Orpheus
Orphée
CINEMA1950-09-29
RegionFR
Runtime95 MIN
Media TypeMovie
Nexus Editorial Perspective Nexus Original
“Cocteau moves Orpheus into modern Paris, turning mirrors, poetry, and death into a distinctly cinematic passage between the living world and the underworld.”
Storyline
A famous poet in postwar Paris, scorned by the Left Bank youth, is in love with both his wife Eurydice and a mysterious princess. Seeking inspiration, the poet becomes obsessed and follows the princess from the world of the living to the land of the dead.
DIRECTOR / Director
Jean Cocteau
KEYWORDS
parisfrancemythologypoetgreek mythologyromantic poetorpheus
Featured in Topics
1Explore curated thematic universes and editorial collections
Editorial Select|30 Movies
Greek Mythology
Gods decree fate, heroes embark on quests, and mortals face the long road home.
Cocteau moves Orpheus into modern Paris, turning mirrors, poetry, and death into a distinctly cinematic passage between the living world and the underworld.
Collection: The Orphic Trilogy
Decadent, subversive, and bristling with artistic invention, the myth-born cinema of Jean Cocteau disturbs as much as it charms. Cocteau was the most versatile of artists in prewar Paris. Poet, novelist, playwright, painter, celebrity, and maker of cinema—his many talents converged in bold, dreamlike films that continue to enthrall audiences around the world. In "The Blood of a Poet," "Orpheus," and "Testament of Orpheus," Cocteau utilizes the Orphic myth to explore the complex relationships between the artist and his creations, reality and the imagination.
