MovieChat Forums > Orfeu Negro (1959) Discussion > Film Originally in Color??

Film Originally in Color??

posted 15 years ago by yb2517
16 replies | jump to latest

I just saw the film in the theatre last night, and enjoyed it immensely. however, there was something that was bothering me - i remember seeing part of it at a class i took about a year ago, and it was (to my greatest effort of visual memory) shown in Black and white; last night's version was shown in full Eastmancolor. IMDB lists the movie as being made in color. But to me something doesn't add up with a film done in Latin America (or South America) in 1959 in color.

Anyone care to correct my memory? :-) would love your opinion on this.

[–] Hot_Water_Burn_Baby 15 years ago

It was absolutely filmed in 100% color.

[–] Prof_Lostiswitz 15 years ago

It was a French production, although it was done in Portuguese. Marcel Camus wanted to capture the colour of Brazil, which should never be in B/W.

[–] amudad 15 years ago

i'm watching it right now and it is really 100% in color!!

[–] BeansOnToast 15 years ago

Yes, it was in color. My family bought it in 1981 (our first videotape ever), and it was in color then, years before the colorization craze. It might have been that you just happened to see a b&w version (perhaps a lower-budget version for schools?) .

[–] fechy 15 years ago

I also remember seeing it in b/w. Wondered if I was confusing the Camus film with the Cocteau film based on the same myth, but I distinctly remember the Jobim music. I also seem to remember that Death was more striking in b/w.

[–] gnudle 15 years ago

I have seen the film several times, and am positive I saw it in black and white. And it was definitely this film -- not the Cocteau or anything else. I don't know how to explain this -- the film info definitely says "color." I don't own the Criterion dvd, and don't know whether there's any relevant info there. I sure would like to find out the explanation!

[–] TRS80NT 14 years ago

Here's my history of seeing the film which may not parallel yours:
The first time I saw it was on PBS (NET at the time) and on a B&W TV. I was taking World Lit and a film studies class at the time and was so takem with the movie I wrote several papers on it for both classes. I saw it one or two more times and on the same television. It was years before I saw it in color, which was, of course, a whole new experience, especially the scene where Orfeo is descending the staircase. I hadn't been able to appreciate on first viewings the impact of the red glow at the bottom of the stairwell.

[–] will7370 12 years ago

You probably saw it first on a Black and White TV???

[–] stobon 11 years ago

I also thought this would be a B/W movie, but now I am pretty much sure it was recorded in full color, there's no way the color could have been added afterwards.

[–] aronaamora 10 years ago

If I recall right in the old days of Black and White television they ran B&W prints of color movies since it was going to be seen in B&W anyway and they were cheaper to print up I imagine. The first poster may have seen a TV print which sometimes would end up in the hands of a collector.

[–] DJMan-51 10 years ago

I'll second that. Up until the mid-1960s, some U.S. stations almost never broadcast in color, and so used black-and-white prints of even recent films. These sometimes got shown even after the stations began to broadcast in color. I recall seeing the 1956 French color film Notre Dame de Paris in its Ennglish-dubbed version (as The Hunchback of Notre Dame of course) in b-&-w on Chicago's CBS affiliate, even after color was available and used for other programming.

[–] DJMan-51 10 years ago

What might be more interesting: I first saw Black Orpheus on WGN in chicago in the mid 1960s (in color, by the way), but it must have had an English dub of the dialogue, as a commercial station back then never would have shown a film in a foreign language.

[–] janringo 8 years ago

To everyone who might be i doubt - seethe following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnxr0F7HXfA

[–] jozielee 10 years ago

I saw it back in the early 1960s and everyone in my neighborhood only had black and white television sets back then. I've never seen it in color. Just today, looking at the stills on the IMDB site, I was surprised some photos were in color. I'll have to see it again soon.