Who else but Caetano Veloso--the national treasure of Brazil--to record the soundtrack to the re-make of the film that introduced bossa nova to the world in 1959? Caetano's sense of phrasing, arrangement and placement is, as always, genius. Buy the new movie if you can, buy the original, buy this soundtrack, and buy the original soundtrack and own pieces of musical--and cinematic--history.

Just for fans of Caetano Veloso though he does not sing or play on all tracks. Good work, just that. But not the same impact as the original. There is better and more honest Brazilian material to offer from the Amazon wide catalog.

This is an absolutely fantastic soundtrack, the perfect mixture of classics from Vinicius de Moraes' original play and the 1950's film, accompanied by great new material that captures the Brazil of today. In particular, Orfeu's "samba enredo"--the type of "story samba" that the carnival groups present each year in their parade--is a true work of genius. Shifting smoothly from the traditional rhythms of samba to rap and back again, Caetano and Gabriel O Pensador achieve a thoroughly modern, engaging, and DANCEABLE masterpiece. To me, this is no unnecessary remake. In general, Brazilians, though in love with the music from the first screen version, have never thought highly of the film itself, because of its fairy-tale misrepresentation of their reality. And for those who think that the rap is something "imported" just for the sake of appealing to an international audience, it's not so. That is the music listened to by many Brazilian youths, especially those in the favelas or shantytowns where Orfeu takes place. Just as in Carlos Diegues' TIETA, for which Veloso also composed the soundtrack, the music is an integral and deeply appealing part of the film...and enchanting on its own.