who reflects upon his introduction to the films
of Jean Cocteau and discusses their ongoing influence on
his own work and queer cinema in general. La villa Santo
Sospir is a short color film by Jean Cocteau in which he
gives us a guided tour of the villa - from 1952 and
running 38-minutes. Lastly are a theatrical trailer and
2018 Re-release trailer, stills gallery and the package
has an illustrated booklet featuring essays by Ginette
Vincendeau, Deborah Allison, William Fowler and Sarah
Wood.
Wow - this is the definitive edition of Cocteau's
Orphée (Orpheus.) or many, it is his best film
filled with mystery. "A poet in love with Death follows
his unhappy wife into the underworld." Brilliant. This
is one that deserves a
Blu-ray
double-dip and to own it in the best digital release for
world cinephiles. This IS a must-own, imo.
***
Ratcheting up another notch is the audio - remaining faithful as a linear PCM track in original mono. Like the video it may make no demonstrative claims on overwhelming superiority - but the improvement is easy to ascertain by closing ones eyes and hearing both in consecutive scene viewing. Like all Criterion Blu-rays it is region 'A'-locked and offers optional English subtitles. The most apparent difference between the first edition and the 2011 are the extensive supplements. This might be considered the primary reason for any double-dipping on the title. So, as we have stated, being a new edition from Criterion - we get a stacked slate of brand new supplements including an audio commentary featuring French-film scholar, writer/producer, James S. Williams recorded for the Criterion Collection in May 2011. It is exceptionally informative with pauses for important relevant scenes. I think Cocteau fans will relish the opportunity to listen to this very professional expert on Orpheus. There are also somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 hours of video extras starting with Jean Cocteau: Autobiography of an Unknown from 1984 running over an hour. The documentary, presented here in HD, covers an immense amount of ground - it was directed by Edgardo Cozarinsky. Next up is Jean Cocteau and His Tricks, a video 2008 interview with assistant director Claude Pinoteau conducted by director Marc Caro (Delicatessen, City of Lost Children). He discusses the special effects in Cocteau's films and runs about 15-minutes in HD. In '40 Minutes with Jean Cocteau' we get more insight into the director via his own words in this interview conducted by Francois Chalais and shot by Orpheus cinematographer Nicholas Hayer. Cocteau discuses his film work as well as his paintings in the church at Villefranche-sur-Mer and in the villa Santo-Sospir. The interview was part of the French television series At Home With... and first aired August 28th, 1957. In Search of Jazz is another interview with Cocteau on the use of jazz in the films from a French television series. It runs 17-minutes and is presented in HD. La villa Santo-Sospir is a 16 mm color film by Cocteau - made in 1951. It runs 36-minutes and features a tour of his decorative art at villa Santo-Sospir and his home in Villefranche-sur-Mer. There is a beautiful gallery of 48 images by French-film portrait photographer Roger Corbeau presented in 1080P. Also included in a theatrical trailer in HD and almost 2-minutes of some raw newsreel footage from 1950 of the Saint-Cyr military academy ruins, a location used in Orpheus. Lastly is a liner notes 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. The extras are like a half-day clinic on Cocteau and worked fabulous for me with a coffee and a snack. I never felt like a neophyte when it came to the director but I am certainly far more educated on Orpheus now and it has only escalated my overall appreciation. This becomes beyond an 'easy recommendation' but is instead an essential package in my eyes. There is only a dollar difference in the price of the Blu-ray to DVD and we consider the extras 100 cents well spent. *** ON THE DVDs: Update: The BFI edition of Jean Cocteau's Orphée, released in October 2008, differs from Criterion's 2000 release in several important ways. First, unlike the Criterion which is available only as a part of a box set of Cocteau's Orphic trilogy - reviewed HERE, the BFI's edition is stand alone. Second, there's a noticeable difference between the contrast of the two editions. The Criterion is brighter, with richer black levels. By using a slightly darker palette, the BFI appears to be less manipulated. but the Criterion looks significantly sharper with more grain and the BFI appears flatter with muddier contrast. Third, in comparing the soundtracks, I can say that the BFI uses Linear PCM instead of Dolby Digital 2.0 and has a slightly crisper and cleaner audio presentation. Feel free to take from this what you will. Fourth, sticking with the audio for a moment, in the only line of dialogue that I compare subtitles with, the two releases translate it very differently. One example - the line is translated on the Criterion as "Your cafe amuses me", whereas the BFI renders it as "You'd think this cafe was the nerve-centre of the world." Given my lack of knowledge of French, I can't comment on which is more accurate, but it does make me wonder just how the translations differ between the two.
Lastly, the BFI has more extras. The Criterion offers only a biography and reprints of Cocteau's own writings, where the BFI comes with an excellent commentary by Roland-Francois Lack, detailing the film's production, the lives of the participants and the symbolism on screen. Additionally, the BFI has the original English credit sequence, a theatrical trailer, and another outstanding booklet with a newly commissioned essay, and reprints of an interview with the director and the original "Sight & Sound" review. I dearly love this film and I am so glad to have both editions. Those who enjoy it as much as me should seriously consider picking up this invaluable BFI edition even if you already own the Criterion box. Certainly recommended. |
Recommended Film reading (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
Jean Cocteau: Erotic
Drawings
by Annie Guedras |
The Difficulty of Being
by Jean Cocteau, Elizabeth Sprigge |
Cocteau by Dominique Paini, Jean Cocteau |
The Art of Cinema by Jean Cocteau, Robin Buss |
The Infernal Machine, and
Other Plays. by Jean Cocteau |
The Holy Terrors (Les
Enfants Terribles) by Jean Cocteau, Rosamond Lehmann |
Cocteau: A Biography
(Nonpareil Books, No 40) by Francis Steegmuller |
Beauty and the Beast:
Diary of a Film by Jean Cocteau, Leprince De Beaumont |
DVD
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(Criterion (Spine # 68)
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
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1) Criterion Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP 2) BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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