The Orphic Trilogy

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The Orphic Trilogy is a series of three French films written and directed by Jean Cocteau: [1] [2]

The Criterion Collection has released the trilogy as a DVD boxed set (which has since gone out-of-print). [3]

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Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost artists of the surrealist, avant-garde, and Dadaist movements and an influential figure in early 20th century art. The National Observer suggested that, "of the artistic generation whose daring gave birth to Twentieth Century Art, Cocteau came closest to being a Renaissance man.".

<i>Orpheus</i> (film) 1950 French film

Orpheus is a 1950 French film directed by Jean Cocteau and starring Jean Marais. It is the central part of Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy, which consists of The Blood of a Poet (1930), Orpheus (1950), and Testament of Orpheus (1960).

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Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais, known professionally as Jean Marais, was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 films and was the lover, muse and friend of acclaimed director Jean Cocteau. In 1996, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor for his contributions to French cinema.

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<i>The Blood of a Poet</i> 1930 film

The Blood of a Poet (1932) is an avant-garde film directed by Jean Cocteau, financed by Charles de Noailles and starring Enrique Riveros, a Chilean actor who had a successful career in European films. Photographer Lee Miller made her only film appearance in this movie, which features an appearance by the famed aerialist Barbette. It is the first part of The Orphic Trilogy, which is continued in Orphée (1950) and concludes with Testament of Orpheus (1960).

<i>Testament of Orpheus</i> 1960 French film

Testament of Orpheus is a 1960 black-and-white film with a few seconds of color film spliced into it. Directed by and starring Jean Cocteau, who plays himself as an 18th-century poet, the film includes cameo appearances by Pablo Picasso, Jean Marais, Charles Aznavour, Jean-Pierre Leaud, and Yul Brynner. It is considered the final part of The Orphic Trilogy, following The Blood of a Poet (1930) and Orphée (1950).

La Villa Santo Sospir (1952) is a 35-minute amateur or home film directed by Jean Cocteau in which Cocteau takes the viewer on a tour of Francine Weisweiller's villa on the French coast, a major location later used in his film Testament of Orpheus (1960).

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Les Enfants terribles is a 1950 French film directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, with a screenplay adapted by Jean Cocteau from his 1929 novel of the same name about the tangled relationship of a close brother and sister.

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The ancient legend of Orpheus and Eurydice concerns the fateful love of Orpheus of Thrace for the beautiful Eurydice. Orpheus was the son of Oeagrus and the muse Calliope. It may be a late addition to the Orpheus myths, as the latter cult-title suggests those attached to Persephone. The subject is among the most frequently retold of all Greek myths, being featured in numerous works of literature, operas, ballets, paintings, plays, musicals, and more recently, films and video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orpheus</span> Legendary musician, poet, and prophet in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Orpheus was a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece, and even descended into the underworld of Hades, to recover his lost wife Eurydice.

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The Jean Cocteau Museum/Séverin Wunderman Collection is a museum in Menton, on the French Riviera, in the Alpes-Maritimes department. Dedicated to the French artist Jean Cocteau, it incorporates the collection of American businessman and Cocteau enthusiast Séverin Wunderman.

Orphée is the French for Orpheus, a legendary figure in Greek mythology, chief among poets and musicians.

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The Jean Cocteau House was the residence of the French poet, artist, playwright and film maker Jean Cocteau (1889–1963), which he purchased with the film actor Jean Marais in 1947, and where he created many of his later works before his death in 1963. It is located about fifty kilometers south of Paris in the village of Milly-la-Forêt in the Essonne Department of France. The 16th century house was originally part of the domain of a 13th-century chateau whose moat and a ruined tower are next to the house. The house also has gardens and a small wooded park. The house now displays furnished rooms and a museum of his work. The tomb of Cocteau, decorated with his work, is found in a small chapel, Saint Blaise des Simples, at the edge of town not from the house. The house facade and roof were listed in the supplemental inventory of historic monuments in 1969.

<i>Orphée</i> (Glass) Opera by Philip Glass

Orphée is a chamber opera in two acts and 18 scenes, for ensemble and soloists, composed in 1991 by Philip Glass, to a libretto by the composer, based on the scenario of the eponymous film (1950) by Jean Cocteau. Commissioned by the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, this is the first part of a trilogy in honour of the French poet. The world premiere of the work took place on 14 May 1993 under the direction of Martin Goldray and the European premiere in London on 27 May 2005 in the Royal Opera House's Linbury Studio Theatre.

Orpheus, original title Orphée, is a stage play written by Jean Cocteau, produced in Paris 1926 by Georges Pitoëff and Ludmilla Pitoëff, with decors by Jean Hugo and costumes by Coco Chanel.

References

  1. "The Orphic Trilogy". Harvard Film Archive. 2006-04-14. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  2. "Jean Cocteau and the Orphic Trilogy – MondesFrancophones.com". mondesfrancophones.com. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  3. "The Orphic Trilogy". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 12 September 2018.