Eclipse Series 6 - Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy (Blood Wedding / Carmen / El Amor Brujo) (Criterion Collection)
by Carlos Saura
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DVD details
Actor: Enrique Ortega, G??mez de Jerez, Giovana, Maria Campano, Paco de Luc??aDirector: Carlos Saura
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Spanish (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Box set, Color, Compilation, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 275 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-10-16
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Eclipse from Criterion
DVD Reviews of Eclipse Series 6 - Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy (Blood Wedding / Carmen / El Amor Brujo) (Criterion Collection)
DVD Review: WORTH THE WAIT
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw the last film in this trilogy, El Amour Brujo, in college back in 1986 nad have been attempting to find it ever since. After a few airings on a spanish channel, edited down and pumped full of commercials, my multiple viewings, home recorded vhs tape finally gave out. A new tape could be purchased from a few retail stores for about $85. Much a I love the movie, it was way too much to pay, and so , my search for a dvd version or affordable vhs version continued.
...and along came Criterion Collection Eclipse Series 6 release.
OH MY GOSH!!!!!! HERE IT IS!!!! The movie I fell in love withwas not only remastered with a beautiful print, easier to read subtitles (the original subtitles were white and were often lost in the background of the movie,) but you also get the other two films as well. And they're really good too! This collection is perfect for anyone who loves dance, musicals, and foreign films. Over the years, I have introduced these films to family and friends, never have I come across anyone who has not enjoyed them. I was so excited over this release, I purchased copies for all three of my sisters for their birthday gifts. Go get your copy now!
DVD Review: Dance on Film never looked this good!
Summary: 5 Stars
Carlos Saura is the quintessential master of capturing dance on film. His obvious love of the art form reaches its peak in "Tango," but these films were the steps he needed to take to direct (what I think is) the most beautiful dance film to date. The art direction, camera work, dancers and performances in these three Flamenco films are extraodinary. Saura has also done the world a great favor by capturing Antonio Gades and Christina Hoyos in their prime and brought them the worldwide attention they deserved. Oddly enough, I was exposed to Saura's brilliance in Tokyo seeing "Blood Wedding" - in Spanish, with Japanese subtitles. It didn't matter, as "words" are merely that. It is the DANCE that speaks to the viewer. Rather than his films being a passive experience, the incredible "voyueristic" aspect that Saura allows the viewer is also a "First." We are watching dance being created, we are surrounded by it, immersed in it and it is all excitingly visceral. The unique abstract settings, rehearsal hall mirrors and "no frills" art direction frame what Saura wants us to see: The dance. Thanks to Criterion (the Highest Standard in Video/DVD releases) for creating these Film Dance masterpieces - and, at a bargain price! They are brilliant.DVD Review: Necesitas ver esta pelicula
Summary: 4 Stars
I first saw Carlos Saura's Boda de Sangre in college, and loved it as a Spanish literature student, analyzing and comparing it to its original written version by Lorca. Now that I'm teaching high school Spanish, I bought it and showed it to my students. Saura's choreography is so detailed and passionate that my students were able to piece together Federico Garcia Lorca's original story...without any background knowledge.
These works are beautiful and worthwhile for anyone to view: From lovers of flamenco and Lorca to those simply with an interest in Spanish culture.
I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 simply because of some people's personal reaction to the lack of speaking and explanation during the dancing. For flamenco lovers, this is acceptable, but for others, it might be a bit disconcerting.
DVD Review: carlos sura's flamenco trilogy
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the MOST amazing trilogy and if you even think you like flamenco dancing, it is a MUST HAVE. We had seen all the films previously and they are great. However, the quality is better on these DVD's. We watched the first one as a Netflix rental and when i went to Amazon.com i saw the trilogy. We have other Criterion re-releases and they are ALL worth a trip out of the way. Ever bored with the usual TV offerings? You can watch these over and over. Buy It! This is such a great trilogy I admit that this is the FIRST time I have ever bothered to write a review. (We can't make this stuff up folks.)DVD Review: At Last
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been waiting for years for these films to come out on dvd and to have them packaged together is wonderful. I've seen all of them several times and now I'll be able to share them with friends. Excellent.
Description of Eclipse Series 6 - Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy (Blood Wedding / Carmen / El Amor Brujo) (Criterion Collection)
One of Spanish cinema's great auteurs, Carlos Saura brought international audiences closer to the art of his country's dance than any other filmmaker, before or since. In his Flamenco Trilogy-Blood Wedding, Carmen, and El amor brujo-Saura merged his passion for music with his ongoing exploration of Spanish national identity. All starring and choreographed by legendary dancer Antonio Gades, the films feature thrilling physicality and electrifying cinematography and editing-colorful paeans to bodies in motion as well as to the cinema that so eloquently, and artfully, captured them.In the wake of Criterion's release of Cr?a Cuervos, his haunting Franco-era allegory, comes Carlos Saura's famed trilogy, crafted in collaboration with producer Emiliano Piedra, cinematographer Teodoro Escamilla, and choreographer Antonio Gades. Blood Wedding (1981) starts out like one of Robert Altman's behind-the-scenes efforts. As the reed-thin Gades describes his initiation into dance, Saura captures every backstage detail, from the bickering of the musicians to the mementos the dancers scatter about their stations. The action culminates in a dress rehearsal of Alfredo Manas's Bodas de Sangre, a flamenco-ballet version of Federico Garc?a Lorca's play. On the day of her betrothal, the Bride (Cristina Hoyos) runs off with Leonardo (Gades), a married man. To appease his Mother (Pilar C?rdenas), the Groom (Juan Antonio Jim?nez) sets out to avenge the family name.
In Carmen (1983), Saura's biggest international hit, he takes on Georges Bizet's operatic adaptation of Prosper M?rim?e's novella. Fiction bleeds into fact as the performers incarnate their parts. The narrative begins with Gades's search for a dancer to play the tragic heroine. He finds her in headstrong hoofer Carmen (Laura del Sol) with whom he embarks on an affair. As with Gades, Cristina Hoyos plays a character much like herself, a dancer relegated to a supporting role (composer/guitarist Paco de Luc?a also appears under his own name). Instead of a full-length performance, Carmen proceeds through a series of rehearsals and offstage encounters. The more time he spends with his leading lady--described in the text as a "she-wolf"--the more possessive Gades becomes. He demands fidelity, Carmen longs for freedom. Finally, in a fit of rage, he solves their problem--permanently. Manuel de Falla's ballet El Amor Brujo (1986) opens on a stage set made up like a gypsy village. (As with the previous films, there is no audience, though the dancers never break character.) Two men agree that their children, Jos? and Candela, will marry when they are grown. The years go by and a wedding comes to pass, though Carmelo (Gades) secretly desires Candela (Hoyos), and Luc?a (Carmen's Laura del Sol) feels the same about Jos? (Jim?nez). Then Jos? is killed in a knife fight, but every evening Candela dances with his ghost, so she remains blind to Carmelo's devotion. Of the trilogy, El Amor Brujo ("Love, the Magician") features the least dancing, making it less satisfying, but just as passionate--and more optimistic--than its tragic predecessors. For aficionados of dance on film, Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy belongs on the shelf with The Red Shoes and West Side Story (his trio is also filled with finger-snaps and switchblades). For those who wish to dig deeper, Saura followed up with the related documentaries Sevillanas (1992) and Flamenco (1995), which would have rounded out this set nicely. As with the other entries in Criterion's Eclipse Series (focusing on international masters, like Ingmar Bergman and Louis Malle), this collection may be devoid of extras, but it still represents one of the best deals around. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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