Customer Reviews

Amor Real

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I was unable to watch Amor Real (Real Love) while it aired on Univision, but I bought this DVD to get a gist of the story and thought that it is well edited considering that they reduced the 95 episodes into a 400-minute, film-like format full of highlights of the show. The love triangle between Manuel Fuentes-Guerra (Fernando Colunga), Matilde Peñalver (Adela Noriega) and Adolfo Solis (Mauricio Islas) is full of layers and intrigue that make this series far from the usual rosy and sweet love story that characterizes most Televisa productions. Mauricio Islas captivated me with his compelling portrayal of the very complex Adolfo Solis. I came to care about him more than the two leads. I also enjoyed the work of Ernesto Laguardia as the gambling addict, black sheep son (a nice departure from his usual good guy roles) and Kika Edgar as the sweet Catalina Heredia. Chantal Adere was great once again as the female antagonist and I enjoyed the addition of the beautiful Leticia Calderon as the tomboyish Jana De La Corcuera. And who could forget Mariana Levy? This is the last we'll see of this talented actress after her tragic demise just a few days ago. Also, I loved the storyline and its backdrop of the Mexican Revolution. The costumes, historical setting and picturesque views of the Mexican countryside are breathtaking. I thought the English subtitles were great as well. All in all, this is one of the best stories and one of the most lavish productions Televisa (Mexican television network/production company) has created in a long time and I wish I had made the time to watch the whole thing. The DVD extras are a keeper -- though I am not impressed with the fact that Mauricio Islas was not included in the Actors' Trajectory menu (and all because he now works for the competitive US-based network Telemundo). If you loved Amor Real, then you should add this DVD to your collection.

Quede bastante descontenta con la edicion de la novela. La historia original estaba tan bien escrita y contada; en cambio la version en DVD es dificil entender y en partes no tiene mucho sentido. Es cierto que no pueden poner toda la novela en el DVD pero los cortes fueron tan drasticos que destruyeron la obra original, una verdadera lastima

I, like so many of you, adored Amor Real when it was on TV, and a part of me would love to own the whole thing. However, the part of me that lives in the real world doesn't have the time or money to own a 120-hour soap on dvd. I have a friend who does dvd authoring for a living, and she said that the entire series would take up maybe 15-20 discs. If the 2-disc version costs $20 or $25, how much would a 20-disc version cost? Probably a lot more than anybody would want to spend, even if they could afford it. And it would take months to watch.
Besides, this version has English subtitles, so my friends, the majority of whom don't speak Spanish, can get in on the fun. Fabulous outfits aside, it's just no good if they can't follow the plot!
I personally would be thrilled to have a compact, affordable version of my favorite soap. Anything beyond this would be overkill.

This DVD presentation consists of 2 double sided DVD's with a total playing time of 436 minutes. It has English subtitles that can be turned on and off. The first DVD contains the actual story - divided into 17 chapters to which the viewer has access from the main menu - as obtained by putting together very short film clips from the original episodes. The second DVD includes additional material as follows: Presentation by Carla Estrada, Executive Producer, The special Amor Real para La Historia (which aired in the United States approximately one week after the last episode of the telenovela, Bloopers, The presentation of prizes to the actors and other people who made Amor Real possible, and a (relatively long) preview of the telenovela Rubi'.

The first DVD could be viewed as a synopsis of the original work, and it is masterfully put together in that the story unfolds smoothly while the viewer - unless aware of it - does not realize that he/she watching the condensed version of a longer original. The only problem with this approach is in that our viewer does not get to know the characters to any extensive depth - and most of them are worth knowing, for example, Augusta, the mother (so beautifully portrayed by Helena Rojo). Also, one misses some longer scenes, along with the short film clips. They would have been worth having.

The special "Un Amor Real para la Historia" on the second DVD, is another short version of the original story, and seems somewhat more interesting in that it includes speeches and discussions by actors, other crew members, reporters, who provide information about the Ciudad Trinidad (a town built especially for the telenovela), about the dresses, the makeup, the hair styles, the photography, etc.

The other titles on the second DVD are self explanatory.

Although a poor substitute for the "real" thing, the Amor Real DVD is an excellent production, and a good souvenir of what is without doubt among the best telenovelas produced in Mexico.

A very fine production "para coleccionar y guardar en el corazon".

The "novella" television broadcasts of this story were a classic! I was disappointed however that this DVD was more of synopsis of story highlights. Alot of the special little scenes and details that made the story such an awesome presentation were deliberately cut from this DVD. It would take at least 10 DVD's to properly show the majority of the story. However difficult or costly it might be to do that, this DVD was more like selling a DVD version of just the highlight scenes of "Gone With The Wind". Major disappointment and such a shame.

I saw this telenovela in it's entirety on TV and bought the DVD set along with the DVD set for Rubi. The set for Rubi was a full 2 1/2 DVDs. The story was easy to follow, eventhough I hadn't seen it on TV. Amor Real on the other had was condensed into just 1 DVD, the other one was just a bunch of extras. I don't get it, since the same company released and edit both Novelas. Amor Real was really great but I can't recommend this DVD set to anyone that hasn't seen it on TV. You won't understand much of anything.

I just hope Xenon Pictures fires the guy who decided on the editing for this title.

First of all, I want to say that I agree with most parts on most of the reviews. Yes, the novela was like no other. Yes, the actors are all first class, the cream of the crop. Adela Noriega cries with more feeling that I do myself! Fernando Colunga and Mauricio Islas are, besides being very pleasing to the female eye, wonderful and talented actors. Chantal Andere is one of the best, and she inherits her talent very well from her "Señora madre" Jaqueline. The plot has intrigue, emotion, passion, enchantment. The clothing is exquisite. All the work and effort put into this novela were well worth it, as it won many awards, acclaim, but most of all, fans.
But I do not agree that the DVDs do it justice. Why have a double DVD, both with two sides to them, when you cut so much of the novela out? I missed so many capitulos and was hoping, no, expecting, to be able to see them all when I bought the novela. I was disappointed, and angry. So many things I did not understand, was left wondering about. My mother filled me in on some things, but even she missed out on some capitulos and we were both lost. I don't think, if you did not see the whole novela, that you will truly understand and be able to appreciate the version that is being sold. You may even be left to wonder what the fuss was all about, when it was really and truly a historic, classic, epidemic production. And if you did see it? You might end up as angry and disillussioned as myself and my mother. Why, in the second DVD they seem to be filling up space with repetitions of scenes from the novela and awards to the workers! The bloopers were hilarious and the special on the novela is very interesting and nice, but they could have better used that space to give the whole novela! I'm very disappointed. I don't recommend it, unless a fuller version is released save your money.

Amor real was the best ever.I loved all the actors.My prayers go out to the family of Mariana Levy this was her last novela made.Mariana Levy past away April 29,2005 may you REST IN PEACE!

I LOVE THE OLD WORLD MEXICO AND TO HAVE IT PORTRAY IN A BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY WAS AMAZING. NOT TO MENTION THE GORGEOUS SCENES OF PAST MEXICO AND DON'T FORGET THE TALENT OF STARS..

I was fortunate enough to see Amor Real on Univision. It is a magnificate historial romantic novel. However, the DVD does it no justice. It runs from one event to the other without any background, it is just a series of previews. They are important characters that do not talk. Once you have seen the real thing this shortened version makes no sense. I was so disappointed that I cried. I would like to have all 95 episods so that I can view them for the rest of my life. The original was wonderful, the DVDs are disappointing. I do not know how anyone would understand it.