Viridiana - Criterion Collection

Product Details

Like any great film, Viridiana reveals its depth and detail through multiple viewings. The film is scathingly critical of Catholic hypocrisy and Franco's Spain (Don Jaime's estate is a direct reflection of the country's moribund state of sociopolitical decay), and its allegorical content was not lost on Spanish authorities, who banned the film (it wasn't shown in Spain until 1977) after it won the coveted Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In a closing stroke of genius, Buñuel skirted around his censors with a final scene even more provocative (in its subtle implications) than the sexually suggestive ending he'd originally filmed. With much to say about the conflicting nature of human desires, Viridiana may have softened over decades, but it's never lost its ability to spark debate, discussion, and rewarding analysis of Buñuel's directorial vision. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVD
The newly restored, high-definition digital transfer of Viridiana impressively maintains Criterion's exacting standards of audio-visual quality; it's a flawless transfer, with deep blacks and richly detailed clarity. The supplements include new (2006) video interviews with actress Silvia Pinal and Spanish cultural scholar Richard Porton; warmly revealing excerpts from the 1964 French TV series "Cineastes of Our Times," featuring an interview with Buñuel; and a 30-page booklet with an essay on Viridiana by Princeton film scholar Michael Wood, and a generous interview excerpt from the book Objects of Desire: Conversations with Luis Buñuel. --Jeff Shannon

Product Reviews

(4 stars) - A somewhat antirelious classic?
The nun find no good deed goes unpunished when the beggars
that she is trying to help turn on her and her cousin.
She feels guilt at her uncle's suicide after her visit to his house that
her mother superior had ordered her to make.
Since she was the mirror image of her aunt he had asked her
to marry him, nut to her he was an evil man.
As films go this one reminds me of an Ingmar Bergman
film in the realism and religious imagery.
The film sort of ends with a whimper instead
of some high more point.

(2 stars) - Yawn
The criticism of intent is a killer on bad films that have no real depth and do not last a few years beyond their intent's purpose. Such was re-emphasized to me watching Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel's vastly overrated black and white 1961 `shock classic' Viridiana. Of course, all the alleged shock value had to do with Buñuel's puerile attempts to poke fun at and scandalize both the Roman Catholic Church and the regime of Fascist dictator Francisco Franco, and nearly five decades later it looks more like a college prank video than any serious cinema. Furthermore, it is not in the least bit subversive, as many poor critics claim, because its criticism of the Church, especially- and even then, was so manifest as to make one wonder if those who claimed it had subversive qualities even knew what the term meant.
Of course, given Buñuel's start as a Surrealist superstar- that overused and often misapplied term, it's no surprise that much of his filmic career would be seen through such a pretentious lens- especially by fans masquing as critics, rather than dealing with the individual films, and whether they fail or not. The fact is, while Viridiana is a reasonably capably made film- on a technical level (although there is no standout cinematography, musical scoring, nor interesting visual compositions), it fails because its screenplay is abysmal. As in other `classics' of his, whose luster has faded (think Belle De Jour), Viridiana is larded with cardboard characters, caricatures, and outright stereotypes that are bad enough, alone, but given that they are not put to any truly subversive use, makes them all the more a wasted effort. They also suggest the paper thin grasp of reality- especially the political sort, that die hard Leftists like him are often represented as having; making him the biggest unintended caricature of all those associated with the film.
Yes, Buñuel is not as pretentious and lacking in filmic basics as that other Surreal fraud, Jean Cocteau- so what? That doesn't make Buñuel a Master; not even close, despite all the praise tossed his way. Viridiana fails not for a huge error or two, but for an unending string of little wrong and inane things, such as ridiculous symbolism- Viridiana sleepwalks and tosses ashes into Jaime's bed, and a film that moves far too quickly and gives no real insight into anything- especially its characters. For ellipses to work, they must be deployed within well-defined characterization, so that viewers can reasonably extrapolate the elided events. Without that, the missing elements shortchange both the tale and the characters.
Furthermore, the film's criticism of Roman Catholicism is absolutely depthless- it has been done before and since, and done better. There is no intellectual rigor, nor a hint of poesy. The political intent overwhelms the minuscule art. And, without real characters, who gives a damn what is intended? The exercise is rendered pointless by its own incompetence, something that haunts most of the Buñuel canon, which may explain why Viridiana- film and character, have such vacancies in their gazes.

(5 stars) - The masterpiece of Don Luis Bunuel
If you have to own only one film from Luis Bunuel, Viridiana have to be it ! I still consider this film from 1961 to be one of the two best the spanish film director ever made. The other one is ''Nazarin'', a film Bunuel made in 1958 during his exile in Mexico. When you consider how little money he had to do this film compare to Viridiana, I would vote for Nazarin as Bunuel's all time masterpiece. Another great thing in the Viridiana DVD is the wonderful extras they included. You'll see a rare but too short interview of the great mexican actress, Silvia Pinal and a delightful interview of Luis Bunuel dating from 1964 in which he prooves that he had a great sense of humor also ! So, if you're a Bunuel fan, don't hesitate !

(5 stars) - Buñuel at his best: Viridiana.
Censored, banned, and burned by the Francoist authorities in Spain, Luis Buñuel's 1961 film Viridiana was the winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival. It tells the story of a beautiful young novitiate, Viridiana (Silvia Pinal) who, about to take her vows, is told by her Mother Superior to visit her lonely uncle, Don Jaime (Fernando Rey), thus putting her on the path to disillusionment. Upon discovering that Jaime hopes to seduce and marry her, Viridiana attempts to flee the house, but is subdued and drugged by her uncle. He then tells her she cannot return to her convent because he took her virginity. She decides to return the convent anyway. Uncle Jaime then hangs himself, prompting Viridiana to return to the estate to devote herself to a life of good works tending to the village poor. Her virtuous plans are again interrupted, however, this time by the arrival of Don Jaime's illegitimate son, Jorge (Francisco Rabal) who, like his father, hopes to seduce Viridiana. By the end of the film, Viridiana is a changed woman. Nearly fifty years after its release, Viridiana remains compelling cinema, setting a standard against which most other films fall short. As with most "classics," it improves with multiple viewings, and Buñuel's genius becomes even more evident.

The newly restored Criterion edition offers a high-definition digital transfer, video interviews with Silvia Pinal and author Richard Porton, excerpts from a 1964 episode of Cinèastes de notre temps on Luis Buñuel's early career, the U.S. trailer, and improved English subtitles.

G. Merritt

(5 stars) - Viridiana
Perhaps the crowning achievement in Buñuel's oeuvre, "Viridiana" details the efforts of a virtuous former nun to minister to the poor after she's irrevocably changed by a fateful encounter. As you might expect from Buñuel, a lifelong critic of church, state, and bourgeois society, the effort is disastrous, culminating in a black-comic tableaux of decadence in which the petty, spiteful miscreants and beggars take over the mansion. The infamous recreation of Da Vinci's "Last Supper" is only one of the myriad poetic images you won't soon forget. Pinal is a radiant presence, especially playing off rugged Rabal, as Don Jaime's libertine son, who inherits the estate along with Viridiana. Banned in Spain until 1997 for blasphemy and ostensible obscenity, "Viridiana" is a brilliant, cutting examination of faith and depravity by a Spanish master.

Popular Searches in DVD