Tintin and the Blue Oranges (French: Tintin et les Oranges bleues) is a 1964 Franco-Spanish film directed by Philippe Condroyer and starring Jean-Pierre Talbot as Tintin.[1] It was the second live-action film, with an original story based on characters from the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin, written and drawn by the Belgian artist Herg. The accompanying book version is in photos and text rather than the usual comic-book style.
The term "blue orange" is a moderately popular image among the French, and was originally inspired by Paul luard's strange quote "Earth is blue like an orange" as a reference to the colour of the fruit when it rots.
Professor Calculus on (black-and-white) TV broadcasts an appeal to help end world hunger. He receives many letters and parcels, and among them is a blue orange, which can grow in desert conditions (and glows in the dark) from Professor Zalamea, but no letter of explanation. That night, two thieves break into Marlinspike Hall and steal the blue orange. With no other choice, Calculus, with Tintin, the Captain, and Snowy, go to Valencia (filmed in Burjassot, in Simat de la Valldigna at the Monastery of Santa Mara de la Valldigna, Gandia and Xtiva).
Arriving, they find he is not present at his hacienda and are met by his cousin. Professor Calculus is kidnapped to help Zalamea perfect the blue oranges, which with neutron bombardment can mature in just five days, but they taste bitter and salty, making them inedible.
Tintin befriends a local boy, who takes him to his gang hideout and he finds out that a boy who was to take the parcel to the post office for Zalamea was attacked by a man with a blue dragon tattoo on his hand. Thomson and Thompson turn up from Interpol, investigating Zalamea's disappearance, and have an unfortunate incident with a bull.
The local boys find Fernando, the man with the tattoo, and Tintin and the Captain go to his hotel. Tintin picks the lock and gets into his room, and when Fernando returns, overhears him talking on a radio set to his chief, about a rendez-vous. Tintin and the Captain follow Fernando, but are knocked unconscious and taken away.
Thomson and Thompson check into a hotel, but are tricked by the villains, who use doubles to coax them from their rooms. Tintin and the Captain revive and find themselves in a grain silo, but are rescued by Snowy dropping a rope into it. Back in town, they find themselves pursued by the police, who chase them all around a market. Tintin and Haddock escape thanks to Bianca Castafiore. After an unexpected visit by a delegation from the visiting Emir of Sakali, Tintin and Haddock meet up again with their young friends. They decide to sneak back into Professor Zalamea's hacienda to test some new information, that is, the role of Estensoro (Zalamea's manservant) in the kidnapping. After successfully using animals with pans tied to their tails as a distraction, Tintin and Haddock find a radio identical to Fernando's in Estensoro's room, proving his involvement. Haddock's decision to drink Estensoro's whisky accidentally leads them to discover Zalamea's secret documents, and his own suspicions about the identity of his enemies.
Back at the villains' hideout, the professors manage to make a broadcast describing their whereabouts. Estensoro hears the broadcast and races off to inform his boss. Luckily, Tintin and Haddock also hear the broadcast and set off in hot pursuit. After a brief struggle, Estensoro is overcome, but the professors are nowhere to be found. The new kidnappers evidently had no use for the Thom(p)son twins, as they are discovered still tied up (much to the Captain's enjoyment). Snowy discovers an agal belonging to one of the Arab kidnappers, and Tintin realises that the rich Emir of Sakali (who had courted Bianca Castafiore earlier in the film) was the same man as the Arab enemy described by Professor Zalamea.
The rich Emir of Sakali's yacht is moored up at the docks, so Tintin and the Captain try to rescue the professors, but they have been drugged, and their loud voices raise the alarm, and Tintin and Haddock are caught by the emir. They escape and a fight ensues, as a horde of children turn up (warned by Snowy). The villains are thrown in the sea, the emir is subdued, and the police arrive to clean things up.
All turns out well and they are back at Marlinspike Hall for a celebration and photos. It is said that they hope to perfect the oranges within 10 years and also to learn to grow wheat, potatoes, eggplants, etc. in the desert. Just then, Thomson and Thompson turn up in their car, crash, and end up in the fountain, to the amusement of all. Greedy dogs eat a "THE END" sign.
Professor Calculus's friend develops a blue-skinned orange that can grow on any kind of land and survive harsh weather (in the manner of Lue Gim Gong) and therefore solve world hunger. The Professor and his friends, however, run afoul of gangsters who also covet the fruit. The adventure takes them from their home in Marlinspike Hall (Moulinsart), a fictional mansion that is presumably in Belgium, to Spain, where Calculus and another scientist are kidnapped.
Tintin och de bl apelsinerna, Tintn y el misterio de las naranjas azules, Tim und die Blauen Orangen, Tim und Struppi und die blauen Orangen, Tintti ja siniset appelsiinit, Tintin Och De Bl Apelsinerna, Kuifje en de Blauwe Sinaasappels, Тинтин и голубые апельсины, Tintin og de bl Appelsiner, 丁丁与蓝橙子, O Mistrio das Laranjas Azuis
Tintin and the Blue Oranges was the live-action follow up to Tintin and the Golden Fleece, with Jean-Pierre Talbot reprising his role as the bequiffed journalist. The rest of the cast has been changed (and not for the better unfortunately), but the spirit remains the same.
It is a light-travelogue, this time Spain, that is high on adventure. The film may have a slightly confused plot, but it remains a lot of fun. Talbot is an impressive lead, his physical dynamism is well-captured. While, this film has more of a comic book feel than the first film, including some cool scene-introduction panels throughout the film.
I really enjoyed Tintin and the Blue Oranges. Another successful Tintin live-action film. I would happily watch another, unfortunately this was the last of this series of films, and the last live-action Tintin thus far. Reboot, anyone?
Feels a little less adventure and danger, a lot more comedy. Captain Haddock is basically a full-on buffoon this time around and really this is nothing much more than comedic set piece after comedic set piece. But they do it all well, so while I only laughed a couple of times, I appreciated the performances and timing. Still, an enjoyable movie, I just wish there was a little more stakes wrapped in the gorgeous Spanish scenery. And I'm still disappointed that they only made two of these movies.
I grew up reading Tintin in the Sixties, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a live-action series of French films existed, especially after the letdown of the overwrought Spielberg version. The film does an excellent and faithful job of portraying Herge's beloved characters, without any uncanny-valleyish CGI effects. Captain Haddock, in particular, comes across with just as much silly, slapstick bluster as he does in the books.
Tintin and the Blue Oranges is such an oddball sequel to Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece. It has a Spanish set espionage-adventure plot that always seems to lose me a quarter of the way in, it initially leans heavily into the comic book framing but drops it halfway through, everyone's diet seemed to include chewed scenery and the comedy is exaggerated to cringe effect. There is also an awful lot of running, sped up footage and strange editing choices.
Though I can never decide if I like it, my opera queen and fave Bianca Castafiore making an appearance just to sing, cackle, dress sumptuously and misname Captain Haddock in one scene elevates Blue Oranges from a 2.5 star to a 3 star.
There's a moment in the film where Cuthbert Calculus is mesmerized by the sight of a beautiful blue orange glowing in the darkness of an improvised laboratory. Then his companion of misfortune and distinguished colleague of scientific persuasion, Professor Zalamea lets him taste the orange, Calculus immediately spits it. These blue oranges look great but they're just impossible to swallow. Fittingly enough, the same can be said about the second opus of Tintin's live-action adventures: "The Blue Oranges", a film cruelly underwritten that can't be saved from mediocrity despite the efforts of Jean-Pierre Talbot, the only good thing about the film (along with Calculus).
p disappointing considering the first one was such good fun! i think I can see Herge's lack of involvement in this one. theoretically it has all the "elements" but it just Does Not come together and ends up being overall tiring despite some fun moments scattered throughout.
Calculus writes and then promotes a book on one of those literary television shows they have in France. He appeals to scientists to tackle the problem of agricultural innovation. A Spanish colleague, Professor Zalamea (ngel lvarez) sends him some wonderful blue oranges that glow in the dark thanks to neutron bombardment. When it gets stolen under the noses of Tintin, Haddock, and Calculus, the trio travel to Valencia, where the addled Calculus promptly gets kidnapped.
This busy script is partly due to the input of Ren Goscinny, famous for creating the other two most popular Francophone comics heroes, Asterix and Lucky Luke. His collaboration on a Tintin film makes it a crossover phenomenon as if Mickey Spillane wrote for James Bond. The score is by Antoine Duhamel, a high-profile modernist and serialist who did lots of film work.
The director, Philippe Condroyer, comes up with many visual ideas and sight gags that improve cinematically on the first film, even though Tintin and the Blue Oranges probably has even more padding. The appeal to children is cemented by having a slew of Spanish urchins participate in the final free-for-all.
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