Cannes Classics: “Orphée” by Jean Cocteau

At 3pm today, the Cannes Classics program presented a restored copy of the Jean Cocteau masterpiece Orphée, starring Maria Casarès, Jean Marais, and François Périer. The excellent quality of today’s print of the 1950 film transposing the famous Orpheus myth to the modern world necessitated considerable photochemical and digital magic.

Prior to the screening of the feature, Eric Leroy, a department head at the Archives Françaises du Film, explained the principle of restoration: “We have a very close partnership with the CNC and M6, which holds the rights to the film. Without such a close partnership, we wouldn’t have been able to carry out the restoration you are about to see. Instead of a 35mm film, you’re going to see a 2K digital screening. Undoubtedly, this film is familiar to many of you, but you may only have seen worn, faded, or even shortened prints of it. For the first time in a very long time, you will see a fully renovated copy of the masterpiece, made from the original negative, which has been in our archives for a certain number of years now. Using this negative, and a few additional elements, we reconstituted Jean Cocteau’s classic. It was very difficult, because the film itself is full of tricks and image effects. There was also a fairly specific and demanding job to do on the sound, the effects and music, to get as close as possible to the creation of Jean Cocteau.”