Note: Click highlighted words to access external link for details.
Nokie Edwards playing "Manhã de Carnaval" (Luiz Bonfá), the theme from Black Orpheus movie (Orfeu Negro-1959). Franc-Brazilian-Italian film based on the play "Orfeu da Conceição" by Marcus "Vinicius de Moraes".
Black Orpheus won the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, the 1960 Academy Award (the Oscars) for Best Foreign Language Film, the 1960 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film and the 1961 BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
*(Nokie Edwards - Lead Guitar, DON Kiyohara - Rhythm Guitar (from Edo Yamaguchi - Tokyo Ventures), BOB Hattori - Bass Guitar, M. Tadano - Drums) - November 13, 2006 - Nishi Kawaguchi "Hachi no Musashi"
Black Orpheus (Manhã de Carnaval) Nokie Edwardsノーキー・エドワース / 黒いオルフェ
ooo0O0ooo
Black Orpheus and the film in Portuguese (and about Brazil) that won an Oscar for France
Marcel Camus film still has the iconic song "Manhã de Carnaval" on its soundtrack
By Felipe Ernani --- 11/02/2020
Tenho Mais Discos que Amigos!
In 1959 the French director Marcel Camus launched his masterpiece. Orfeu Negro dealt with themes related to Brazil and, therefore, it was filmed in our lands and starred by Brazilian actor and soccer player Breno Mello - even though he played opposite Marpessa Dawn , a French woman born in the United States.
The influence of Vinícius' work was translated beyond the images. The soundtrack captured the essence of Rio and generated two of the most beautiful songs in Brazilian cinema, “A Felicidade” (by Tom Jobim ) and “Manhã de Carnaval”, by Luiz Bonfá , which is the fifth most recorded song in history in Brazil .
However, the impact went beyond our lands. American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat cited Orpheus Black as one of his first inspirations; former US President Barack Obama also said the film was his mother's favorite. But he did not share his tastes, saying:
"I suddenly realized that the portrayal of the childish blacks I was seeing on the screen, the reverse image of [Joseph] Conrad's wild blacks, was what my mother had carried with her to Hawaii all those years before. A reflection of the simple fantasies that were forbidden to a middle-class white girl from Kansas, the promise of another life: hot, sensual, exotic, different."
1960 Oscar Award
The worldwide success earned the film an Oscar nomination the following year for Best Foreign Film. The point is that the award classified the film, which was co-produced by France, Brazil and Italy, as only French.
And the negative repercussion of this decision became even greater when Orfeu Negro was announced as the winner of the category: a film in Portuguese, recorded in Brazil, filmed in Brazil and with a leading Brazilian actor was awarded as a French production.
Source (portuguese): https://www.tenhomaisdiscosqueamigos.com/2020/02/11/orfeu-negro-filme-oscar-brasil-franca/
ooo0O0ooo
Many Brazilians are unaware, but the Oscar for best 1960 foreign film was awarded to an French-Brazilian-Italian production: "Orfeu negro" or "Orfeu do Carnaval", in which all the actors were black, directed by French man Marcel Camus.
The script was based on a play by Vinicius de Moraes, "Orfeu da Conceição" (Orpheus of the Conception), which adapted the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice to Carnival and the hills of Rio de Janeiro and had the scenographic contribution of Oscar Niemeyer, in addition to having a cast entirely formed by black actors, a novelty at the time.
In Greek myth, Orpheus is an exceptional musician and poet, who touches even the beasts with his art. He follows the beloved even after her death.
Filmed in Rio de Janeiro and spoken in Portuguese, Orpheus featured Brazilian artists, with a single exception, the protagonist, the American actress Marpessa Dawn, the wife of director Marcel Camus.
To form the cast, the director counted on the help of the newspaper "O Globo", which held a contest with the participation of more than a thousand candidates. The bi-champion triple jump olympic champion, Adhemar Ferreira da Silva, participated as an actor in both the play and the film. And then soccer player Breno Mello played Orpheus in the cinema.
One of the highlights of the film is the soundtrack composed by Tom Jobim, Luís Bonfá, Vinicius de Moraes and Antônio Maria, four of the most important Brazilian composers of the time.
Many researchers and music critics consider Orpheus' soundtrack to be a kind of ground zero for bossa nova.
Em 1960, "Orfeu Negro" ganhou o Oscar de melhor filme estrangeiro - Jornal Futura - Canal Futura (Spoken in Portuguese)
(from left to right) Luiz Bonfá, Marcel Camus, President of Brazil Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, Lourdes de Oliveira, Breno Mello and Vinicius de Moraes, 1959,
Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus) - 1959 - Full Movie (1h47m43s) (Dubbed in English)
