Orphée

[reaky]

Orphée



Poet, playwright, artist and filmmaker, Jean Cocteau was one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century and Orphee his finest work of cinema.

This magical retelling of the Orpheus myth turns the lyre-playing singer of Greek legend into a famous left-bank poet in post-war Paris. Fallen out of favour and lost for poetic inspiration, Orphee becomes obsessed with a mysterious black-clad princess who first claims the life of a rival poet, and then Eurydice, his wife.

With its unforgettable imagery - the dissolving mirror through which characters pass into the next world, the leather-clad, death-dealing motorcyclists, and Cocteau's magical special effects - Orphee is a work of haunting beauty that follows the poetic logic of a dream.

'A hauntingly beautiful piece of cinema' The Times

Extras
* Feature commentary from French film expert Roland-Franois lack
* Original trailer
* Fully illustrated booklet containing posters, stills and a 1950 interview with Cocteau

[Caligula]

Really looking forward to this revisit of ORPHEE - the DVD Beaver screens of the Criterion look immeasurably better than the old battered burnt-in sub BFI version. I am a little worried, though, that the new edition might be missing the excellent Lies And Truths documentary on Cocteau. Any word, Michael?

Has anyone bought this? I can't seem to find any reviews of this disc.

Would love to know how this compares to the Criterion. Anyone?

[reaky]

I did buy it in the end, despite, as you note, a lack of reviews. I can't compare to the Criterion, but I can say that the transfer is gorgeous, sharp and free of print damage. Subtitles are removable. Unfortunately, as I suspected, the Lies And Truths documentary hasn't made it on to the new edition.

[Jonathan S]

Unfortunately, as I suspected, the Lies And Truths documentary hasn't made it on to the new edition.

Thanks for posting this info, especially since several major e-tailers (e.g. MovieMail, play.com) are misleadingly claiming the doc is included in the new edition! I'm glad I didn't sell off my old BFI disc.

[antnield]

A bit late - but now reviewed on DVD Times...

Orphée

[tojoed]

The booklet says " Restored with the kind support of Sky Arts". It's not often that one offers kudos to a Rupert Murdoch enterprise, but on this occasion it seems only fair.

[MichaelB]

The booklet says " Restored with the kind support of Sky Arts". It's not often that one offers kudos to a Rupert Murdoch enterprise, but on this occasion it seems only fair.

Sky Arts funded quite a few of the BFI HD transfers, which is why they seemed to be having a bit of a BFI festival in the early days when they'd only just started broadcasting in HD.

And of course the Times has sponsored the London Film Festival (sorry, the Times BFI London Film Festival) for several years now.

[MichaelB]

ORPHÉE, Jean Cocteau’s 1950 masterpiece, comes to Blu-ray for the first time in the UK in a 2K restoration from the original camera negatives, following its current theatrical release.

Currently slated for 21 January 2019.

[Finch]

After the La Belle et la Bete fuck up, they better double and triple-check the encode on Orphee before it goes to the disc manufacturers.

[rapta]

After the La Belle et la Bete fuck up, they better double and triple-check the encode on Orphee before it goes to the disc manufacturers.

And I'm certain they will this time, if only to avoid the expense of another disc replacement programme.

Talking of which, someone on BR.com has raised An Actor's Revenge as another possible macroblocking problem title - has anyone else noticed it?

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

Orphée

A film by Jean Cocteau
Starring Jean Marais

Blu-ray and simultaneous iTunes release on 21 January 2019

See the 2018 BFI trailer here.

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. Following the film’s theatrical release by the BFI in October, on 21 January 2019 it will be released on both Blu-ray and on iTunes. In a new initiative for 2019, to give BFI releases the widest possible reach and make them accessible to all, there will be a simultaneous physical and digital release for all new titles where possible.

This magical retelling of the Orpheus myth turns the lyre-playing singer of Greek legend into a famous left-bank poet in post-war Paris. Fallen out of favour and lost for poetic inspiration, Orphée becomes obsessed with a mysterious black-clad princess who first claims the life of a rival poet, and then Eurydice, his wife.

With its unforgettable imagery – the dissolving mirror through which characters pass into the next world, the leather-clad, death-dealing motorcyclists, and Cocteau’s magical special effects, Orphée is a work of haunting beauty that follows the poetic logic of a dream.

Special features
• Presented in High Definition;
• Feature-length commentary by Roland-François Lack;
• Jean Cocteau by Pierre Bergé and Dominque Marny (2008, 35 mins): the former and current presidents of the Jean Cocteau Committee 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 (2008, 16 mins): actor and filmmaker Jean-Pierre Mocky reminisces 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 (2008, 14 mins): assistant director Claude Pinoteau shares 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 (2018, 15 mins): director John Maybury 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 (1952, 38 mins): A short colour film by Jean Cocteau in which he gives us a guided tour of the villa;
• Theatrical trailer;
• 2018 Re-release trailer;
• Stills gallery;
• Illustrated booklet featuring essays by Ginette Vincendeau, Deborah Allison and William Fowler.

Product details
RRP: £19.99/ Cat. no. BFIB1326 / Cert PG
France / 1950 / black and white / 96 mins / French language with English subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.33:1 // BD50: 1080p, 24fps, DTS-HD Master audio 1.0 (48kHz/24-bit), Dolby Digital 2.0 commentary audio (192Kbps)

[TMDaines]

Tooze says that the PQ is superior, but I'm not sure I see it. The framing is a tad less tight, but otherwise we just seem to have two stacked alternate releases.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRevie ... lu-ray.htm

[hearthesilence]

Tooze says that the PQ is superior, but I'm not sure I see it. The framing is a tad less tight, but otherwise we just seem to have two stacked alternate releases.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRevie ... lu-ray.htm

He must be looking at the grain, which Criterion softened up a touch, but it's very subtle - I had to stack the images on top of each other, then toggle back and forth after lining them up. It's possible one wouldn't be able to notice without this direct comparison.

The extras may decide this for most people - some overlap, but there's different feature-length commentaries, quite a few interviews on both that aren't on the other, and Criterion has that feature-length doc (which I haven't seen so I can't comment on it).

[andyli]

I suppose the BFI uses a new scan, hence the different framing. The Criterion is an early Blu-ray release and, I have to admit, holds up pretty well. I was expecting a night and day difference like The Wages of Fear.

[nitin]

This isn’t from a new scan or restoration though is it? It certainly doesn’t look it, just a different encode of the sam master. Gary really seems to have no idea about this stuff.