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Licensor Information
SNC
Directed by: Jean Cocteau
Featuring: Jean Marais, Francois Perier, Maria Casarès, Marie Déa, Henri Crémieux, Juliette Gréco, Roger Blin, Edouard Dermithe, Maurice Carnège, René Worms, Pierre Bertin, Jacques Varennes, Jean-Pierre Melville
Jean Cocteau’s update of the Orpheus myth depicts a famous poet (Jean Marais), scorned by the Left Bank youth, and his love for both his wife, Eurydice (Marie Déa), and a mysterious princess (Maria Casarès). Seeking inspiration, the poet follows the princess from the world of the living to the land of the dead, through Cocteau’s famous mirrored portal. Orpheus’s peerless visual poetry and dreamlike storytelling represent the legendary Cocteau at the height of his powers.
Streaming Options
27340.
+21878
Stream
Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Format:
Blu-ray
Disc:
BD-50 (1 Disc)
Total: 1 Disc
Regions:
A (Blu-ray)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33:1
Audio Options:
French PCM Mono 1.0
Resolution:
1080p/24
Subtitles:
English
Supplements
Types of Supplements Included: Audio Commentary, Documentary, Interview, Short Film, Gallery, Archival Footage, Theatrical Trailer, Booklet
- Audio commentary featuring French-film scholar James S. Williams
- Jean Cocteau: Autobiography of an Unknown (1984), a feature-length documentary
- Jean Cocteau and His Tricks (2008), a video interview with assistant director Claude Pinoteau
- 40 Minutes with Jean Cocteau (1957), an interview with the director
- In Search of Jazz (1956), an interview with Jean Cocteau on the use of jazz in the film
- La villa Santo-Sospir (1951), a 16 mm color film by Cocteau
- Gallery of images by French-film portrait photographer Roger Corbeau
- Raw newsreel footage from 1950 of the Saint-Cyr military academy ruins, a location used in the film
- Theatrical trailer
- Booklet with a new essay by author Mark Polizzotti and an essay on La villa Santo-Sospir by James S. Williams; and an excerpted article by Jean Cocteau on the film
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Film
Picture
Audio
Supplements
Artwork
Release Credits
Producer: Susan Arosteguy
Artwork: Fred Davis
Release Notes on Restoration
Orpheus
Orpheus is presented in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. On widescreen televisions, black bars will appear on the left and right of the image to maintain the proper screen format. This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a Spirit Datacine from a 35mm fine-grain internegative struck from the original nitrate negative. The restoration of Orpheus was carried out in collaboration with Archives française du film in Bois-d'Arcy, France, under the supervision of assistant director Claude Pinoteau. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system, while Digital Vision's DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.
The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical track print. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation.
The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical track print. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation.