Jean Cocteau was an artist with many brushes, ranging from poetry to sculpture to ballet. He is most well-known today for his contributions to cinematic fantasy, having brought us one of the earliest and most influential live-action fairy tales, 1946’s Beauty and the Beast. Four years later, he would likewise pioneer the revisionist fairy tale, putting a modern spin on an ancient Greek myth in Orpheus.
After the poet Orphee sees his rival run down in the street by the town car of Death (that is to say, the specter of Death’s own personal escort) he becomes captivated by the otherworldly, drawing inspiration from ghostly communiques recieved over an enchanted radio. Such is Orphee’s obsession that he allows his wife to be kidnapped by the jealous specter of Death, and must therefore venture through the surreal landscapesof the underworld to reclaim her.
Orpheus is a beautiful film, plain and simple. In addition to conveying the plot, it also serves as an opportunity for Cocteau to engage his love of special effects, which largely rely on obvious yet eloquent tricks like reversing the film and constructing large, off-kilter facades. Appropriately, this endows the film with a dreamlike quality, though this is hardly the most surreal of his Orphic trilogy. In fact, considering the multifaceted and deep relationships between the characters, the story is a winningly human one, grounded in particular by the fantastic performance of Francois Perier as Heurtebise, Death’s chauffer.
The new Criterion rerelease of Orpheus is rich with special features, though they largely focus more on Jean Cocteau than on the film specifically. Still, the director alone is a fascinating figure, and we are still presented with looks at his handling of music and special effects, two of the most striking aspects of Orpheus. What’s more, interviews with the director, recorded before his death in 1963, provide a rare and welcome insight into the mind of an artist who might otherwise be too esoteric for some viewers.
It might very well be unfair to recognize Cocteau purely on the basis of his films, especially considering how many other endeavors he pursued over the course of his life. Still, as far as DVDs go, it’s hard imagining a release that does Orpheus or its artist more justice than this fine edition from Criterion.
Orpheus is unrated, containing some violence and thematic content. The Criterion DVD and Blu-ray are available in stores and online from Barnes and Noble for $15 and $20 respectively ($30 and $40 after November 21st).
Comments