Orpheus

(Jean Cocteau, France 1950, 112 min., 35mm)

Set in contemporary Paris, the film is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. After a run-in at a café, Orpheus (Jean Marais) becomes infatuated with a princess (María Casares) despite having a pregnant wife, Eurydice (Marie Deá), at home. After a wild night of brawls, reanimation, and abstract poetry, Orpheus wakes up alone at a ruined chateau and is taken back home by the princess’s chauffeur, Heurtebise (François Périer). However, upon getting home, Orpheus is questioned by Eurydice and the local police regarding the disappearance of Cégeste, who was with him and the princess the previous night. When Eurydice is suddenly killed by one of princess’s henchmen, Heurtebise proposes to lead Orpheus through “the Zone'' and into the Underworld to reclaim her. In the Underworld, Orpheus finds himself as a plaintiff before a tribunal which interrogates all parties involved with the death of Eurydice. The tribunal declares that Eurydice was taken unfairly and that Eurydice may return to the mortal realm on one condition: Orpheus may not look upon her for the rest of his life or risk losing her forever. Orpheus is the central part of director Jean Cocteau’s Orphic Trilogy, which also includes The Blood of a Poet (1930) and Testament of Orpheus (1960).   

Preceded by a performance from Jeffrey Thompson, tenor, and Deborah Fox, theorbo.