---
title: "Orpheus: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/orpheus/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/orpheus"
critics_score: 82
critics_reviews: 8
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Orpheus (1950): what the critics said

Critics' score 82 from 8 reviews: 7 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative.

## Radio Times — Calum Baker

Rating ★★★★★. 

The critic calls Cocteau’s retelling magical and melancholic, and arguably his most accessible film. They single out its dreamlike treatment of the myth and its postwar setting for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-9h99v9/orphe/)

## Empire — David Parkinson

Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

Parkinson praises the film as a captivating, technically accomplished masterpiece. He singles out Cocteau’s surreal visual imagination and ingenious mirror effects for making its dreamlike Underworld so magical.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/orphee-review/)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 18 October 2018. 

Bradshaw finds Cocteau’s film strange, rapturous and brilliantly elastic. He especially praises its low-tech effects, which make mirrors and other thresholds into eerie portals.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/18/orphee-review-jean-cocteau-marais)

## Slant Magazine — Chris Cabin

Rating 4/5. 30 August 2011. 

The critic praises Cocteau’s film as a deeply personal, technically inventive work with great emotional power. He singles out its striking visual effects and Criterion’s strong audio and image presentation.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/orpheus/)

## Time Out

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 15 March 2012. 

The description gives a positive verdict, saying Cocteau pulls off a near-impossible combination. It singles out the blend of the Orpheus-Eurydice legend and visual tropes from his earlier films.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/orphee-orpheus)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1949. 

The review finds the film poetic and imaginatively realized, though slow at times. It praises the expertly handled special effects and the performances of Jean Marais and Maria Casares.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1949/film/reviews/orphee-1200416616/)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 26 November 1950. 

The headline indicates a review of Cocteau’s Orpheus, but the article text is inaccessible. Its verdict and any specific praise or criticism cannot be confirmed.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1950/11/26/archives/reviewing-the-fil-scene-in-london-orpheus-in-modern-dress.html)

## Collider — Andre Dellamorte

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 17 October 2011. 

The review treats Orpheus as one of Cocteau’s major works and finds it charming and emotionally resonant. It praises the film’s playful visual tricks for evoking the world of the dead without feeling gimmicky.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/jean-vigo-criterion-blu-rayreview-orpheus-criterion-blu-ray/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/orpheus.md