Eclipse Series 6 - Carlos Sauras Flamenco Trilogy (Blood Wedding / Carmen / El Amor Brujo) (Criterion Collection)

Product Details

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 Carmelos 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

Product Reviews

(5 stars) - A Wholly Spanish Film & Dance Trilogy
This set is a must-have for anyone who loves the passion of the Spanish temperament. Ably filmed by Carlos Saura, one of the master filmmakers of the Iberic Peninsula, each work represents a different side of Spain, as presented in story-telling, music, and dance. Antonio Gadès, who has to be counted among the best dancers and choreographer of Flamenco, composed all of the dance scenes in all three films, and appears in them as well.
"Carmen", the best-known in the trilogy, is a story within a story, a dance within a dance, as it presents Gadès choreographing a Flamenco Ballet on the famous Bizet/Mérimée opera, and falls in jealous love with his principal dancer Carmen. Pure drama, pure flamenco, and very inventive choreography.
The other two parts of this triptych are Federico Garcia Lorca's "Blood Wedding" and "El Amor Brujo" (Love, the Magician), Manuel deFalla's best-known work for Mezzo-Soprano & Orchestra.

(5 stars) - Innovative, exciting work
The collaboration of Antonio Gades and Carlos Saura generated this unique and marvellous trilogy. I have watched these films over and over again since they were released. They continue to fascinate me and work on so many levels.They had been difficult to find, individually, until this wonderful DVD package was produced. Thank you.

(5 stars) - WORTH THE WAIT
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!

(5 stars) - Dance on Film never looked this good!
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.

(4 stars) - Necesitas ver esta pelicula
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.

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