Almodovar on Almodovar [Hardcover]

Pedro Almodovar (Author), Frederic Strauss (Author, Editor), Yves Baigneres (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1995

The film-maker Pedro Almodovar emerged from an austere background in rural Spain to carve for himself a niche in contemporary cinema with energetic, passionate films such as "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown", "Law of Desire" and "Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down!". In recent years, however, he has tried to deepen the emotional content of his work and move in new directions. In these conversations, Almodovar takes each of his films in turn, and charts his personal development from one film to the next.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Pedro Almodóvar doesn't just make movies. Almodóvar is the movies. He revels in everything forbidden and forgiving that can transform life into art." --Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 187 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (December 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571175449
• ISBN-13: 978-0571175444
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,075,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All About Almodovar, November 19, 2000

By 

Luis Hernandez (New York, New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Almodovar on Almodovar (Hardcover)

Known throughout the world for his unique directorial style and his often absurd characters, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar talks about his films, plots, actors, and other interesting facts that many of his fans knew little about. The book, which is part of series that spotlights many of the world's talented film directors, features Almodovar speaking about many of his films up from "Pepi, Luci, and Bom" to "The Flower of My Secret."

Providing interesting views, facts, and insight on many of his films and actors, there is no one who knows more about Almodovar than the man himself. His discussions are usually very open, especially when discussing several incidents that were high publicized in the European press, mainly his falling out with his most famous actress, Carmen Maura, after the completion of his masterpiece "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown." Their professional divorce left Almodovar without a dependable leading lady (feature lead actresses Victoria Abril and Marisa Paredes never could capture Maura's persona) and it marked Maura's somewhat decline in Spanish film (she later went on to do several unsuccessful Spanish films and some television work before moving to France to break into French cinema.).

The book which is out of print is one of the best one-to-one interviews I've ever read. Almodovar's contributions to world cinema are so numerous that they can be all listed here, and his work has opened the door for many other Spanish and Latin American film directors such as Carlos Arau and Bruno Bareto in showing the world that foreign language films can be as professional and productive as any big budget film churned out by Hollywood.

"Almodovar on Almodovar," is a must have for any Almodovar fan and film studies student. An excellent book on one of the world's most gifted directors.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything You Wanted to Know about Almodovar, October 13, 2000

By 

C. Leidig "cmleidig" (Akron, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Almodovar on Almodovar (Hardcover)

Almodovar became the enfant terrible during the '80s for his outrageous actions on and off the film set. Frederic Strauss's collection of interviews helps to dispel many of the myths surrounding the Almodovar mystique. Almodovar burst on to the scene with "Pepi, Luci, Bom," a film renowned for a woman in it being urinated upon, and Almodovar's films have been doused in controversy ever since. Almodovar points out that he creates characters who live on the fringes of society and rebel against laws and regulations. Yet he does not pick up on the fact that as a homosexual director in the male world of Spanish cinema he works outside of the norms to create his films. Almodovar's comments on film making illuminate the artificial world he creates. Almodovar has refused to acknowledge the remnants of Franco's Spain and builds his narratives without societal contexts. "Law of Desire" takes place in a dizzying world of discos, beaches, and theatres while "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" breaks down the fourth wall by setting some of the action on the set of "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown." No other director has consistently played with film narrative and conventions as Almodovar does and I wonder if we really need to know the backstage gossip. The truth dispels the myths and I am not sure I want to relinquish the myths. Nonetheless, Almodovar's observations and revelations are fascinating, especially in regards to his actors. He comments that he treats Antonio Banderas like a child in order to get a workable performance out of him. He lectures Victoria Abril on how to say simple phrases like "I love you" and "Have a good day." He became so professionally entangled with Carmen Maura on the making of "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" that their occupational divorce made headlines all over Europe. I wonder who this collection of interviews is intended for. As a connoisseur of his films, I relished his delineation of the creative process that goes into the making of his films even when they told many of his secrets. Yet I am in the minority, as many Americans do not even know Almodovar or his films. If they do, it's as a footnote in Antonio Banderas's film bibliography. Potential film directors will salivate over interviews that place a microscope upon the workings of a director. Actors will be fascinated by Almodovar's comments on acting such as when he criticizes Robert DeNiro for showing technique instead of building a character. He prefers the French method of acting where the actor IS the character. He believes that the performances of Antonio Banderas and Carmen Maura in "Law of Desire" are his greatest achievements as a director. Yet, he has been hailed as resurrecting the floundering Spanish film industry with such worldwide hits as "Matador," "Labyrinth of Passion," and "High

Heels." Almodovar has always maintained a love/hate relationship with the Spanish film industry. Almodovar was denied funding for "Matador" due to his critique of the machismo inherent in the world of bullfighting. He linked the violence of bullfighting with the practice of necrophillia infuriating much of the Spanish public although the film was a smashing success. He was again denied funding when the board rejected the homosexual themes that make up "Law of Desire." AIDS activists accused of failing to deal with the disease because he failed to mention it altogether. Almodovar points out that his movies do not exist in a real place and in his world, AIDS does not exist. As with his collection of stories, "Patti Diphusa and Other Stories," Almodovar's interviews have a care-free attitude that is infectious. He discusses all of his eleven films including last year's "The Flower of My Secret" which many critics compared favorably to the women's films of the early '40s. This collection of essays is a gentle kiss harking back to such a magical women.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Book To Get to Know Almodóvar!, September 23, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Almodovar on Almodovar (Hardcover)

Frédéric Strauss brings us this amazing piece of work from the hand of Pedro Almodóvar, in which he describes the life: the beggining and the actual work, of the spanish director. He describes what he wants to inspire in his movies and if you have seen them you might get to understand them a little better. If you like this director's movies, you might want to get this book.