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Black Orpheus
Metascore
81 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 8 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
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  1. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    100
    A riotous, rapturous explosion of sound and color, Black Orpheus is less about Orpheus's doomed love for Eurydice than about Camus's love for cinema at its most gestural and kinetic.
  2. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    90
    Camus's film remains a revivifying experience - and a mid-winter oasis. Born and bred in France, Camus made other films, and lots of French TV, but Black Orpheus may still be the greatest one-hit-wonder import we've ever seen.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Bosley Crowther
    90
    It really is not the two lovers that are the focus of interest in this film; it is the music, the movement, the storm of color that go into the two-day festival. M. Camus has done a superb job of getting the documented look not only of the overall fandango but also of the buildup of momentum the day before. (Review of Original Release)
  4. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    88
    A film that art-house audiences in 1959 loved madly. And who can blame them? A buoyant, searingly colorful retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth set in Rio de Janiero, writer-director's Marcel Camus' movie is a romance heightened by its backdrop.
  5. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    88
    Besides its exhilarating style, the well-acted film works as an effective translation of the classic Greek myth into a Brazilian romance. (Review of Original Release)
  6. Variety
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    80
    Pic is somewhat cerebral, being mainly helped by the fresh playing of the cast, especially Yank actress Dawn. Color is excellent, and director Marcel Camus gives this movement. (Review of Original Release)
  7. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    75
    This is a movie about the marriage between sound and image, and the sound is wearing the pants in the relationship.
  8. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    50
    This sort of thing was considered high art not so long ago; now it seems forced and ponderously symbolic.
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.2 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 1 out of 3
  1. Jordan
    9
    Though the plot becomes predictable at some point, the visual and aural qualities that ultimately comprise the film's world more that other elements bring joy that's difficult to brush aside. Such joy is more resilient in the end than the simple plot.… Full Review »
  2. RemyM.
    2
    Grossly overated in its initial release, now the critics have another chance to fawn over this ultra boring nothing with a great theme song.
  3. CharlesM.
    10
    This film is a visual and auditory delight, and the "life goes on" ending is absolutely beautiful.
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