Avant-gardist Jean Cocteau blends myth, realistic thriller and fantasy in Orpheus, based on his 1926 one-act play of the same name and his 1933 Surrealist film Blood of a Poet. Orpheus is a fascinating retelling of the Greek legend set in contemporary Paris where the titular poet (Jean Marais) is involved in a love triangle with his wife, Eurydice, and Death (aka The Princess). After Eurydice is killed, Orpheus descends into the Underworld to reclaim her. The gods allow Orpheus to return to the land of the living with Eurydice — provided that he never looks at her.