Orphic Trilogy (The Criterion Collection)

1. Jean Cocteau turns the Orpheus legend into a story of a poet and his encounter with death and the middle world. 2. An artist is driven mad by the sight of his own blood and a drawing of a mouth that seems to come to life. The combination sends him off on a series of bizarre adventures that strive to explain how artists become obsessed with their own works. 3. In his last film 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. The film finished the circle of the journey begun in Blood of a Poet, exploring the torturous relationship between the artist and his creations.