#marai casares

[sjnjournal]

Orphée (1950), dir. Jean Cocteau

[jiz-henry]

[helgardhishere]

Testament of Orpheus (1960) - Jean Cocteau

[lesyeuxdenadja]

[etiennedaho]

UNE VIE, UNE OEUVRE (Deuxième Partie) Pour se replonger dans les destins de personnages forts et singuliers, France Culture propose cette série passionnante à écouter en replay ou en podcast. Voici une sélection personnelle des émissions. Bonne écoute. É.

Jeanne Moreau : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/jeanne-moreau-lunique-1928-2… Nico : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/nico-1938-1988-les-cicatrice… Lucian Freud : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/une-v…/lucian-freud-1922-2011 Patrice Chéreau : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/un…/patrice-chereau-1944-2013 Zelda Fitzgerald : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/zelda-fitzgerald-1900-1948-r… Yves Saint Laurent : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/une-vie-une-oeuvre/yves-sain… Maria Casares : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/maria-casares-femme-libre-et… Jacques Demy : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/une-v…/jacques-demy-1931-1990 Maurice Sachs : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/maurice-sachs-1906-1945-la-m… Hubert Selby Jr : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/hubert-selby-jr-le-puritain-… Tennessee Williams : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/tennessee-williams-la-jungle… Marcel Duchamps : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/une…/marcel-duchamp-1887-1968 Jean Cocteau : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/jean-cocteau-poete-insatiable Jean-Jacques Perrey : https://www.franceculture.fr/…/jean-jacques-perrey-1929-201…

[therockyhorrorcriticshow]

Orphée - Jean Cocteau (1950)

[justframes]

Orphée (Orpheus) Jean Cocteau 1950

[arte-e-homoerotismo]

Jean Marais

Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (Cherbourg, 11 de dezembro de 1913 — Cannes, 8 de novembro de 1998) foi um ator e diretor francês.

Biografia

Jean Marais (pronúncia em francês: ​[ʒɑ̃ maʁɛ]) nasceu em Cherbourg, na Baixa-Normandia, filho de um veterinário e de uma dona de casa, excêntrica e cleptomaníaca. Tendo-lhe morrido recentemente uma filha com dois anos de idade, a mãe ficou muito decepcionada por lhe ter nascido um rapaz. Para compensar esse desgosto, até aos 6 ou 7 anos, vestiria Jean de menina, dando-lhe bonecas para brincar.

Ficou conhecido por ser o protagonista de alguns filmes dirigidos por Jean Cocteau. Dentre os mais famosos destacam-se A Bela e o Monstro (1946) e Orfeu (1950). Marais interpretou cerca de 100 personagens em filmes de cinema e televisão. Também escreveu, pintou e esculpiu. Marais em 1942

Na década de 1950, Marais protagonizou muitos filmes de capa e espada, angariando grande popularidade na França. Ele mesmo fazia as arriscadas cenas de açção, que normalmente teriam ficado a cargo de duplos. Na década seguinte, ele interpretou o famoso vilão Fantômas numa trilogia de cinema iniciada em 1964. Em 1963, foi jurado do Terceiro Festival Internacional de Cinema de Moscou.

Após a década de 1970, os trabalhos de Marais no cinema rarearam, preferindo actuar no teatro. Manteve-se activo nos palcos até os oitenta anos, quando então fez trabalhos também como escultor. A escultura "Le passe muraille" pode ser apreciada no bairro parisiense de Montmatre. Em 1985, ele liderou o juri do 35º Festival Internacional de Berlim.

Em 1995 protagonizou o documentário "Screening at the Majestic", que foi incluido no DVD de 2003 do filme restaurado La Belle et la Bête. Marais aparece na capa do disco de The Smiths, This Charming Man.

Em 1994 foi-lhe diagnosticado um mieloma, que o foi enfraquecendo e limitando nos anos seguintes. Em 8 de Novembro de 1998, Marais morreu de um edema pulmonar agudo em Cannes. Foi sepultado no Cemitério Vallauris.

Vida pessoal

Jean Marais conheceu Jean Cocteau na primavera de 1937, quando actuou na peça Édipo-Rei daquele. Cocteau logo se apaixonou pelo jovem actor e tornaram-se amantes. Com o passar do tempo, a paixão esmoreceu por parte de Marais, mas ficaram amigos para o resto da vida. Marais preferia amantes mais jovens, que procurava e arranjava facilmente, devido à sua crescente visibilidade como estrela de cinema e ao seu físico atlético. De 1949 a 1959 foi amante de George Reich, bailarino norte-americano que vivia em Paris. Apesar de predominantemente homossexual, entre 1942 e 1946 terá tido um caso amoroso com a atriz Mila Parély, mas nunca chegaram a casar-se, contou Marais nas suas memórias, Histoires de ma vie (1975). Marais homenageou Cocteau com o texto L'Inconcevable Jean Cocteau.

Jean Marais by Raymond Voinquel

[practicallynonsensical]

Practically Nonsensical Mini Review

Orpheus (1950)

"What does marble think when it's being sculpted? It thinks, "I am struck, insulted, ruined, lost." Life is sculpting me. Let it finish its work."

We all know the original myth,

Orpheus goes to rescue his love from hell, but he must not look back at her until they are back in the land of the living or he will lose her forever. And well...you know the rest.

"Is it Death you wish to find or is it Eurydice?"

Sooooo knowing the myth and then hearing him wax poetry about forever, we know he truly seeks both.

Orpheus is a melodramatic modern myth, it employs surrealism dressed as realism (for example, the journey into the underworld scene!!!). We move through scenes hyper focused on character.

Like Princess comes down with the regal dramatics "Do you know who I am?" And Orpheus is like "I do."

And she says "Say it."

SO HE GOES "My death."

And she is absolutely snatched. The lighting hits perfectly. It is a sight. It is art.

Also, so Twilight like...ripped that and we just???

Anywho.

"I am letting you into the secret of all secrets, mirrors are gates through which death comes and goes. Moreover if you see your whole life in a mirror you will see death at work."

The more you read it, the more you dread.

Also, I see the Tenet parallels and I am vibrating.

[365days365movies]

March 9, 2021: Orpheus (Review)

Man, I really should’ve taken a film class in college.

Orpheus, understand, is a fantastic film...that I am highly unqualified to judge. I man, I’m gonna give it a shot, but this isn’t gonna be a professional film essay on the reflections (ha) of this movie on the French political scene at the time or anything like that. It’s just gonna be what I thought of the movie.

And what did I think of the movie? Well, other than letting me refresh my French language skills a little, I had an excellent time with this movie. It’s stunning, it’s groundbreaking, it’s breathtaking, and it’s a great example of what can be done with clever filmmaking and practical effects. I mean, what would you expect? It’s Jean Cocteau.

I’ve only seen one of his films prior to this, La Belle et la Bête, and that’s a beautiful film in its own right, with equally fantastic effects. Like Aladdin and The Thief of Bagdad, Disney took a lot of that film’s aesthetic and themes from Cocteau’s version of the story. What can I say, they’ve got good taste.

As for me...I’d like to think I have good taste, but that’s technically what this whole thing is for, right? To broaden my palate and further define my taste. Sooooo, what exactly did I think of this one? Check out the Recap (Part One | Part Two) if you want to see my reaction to the movie as I watched it! Otherwise...

Review

Cast and Acting: 9/10

Jean Marais is our star here, and one of Cocteau’s favorites (he was also the Beast and the Gaston in La Belle et la Bête four years earlier). He plays Orpheus like an absolute dick most of the time, which is interesting, since the character is the prototype of a tortured artist, so it makes some sense. However, that portrayal is somewhat on the writing, less so than Marais’ performance. That said, he’s still fantastic in the role. François Périer is also fucking fantastic as Heurtebise, and is genuinely my favorite character (and I still think he was meant to represent Hermes). María Casares intricately plays her complex character, an aspect of Death in love with a poet. Which, yeah, rules. And Marie Déa and  Édouard Dermit were...fine as Eurydice and Jacques. Yeah, they were both very good, but I can’t say that they were perfect, especially Dermit. But still, all of these were strong performances in a strong movie.

Plot and Writing: 9/10

Oh boy, the PLOT. Jean Cocteau’s screenplay is a great example of a screenplay adapted from source material, but doing something completely different with that material. It’s adaptation done...well, right, but also done creatively. Now, obviously, that’s done mostly through the visual rather than the verbal, but it’s still done VERY well. I mean, come on, they turned the tale of Orpheus into a Hades and Persephone love story as well!

 Yeah, I didn’t mention it in the Recap, but think about it! An aspect of Death, referred to as royalty, falls in love with a mortal human. Said mortal is also in love with another woman (allegedly). Now, yeah, that’s basically the whole “even the Gods loved Orpheus” thing, but HE also falls in love with HER. She’s Hades, and he’s Persephone! But in the end, he needs to return to the mortal world for springtime, while Hades must remain in the Underworld...for now, anyway. Maybe that’s e over-reading a bit, but I can see it. In any case, the screenplay’s adaptation of the original story is fantastic. Not the easiest to dissect, maybe (the whole “Death loves Orpheus” thing sort of comes out of nowhere), but still great!

Directing and Cinematography: 10/10

I mean...it’s Jean Cocteau (and Nicolas Hayer for the cinematography). What else am I gonna do, give him a nine and say that it wasn’t perfect? I mean...come on. It was amazing. It’s Jean goddamn Cocteau. The camera movements and shot framing are goddamn spectacular IT IS JEAN FUCKING COCTEAU

Production and Art Design: 8/10

Art design was only really OK, though. Yeah, sorry, sometimes it struck me quite well, but I don’t know that I can say the production and art design was as much of a stand out for this one. The only reason is because the camera and editing really did all of the work here, real talk. Cocteau made this movie look amazing, not as much the movie itself. But don’t get me wrong, the movie does still look amazing. Whomever did the location scouting did a great job in finding an abandoned military school for the Underworld, because it’s great looking. However, again...the way it’s all shot isn’t about the set itself, it’s about the camera work. And one other thing...

Music and Editing: 10/10

MMMMMMMMMMMWAHCHEF’SKISSBABY

Yeah, now, this is an amazing goddamn editing job be Jacqueline Sadoul, and the music by Georges Auric is equally as fantastic. This is a gorgeous film, and the editing is a HUGE part of that. Practical effects is one thing, but clever editing also made this film work as well as it did. There’s so much to unpack with that, it’s genuinely hard to go into. But hell, I don’t need to. Watch this film, especially if you have HBO Max. You’ll see what I mean, because it’s a fantastic looking movie that’s genuinely hard to describe to the unfamiliar.

92%, and I’m not looking back.

Well, one day I probably will, because this movie was wonderful, and DEFINITELY worth another watch. Mostly so I can better figure out what’s going on, and what Cocteau’s trying to say. Although, to be fair, this movie isn’t as experimental as film can get, not by a long shot. It’s still beautiful, without a doubt, and it’s absolutely worth a second viewing.

OK. Now that that’s done, let’s go to another country renowned for its fantasy stylings. Or, to be more accurate...let’s go back. You guys ready to get spooked?

March 10, 2021: Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)

[jiz-henry]

[helgardhishere]

Testament of Orpheus (1960) - Jean Cocteau

[vsthepomegranate]

Orpheus (1950)

by Jean Cocteau

[forfoxessake]

[26] Orpheus (1950)

Directed by Jean Cocteau

I love the Orpheus myth and Jean Cocteau's twist to the original story is just amazing. Mirrors as the passage to the underworld, him falling in love with death, the constant dreamlike perception of reality. Orpheus being a poet, not a writer, and also not in love with anything but death and himself. Here Eurydice gets back to the world of the living, but Orpheus clearly does not want her, he tries to not look at her (that's the condition imposed by the judges to allow her back) but he can't help but look upon her reflection on the rearview mirror.

[cadwalladery]

Films seen in 2019

# 205 - Testament of Orpheus (Jean Cocteau, 1960)

[unateoriadegliautori]

le testament d’orphée (1960)