DVD : Eclipse Series 6 - Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy (Blood Wedding / Carmen / El Amor Brujo) (Criterion Collection)
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0715515026024
Format: Box set, Color, Compilation, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Label: Eclipse from Criterion
Manufacturer: Eclipse from Criterion
Number Of Items: 3
Publisher: Eclipse from Criterion
Region Code: 1
Release Date: October 16, 2007
Running Time: 275 minutes
Sales Rank: 5365
Studio: Eclipse from Criterion
Theatrical Release Date: December 23, 1986
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Editorial Review:
Description:
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.
Amazon.com:
In the wake of Criterion's release of Cría 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 García 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 Cárdenas), the Groom (Juan Antonio Jiménez) 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 Mérimée'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 Lucía 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, José 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 Lucía (Carmen's Laura del Sol) feels the same about José (Jiménez). Then José 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
Average Rating: 
Rating: -
Probably the greatest performances I have ever seen. The story and dancing is superb. Though flamingo is best seen live...these films are the next best thing. I saw Carmen 1st and loved it from the beginning. One cannot tell the difference from reality and performance. Blood Wedding reveals the quality and skill aquired over many long years to be able to dance as the troupe does. I have seen nothing to compare in my 62 years of life.
Rating: -
From the consistent 5 star reviews, one can safely assume that there is something extraoridnary about these Carlos Saura productions with Antonio Gades flamenco artist and choreographer. I often explore foreign films out of a sort of arm chair world traveler curiosity. Not all are worth writing about, but these certainly are. I was held spellbound with each passing dialogue, one could easily say "libretto", if by that one means a timeless story - one that never seems cliche or dated in any way.
You will also be spellbound by the music, the dancing, the acting, the emotive mood, gestures, facial expressions, body language. I honestly have rarely seen anything so flawlessly performed. This is one you will be proud to have in your collection. Indeed, I don't think your collection could be considered at all complete without it! What a marvel of direction and cinematography.
Rating: -
...si, muchos años para encontrar "El Amor Brujo" en formato NTSC. Cuando vi por primera vez la película salí del teatro pensando que era lo mejor que había visto hasta entonces. Aun pienso similar. Y ahora la tengo en casa!
Rating: -
If you want a sweet taste of flamenco - this is a perfect set. Starting w/Blood Wedding - progressing to Carmen - and finishing w/El Amor Brujo. Fantastico!
Rating: -
My love of flamenco music was born when I heard Carlos Montaya playing when I was about 25 years old. I am now 73 years old and when I hear flamenco it is through my heart not my ears, I watched this dvd Eclipse Series 6 Carlos Saura's Flamenco on my 107 " plasm tv, it was breathtaking, such brilliance and beauty, watching it over and over again it moves me every time.
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starring: Maria Campano, Giovana, Paco de LucÃa, Enrique Ortega, Gómez de Jerez
directed by: Carlos Saura
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0715515026024
Format: Box set, Color, Compilation, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Label: Eclipse from Criterion
Manufacturer: Eclipse from Criterion
Number Of Items: 3
Publisher: Eclipse from Criterion
Region Code: 1
Release Date: October 16, 2007
Running Time: 275 minutes
Sales Rank: 5365
Studio: Eclipse from Criterion
Theatrical Release Date: December 23, 1986
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