RECOMMENDED (Orfeu Negro, 1959) “Black Orpheus,” Marcel Camus’ bold, intoxicating transposition of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice to the bossa nova and samba-steeped Brazilian favelas, is an eyeful on DVD but a rare visual treat seen on screen. Winner of a 1960 Academy Award and the 1959 winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, it also had an influence outside of theaters: Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luis Bonfá’s score (including “Manha de Carnival” and “O Nossa Amor”) has been interpreted many times in the decades since. As critic David Ehrenstein aptly writes in the Criterion notes, “…so important is ‘Black Orpheus’’ musical dimension that you might say the film’s roots aren’t in images but in sounds.” 100m. (Ray Pride)
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