Product Details

• Actors: Toni Garrido, Patrícia França, Murilo Benício, Zezé Motta, Milton Gonçalves
• Directors: Carlos Diegues
• Writers: Carlos Diegues, Hamilton Vaz Pereira, Hermano Vianna, Joăo Emanuel Carneiro, Paulo Lins
• Producers: Daniel Filho
• Format: Color, Letterboxed, Subtitled, NTSC
• Subtitles: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: New Yorker Video
• VHS Release Date: April 16, 2002
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005R27V
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #202,089 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Carlos Diegues's Orfeu brings the Orpheus myth (by way of the Vinicius De Moraes play, which also inspired Marcel Camus's gorgeous Black Orpheus) into the modern world of laptops and hip-hop, cell phones and street crime. Orfeu (Toni Garrido), Rio de Janeiro's samba king and a kind of god to his neighbors in the labyrinth of slums on Carioca Hill, is humbled by his love for Euridice (Patricia França), a sweet and stunningly beautiful girl from the provinces. Shot on location at Rio's fiery Carnaval celebrations and on a dynamic recreation of Carioca Hill's slums, Diegues's dazzling mix of musical extravaganza, romantic tragedy, and gangland crime drama drops the myth into the poverty and violence of slum life. The drama gets stifled in silly romantic entanglements, but Brazilian pop star Garrido and lovely França have charisma to burn, and the stunning canvas of exploding color is never less than enthralling. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the original but very close..., January 19, 2004

By 

M. Katayama-Lee (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Orfeu (DVD)

This was a pretty well done film. Although it is not as good as the original (1959's "Orfeu Negro") it comes pretty close. I would recommend renting both this and the original to compare the two first. This version definitely appeals to a younger crowd than the older version, but it was still produced in a very tasteful, well crafted way. Also, the soundtrack to this film was quite impressive, so if you enjoy the movie be sure to check the music out as well. Unlike a lot of movie soundtracks which don't include tracks from the movie, the soundtrack to this film does a pretty good job of including the music from all the memorable scenes. Overall, this movie is definitely worth checking out.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars How Can You Mend A Broken Remake?, November 28, 2004

By 

Steven C. Davis (Oakland, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Orfeu (DVD)

I really wanted to like this movie. Black Orpheus is one of my favorite foreign films. First of all I liked the brilliant colors and the cinematography was spectacular. The problem I had with the film is that the actress playing Euridice gave a lackluster performance. The actress that played Mira should have played Euridice. Secondy, if you're going to bring the story into the 21st century writing is important. The film while sticking with the basic story line left out some really important components such as the macumba scene in the original. I guess modern day Brazilians aren't as spiritual as they were 45 years ago. And also it seemed that the focus was more on the violence in modern day Rio than the myth and love story. Which in my opinion took a back seat. The characters weren't the central focus of this movie. Very poor direction here. I will have to say that Toni Garrido is an exellent singer and has an immense amount of presence which was wasted in this movie.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It could have been so much better, July 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Orfeu (DVD)

How sadly disappointing! This film was pretty to look at, but had little merit otherwise. I have seen Black Orpheus, so a comparison is unavoidable. I was not expecting this to be (nor did I want it to be!) just like the original, and I truly enjoyed some of the additions--modern technology, a likeable character "named after Michael Jordan," and the drug/police corruption. However, this movie is pale despite the abundance of beautiful costumes and dancers. Somehow it all falls flat. The director completely missed the opportunity to contrast the life and vibrance of the carnival with the vulgarity of the slums. The acting of the two leads is uninspired and totally unconvincing--I was not moved. Two lovers of such fabled origin should be able to develop more sexual tension and romance than these did. Some of the supporting actors were enjoyable, and the photography is lush, but somehow it does not come together as a whole. The film leaves you with a lot of glitzy superficial images but no feeling of satifsfaction. See Black Orpheus instead--it will move you.