This essay is an excerpt from Spectacle Every Day: Essays on Classical Mexican Cinema, 1940-1969 (Les éditions de l'Œil, 2023), edited by Jorge Javier Negrete Camacho and Alonso Diaz de la Vega, and published on the occasion of the Locarno Film Festival's retrospective, Spectacle Every Day — The Many Seasons of Mexican Popular Cinema, curated in partnership with Mubi. Thanks to the authors, editors, publisher, and festival for permission to republish online.Spectacle Every Day—The Many Seasons of Mexican Popular Cinema is now showing on Mubi from August 2, 2023.For ApiLa mente y el crimen. © Archive of the Mexican Film Institute.It’s easy for any Mexican to get used to the way in which our country handles tragedies, misfortunes, accidents or any other scabrous aspects of everyday life. It would take just looking at the images from La Prensa—one of the widest nota roja newspapers (tabloids) in Mexico City, among...
- 8/9/2023
- MUBI
Stephen Fry-Narrated Doc Set For Prime Video
Mind Games – The Experiment, a Stephen Fry-narrated doc, is dropping today on Prime Video. The program is billed as a “a groun breaking study that follows sedentary and physically inactive gamers” to see if exercise makes their gameplaying abilities better by improving cognitive functions. It will follow four professional games, who specialize in chess, mahjong, memory and esports, respectively, and take the results from 70+ gamers elsewhere around the world to draw conclusions. The doc is from Beyond Productions, which is now part of Banijay. The study and doc were initially commissioned by international sportsware brand Asics, though the film is editorially independent and unbranded.
Mbc And Warner Bros Discovery Extend Middle East Pact
Middle Eastern media group Mbc has extended its content pact with Warner Bros Discovery. A new multi-year deal hands Mbc Group first-run free-tv rights on features such as Tenet,...
Mind Games – The Experiment, a Stephen Fry-narrated doc, is dropping today on Prime Video. The program is billed as a “a groun breaking study that follows sedentary and physically inactive gamers” to see if exercise makes their gameplaying abilities better by improving cognitive functions. It will follow four professional games, who specialize in chess, mahjong, memory and esports, respectively, and take the results from 70+ gamers elsewhere around the world to draw conclusions. The doc is from Beyond Productions, which is now part of Banijay. The study and doc were initially commissioned by international sportsware brand Asics, though the film is editorially independent and unbranded.
Mbc And Warner Bros Discovery Extend Middle East Pact
Middle Eastern media group Mbc has extended its content pact with Warner Bros Discovery. A new multi-year deal hands Mbc Group first-run free-tv rights on features such as Tenet,...
- 1/19/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
La Llorona and El Fantasma del Convento: conceived as Mexican horror fables for Mexican audiences, these expressionist gems tap indigenous cultural riches and brooding Catholic guilt. The fable of ‘The Wailing Woman’ is told in a three-part story starting with la conquista; the spooky ‘Phantom of the Monastery’ is a moral tale cautioning against carnal sin, set in a haunted ruin. Ramón Peón, Fernando de Fuentes and Juan Bustillo Oro’s adult approach achieves a true sense of The Uncanny, mixed with powerful social statements. These are separate disc releases: one film is sourced from the only known existing print, and the other is a full-on 4K restoration from prime nitrate film elements. Indicator’s extras tap the best research available on the titles.
La Llorona
and
El Fantasma del Convento
Separate Region-Free Blu-ray Releases
Powerhouse Indicator
1933 & 1934 / B&w / 1:37 Academy
Street Date March 21, 2022 (both) / Available from Powerhouse Films UK
Directed by Ramón Peón,...
La Llorona
and
El Fantasma del Convento
Separate Region-Free Blu-ray Releases
Powerhouse Indicator
1933 & 1934 / B&w / 1:37 Academy
Street Date March 21, 2022 (both) / Available from Powerhouse Films UK
Directed by Ramón Peón,...
- 2/19/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It’s a big international action epic, filmed in Mexico with a French director. Anthony Quinn is an 18th-century bandit who liberates a Mexican hamlet from marauding Yaqui Indians and a villainous Charles Bronson. Quinn is good, and all the necessary elements are present: fights, handsome scenery and a big battle… but it’s fairly tepid stuff, simplified and prettified. Leave it to Ennio Morricone’s epic music score to bind it all together. With Anjanette Comer, Sam Jaffe, Silvia Pinal and the same fifteen or so well-connected actors that cornered roles in all big Mexican films made with foreign money.
Guns for San Sebastian
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 111 min. / La bataille de San Sebastian / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date June 15, 2021 / 21.99
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Anjanette Comer, Charles Bronson, Sam Jaffe, Silvia Pinal, Jorge Martínez de Hoyos, Jaime Fernández, Rosa Furman, Leon Askin, Ivan Desny, Pedro Armendáriz Jr.,...
Guns for San Sebastian
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 111 min. / La bataille de San Sebastian / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date June 15, 2021 / 21.99
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Anjanette Comer, Charles Bronson, Sam Jaffe, Silvia Pinal, Jorge Martínez de Hoyos, Jaime Fernández, Rosa Furman, Leon Askin, Ivan Desny, Pedro Armendáriz Jr.,...
- 6/22/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Blood, gore and the smell of gunpowder! Sam Peckinpah’s booze-soaked Odyssey sends Warren Oates on a grisly fool’s errand to retrieve a rotting, fly-bitten… oh, just read the title will ya? Resolutely sordid and debased, and soaked in ugly exploitation values, the tale of ‘Machete Bennie’ nevertheless scores as Peckinpah’s last successful movie — if Edgar Allan Poe went crazy locked in a room with rotting corpses, he might have come up with this idea.
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo García
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 112 min. / Street Date , 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber, Gig Young, Helmut Dantine, Emilio Fernández, Kris Kristofferson, Chano Urueta, Jorge Russek, Enrique Lucero, Janine Maldonado, Richard Bright, Sharon Peckinpah, Garner Simmons.
Cinematography: Álex Phillips Jr.
Film Editors: Garth Craven, Dennis E. Dolan, Sergio Ortega, Robbe Roberts
Original Music: Jerry Fielding
Written by Sam Peckinpah,...
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo García
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 112 min. / Street Date , 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber, Gig Young, Helmut Dantine, Emilio Fernández, Kris Kristofferson, Chano Urueta, Jorge Russek, Enrique Lucero, Janine Maldonado, Richard Bright, Sharon Peckinpah, Garner Simmons.
Cinematography: Álex Phillips Jr.
Film Editors: Garth Craven, Dennis E. Dolan, Sergio Ortega, Robbe Roberts
Original Music: Jerry Fielding
Written by Sam Peckinpah,...
- 2/20/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sometimes a movie is simply too good for just one special edition… Savant reached out to nab a British Region B import of Georges Franju’s horror masterpiece, to sample its enticing extras. And this also gives me the chance to ramble on with more thoughts about this 1959 show that inspired a score of copycats.
Eyes Without a Face (Bfi — U.K.)
Region B Blu-ray + Pal DVD
Bfi
1959 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 90 min. / The Horror Chamber of
Dr. Faustus, House of Dr. Rasanoff, Occhi senza volto / Street Date August 24, 2015 / presently £10.99
Starring: Pierre Brasseur, Edith Scob, Alida Valli, Francois Guérin,
Béatrice Altariba, Juliette Mayniel
Cinematography: Eugen Schüfftan
Production Designer: Auguste Capelier
Special Effects: Charles-Henri Assola
Film Editor: Gilbert Natot
Original Music: Maurice Jarre
Written by Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac, Pierre Gascar, Claude Sautet from a novel by Jean Redon
Produced by Jules Borkon
Directed by Georges Franju
Savant has reviewed Eyes Without a Face twice,...
Eyes Without a Face (Bfi — U.K.)
Region B Blu-ray + Pal DVD
Bfi
1959 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 90 min. / The Horror Chamber of
Dr. Faustus, House of Dr. Rasanoff, Occhi senza volto / Street Date August 24, 2015 / presently £10.99
Starring: Pierre Brasseur, Edith Scob, Alida Valli, Francois Guérin,
Béatrice Altariba, Juliette Mayniel
Cinematography: Eugen Schüfftan
Production Designer: Auguste Capelier
Special Effects: Charles-Henri Assola
Film Editor: Gilbert Natot
Original Music: Maurice Jarre
Written by Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac, Pierre Gascar, Claude Sautet from a novel by Jean Redon
Produced by Jules Borkon
Directed by Georges Franju
Savant has reviewed Eyes Without a Face twice,...
- 4/11/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
An Encore Edition. Peckinpah's macabre South of the border shoot 'em up is back for a second limited edition, with a new commentary. It's still a picture sure to separate the Peckinpah lovers from the auteur tourists - it's grisly, grim and resolutely exploitative, but also has about it a streak of grimy honesty. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia Blu-ray Twilight Time Encore Edition 1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 112 min. / Street Date September, 2016 / available through Screen Archives Entertainment / 29.95 Starring Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber, Gig Young, Helmut Dantine, Emilio Fernández, Kris Kristofferson, Chano Urueta, Jorge Russek, Enrique Lucero, Janine Maldonado, Richard Bright, Sharon Peckinpah, Garner Simmons. Cinematography Álex Phillips Jr. Art Direction Agustín Ituarte Film Editors Garth Craven, Dennis E. Dolan, Sergio Ortega, Robbe Roberts Original Music Jerry Fielding Written by Sam Peckinpah, Gordon T. Dawson, Frank Kowalski Produced by Martin Baum, Helmut Dantine, Gordon T. Dawson Directed by...
- 10/4/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Brainiac
Directed by Chano Urueta
Mexico, 1962
Chano Urueta’s 1962 mishmash of horror, science fiction, and largely unintentional comedy, is perfect Mystery Science Theater fodder. Less schlocky than illogical, The Brainiac (its title literally translates to The Baron of Terror, a much better name) features moderately high production value and enough over long reaction shots to fill three poorly paced films.
Abel Salazar plays Baron Vitelius d’Estera. He’s convicted of witchcraft in 1661 Mexico and sentenced to be burned at the stake. But prior to his death he vows revenge on his inquisitors…and then disappears via a clearly hand drawn comet. That last plot point is par for the course for The Brainiac, which doesn’t seem at all concerned with sudden changes in genre and plot. So when d’Estera returns 300 years later, it should come as no surprise that he’s actually a shape-shifting monster, that...
Directed by Chano Urueta
Mexico, 1962
Chano Urueta’s 1962 mishmash of horror, science fiction, and largely unintentional comedy, is perfect Mystery Science Theater fodder. Less schlocky than illogical, The Brainiac (its title literally translates to The Baron of Terror, a much better name) features moderately high production value and enough over long reaction shots to fill three poorly paced films.
Abel Salazar plays Baron Vitelius d’Estera. He’s convicted of witchcraft in 1661 Mexico and sentenced to be burned at the stake. But prior to his death he vows revenge on his inquisitors…and then disappears via a clearly hand drawn comet. That last plot point is par for the course for The Brainiac, which doesn’t seem at all concerned with sudden changes in genre and plot. So when d’Estera returns 300 years later, it should come as no surprise that he’s actually a shape-shifting monster, that...
- 10/16/2015
- by Neal Dhand
- SoundOnSight
Pioneering woman director Lois Weber socially conscious drama 'Shoes' among Library of Congress' Packard Theater movies (photo: Mary MacLaren in 'Shoes') In February 2015, National Film Registry titles will be showcased at the Library of Congress' Packard Campus Theater – aka the Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation – in Culpeper, Virginia. These range from pioneering woman director Lois Weber's socially conscious 1916 drama Shoes to Robert Zemeckis' 1985 blockbuster Back to the Future. Another Packard Theater highlight next month is Sam Peckinpah's ultra-violent Western The Wild Bunch (1969), starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine. Also, Howard Hawks' "anti-High Noon" Western Rio Bravo (1959), toplining John Wayne and Dean Martin. And George Cukor's costly remake of A Star Is Born (1954), featuring Academy Award nominees Judy Garland and James Mason in the old Janet Gaynor and Fredric March roles. There's more: Jeff Bridges delivers a colorful performance in...
- 1/24/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Gabriel Figueroa, scene from the film La perla, directed by Emilio Fernandez, 1945.
Writer-director Gregory Nava, actor Gael García Bernal, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and Gabriel Figueroa Flores will celebrate the life and career of the renowned Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa on Tuesday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The evening will feature an onstage discussion and excerpts from many of Figueroa’s greatest cinematic achievements. The program serves as a prelude to the exhibition “Under the Mexican Sky: Gabriel Figueroa – Art and Film,” co-presented by the Academy and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which will open at Lacma later this month.
Figueroa (1907–1997) is often referred to as “The Fourth Muralist” of Mexico, and his seminal work contributed to the establishment of a visual culture and national identity in post-revolutionary Mexico. His films include such Mexican classics as “María Candelaria,...
Writer-director Gregory Nava, actor Gael García Bernal, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and Gabriel Figueroa Flores will celebrate the life and career of the renowned Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa on Tuesday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The evening will feature an onstage discussion and excerpts from many of Figueroa’s greatest cinematic achievements. The program serves as a prelude to the exhibition “Under the Mexican Sky: Gabriel Figueroa – Art and Film,” co-presented by the Academy and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which will open at Lacma later this month.
Figueroa (1907–1997) is often referred to as “The Fourth Muralist” of Mexico, and his seminal work contributed to the establishment of a visual culture and national identity in post-revolutionary Mexico. His films include such Mexican classics as “María Candelaria,...
- 9/8/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
William Holden movies: ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ William Holden is Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" featured actor today, August 21, 2013. Throughout the day, TCM has been showing several William Holden movies made at Columbia, though his work at Paramount (e.g., I Wanted Wings, Dear Ruth, Streets of Laredo, Dear Wife) remains mostly off-limits. Right now, TCM is presenting David Lean’s 1957 Best Picture Academy Award winner and all-around blockbuster The Bridge on the River Kwai, the Anglo-American production that turned Lean into filmdom’s brainier Cecil B. DeMille. Until then a director of mostly small-scale dramas, Lean (quite literally) widened the scope of his movies with the widescreen-formatted Southeast Asian-set World War II drama, which clocks in at 161 minutes. Even though William Holden was The Bridge on the River Kwai‘s big box-office draw, the film actually belongs to Alec Guinness’ Pow British commander and to...
- 8/22/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
By Fred Burdsall
What makes you a fan?
Whatever your interests, there’s always something specific that gets your attention and won’t let go.
For me, it was movies—horror movies—and the scarier the better. I liked that nervous feeling we all get when something makes us uncomfortable. I liked sitting there and wondering if this is the one that finally makes me turn my head away. To me, it’s the greatest feeling in the world and I owe it all to four specific films.
My mother loves watching horror movies, so it was early on in life I got introduced to Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Soon after I discovered the joys of Corman, Price and Poe, but in the midst of all that there were two that grabbed me like no other.
Tarantula had its spider and Them gave us ants,...
What makes you a fan?
Whatever your interests, there’s always something specific that gets your attention and won’t let go.
For me, it was movies—horror movies—and the scarier the better. I liked that nervous feeling we all get when something makes us uncomfortable. I liked sitting there and wondering if this is the one that finally makes me turn my head away. To me, it’s the greatest feeling in the world and I owe it all to four specific films.
My mother loves watching horror movies, so it was early on in life I got introduced to Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Soon after I discovered the joys of Corman, Price and Poe, but in the midst of all that there were two that grabbed me like no other.
Tarantula had its spider and Them gave us ants,...
- 2/1/2010
- by Movies Unlimited
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
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