Jean Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy Screens this February

Pasadena, CA—Norton Simon Museum presents a film series of Jean Cocteau’s celebrated Orphic Trilogy. Cocteau was the most versatile of artists in prewar Paris. Poet, novelist, playwright, painter, celebrity and maker of cinema—his many talents converged in bold, dreamlike films that continue to enthrall audiences around the world. In The Orphic Trilogy, Cocteau uses the Orphic myth to explore the complex relationships between the artist and his creations, reality and the imagination.

Films begin with an introduction by director, producer and screenwriter Gregory Nava. The films are screened on consecutive Fridays at 6:00 p.m. beginning on February 14, and are included with Museum admission. The theater opens at 5:30 p.m. and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

This film series is organized in conjunction with LA Opera’s Eurydice Found festival, celebrating new perspectives on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice from the heroine’s point of view. Details about the festival are at www.LAOpera.org/EurydiceFound.

The Blood of a Poet (1930), NR
Directed by Jean Cocteau
Friday, February 14, 6:00–6:50 p.m.
“Poets . . . shed not only the red blood of their hearts but the white blood of their souls,” proclaimed Jean Cocteau of his groundbreaking first film—an exploration of the plight of the artist, the power of metaphor and the relationship between art and dreams. One of cinema’s great experiments, this first installment of the Orphic Trilogy stretches the medium to its limits in an effort to capture the poet’s obsession with the struggle between the forces of life and death.

In French, with English subtitles.

Orpheus (1950), NR
Directed by Jean Cocteau
Friday, February 21, 6:00–7:35 p.m.
Jean Cocteau’s update of the Orpheus myth depicts a famous poet (Jean Marais), scorned by the Left Bank youth, and his love for both his wife, Eurydice (Marie Déa), and a mysterious princess (María Casares). Seeking inspiration, the poet follows the princess from the world of the living to the land of the dead, through Cocteau’s famous mirrored portal. Orpheus’s peerless visual poetry and dreamlike storytelling represent the legendary Cocteau at the height of his powers.

In French, with English subtitles.

Testament of Orpheus (1959), NR
Directed by Jean Cocteau
Friday, February 28, 6:00–7:20 p.m.
In his last film, Jean Cocteau portrays an 18th-century poet who travels through time on a quest for divine wisdom. In a mysterious wasteland, he meets several symbolic phantoms that bring about his death and resurrection. With an eclectic cast that includes Pablo Picasso, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Jean Marais and Yul Brynner, Testament of Orpheus brings to full circle the journey that Cocteau began in The Blood of a Poet, an exploration of the torturous relationship between the artist and his creations.

In French, with English subtitles.

ADMISSION: All screenings are included with Museum admission. Admission is $15.00 for adults; $12.00 for seniors; and free for Museum members, students with I.D., and everyone age 18 and under. For more information, call (626) 449-6840 or visit www.nortonsimon.org.

WHERE: Norton Simon Museum | 411 West Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena; located on the corner of Colorado and Orange Grove Boulevards at the intersection of the 210 and 134 freeways | Parking at the Norton Simon Museum is free but limited. Public transportation or ridesharing is encouraged.

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