14 - FRANÇOIS PERIER AND JEAN MARAIS

FRANÇOIS PERIER AND JEAN MARAIS Scene from Jean Cocteau’s film *Orphée*, 1950. Photo by Roger Corbeau, vintage silver gelatin print, stamped (including the photographer’s stamp) and annotated on the back. 17.3 x 23.7 cm. Note: Jean Cocteau transposes the myth of Orpheus to postwar Paris. Jean Marais plays Orpheus, a poet fascinated by a mysterious princess who personifies Death, portrayed by Maria Casarès. François Périer plays Heurtebise, his chauffeur and messenger, who guides Orpheus through the mirrors separating the world of the living from that of the dead. Enamored with Eurydice, Heurtebise also becomes the couple’s protector. Cocteau thus explores his favorite themes—transition, the double, poetry, and immortality—through simple special effects based on mirrors, slow motion, and image reversal. Roger Corbeau is officially credited as the film’s still photographer.