The Curt Sheller Trio's Midnight at the Jazz Cafe 2002 trio recording of Black Orpheus.

"Manhã de Carnaval" appeared as a principal theme in the 1959 Portuguese-language film Orfeu Negro by French director Marcel Camus. The film's soundtrack also included songs by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes, as well as the composition by Bonfá "Samba de Orfeu". "Manhã de Carnaval" appears in the film, including versions sung or hummed by both the principal characters (Orfeu and Euridice), as well as an instrumental version, so that the song has been described as the main musical theme of the film. In the portion of the film in which the song is sung by the character Orfeu, portrayed by Breno Mello, the song was dubbed by Agostinho dos Santos. The song was initially rejected for inclusion in the film by Camus, but Bonfá was able to convince the director that the music for Manhã de Carnaval was superior to the song Bonfá composed as a replacement Orfeu Negro was an international success (winning, for example, an Academy Award in 1960), and brought the song to a large audience.