Orphée
(DVD)

Originally released as a motion picture in 1950.

"New digital restoration."--Container.

The second film in a series sometimes referred to as Jean Cocteau's Orphic trilogy.

Special features: 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 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; original theatrical trailer; audio commentary by French-film scholar James S. Williams.

Director of photography, Nicolas Heyer; editor, Jacqueline Sadoul; music, Georges Auric.

Jean Marais, François Périer, Marie Déa, Maria Casarès.

A 1950 update of the Orphic myth by Jean Cocteau that depicts a famous poet scorned by the Left Bank youth, and his love for both his wife Eurydice and a mysterious princess. 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 represents the legendary Cocteau at the height of his abilities for peerless visual poetry and dreamlike storytelling.

DVD format, NTSC, Region 1; Dolby Digital mono.

In French with optional subtitles in English.