Product Details

• Actors: Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, Rubén González, Eliades Ochoa, Ry Cooder
• Directors: Wim Wenders
• Writers: Nick Gold
• Producers: Deepak Nayar, Rafael Rey Rodríguez, Rosa Bosch, Ulrich Felsberg
• Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: February 20, 2001
• Run Time: 105 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (184 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00002SWEM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,729 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Buena Vista Social Club" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Down from the Mountain
If you love the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, and Nick Doob's exhilarating concert film Down from the Mountain will be sheer heaven. And if you're new to bluegrass and "old-time mountain-style" music, the performances will be a revelation. John Hartford, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch, the Cox family, the venerable Ralph Stanley, and other traditional and alt-country artists who contributed the music to the Coen brothers' spaced odyssey gathered onstage in May 2000 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium to benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame. Interviews and rehearsal footage set the stage for this stupendous concert, highlights of which include "(Didn't Leave) Nobody but the Baby" by the sirens Harris, Welch, and Krauss; the Coxes' "(Will There Be) Any Stars in My Crown"; and Stanley's haunting "O Death." As one performer recommends, "Just ease in, sit down, and listen." It could be your salvation. --Donald Liebenson

Buena Vista Social Club
In 1996, composer, producer, and guitar legend Ry Cooder entered Egrem Studios in Havana with the forgotten greats of Cuban music, many of them in their 60s and 70s, some of them long since retired. The resulting album, Buena Vista Social Club, became a Grammy-winning international bestseller. When Cooder returned to Havana in 1998 to record a solo album by 72-year-old vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer, filmmaker Wim Wenders was on hand to document the occasion. Wenders splits the film between portraits of the performers, who tell their stories directly to the camera as they wander the streets and neighborhoods of Havana, and a celebration of the music heard in performance scenes in the studio, in their first concert in Amsterdam, and in their second and final concert at Carnegie Hall. The songs are too often cut short in this fashion, but Buena Vista Social Club is not a concert film. Wenders weaves the artist biographies with a glimpse of modern Cuba remembering its past, capturing a lost culture in music that is suddenly, unexpectedly revived for audiences in Havana and around the world. It's a loving portrait of a master class in Cuban music, with a vital cast of aging performers whose energy and passion belie their years. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

"The Buena Vista Social Club" guitarist Ry Cooder s celebrated album featuring the recently re-discovered talents of Cuba s foremost folk musicians sold millions of copies and earned a Grammy Award. Now Cooder teams up with acclaimed director Wim Wenders (Paris Texas) to reveal the astonishing life stories vibrant personalities and unforgettable music of the brilliantly talented but long-overlooked performers who collaborated on this now-legendary recording. Form the crumbling barrios of their native Havana to their triumphant sold-out concerts in Amsterdam and New York s Carnegie Hall it s an unforgettable deeply emotional journey into the passion pride and humanity of the artists whose music sparked a worldwide musical phenomenon!System Requirements:Starring: Ry Cooder Ibrahim Ferrer Rueben Gonzalez Eliades Ochoa Omara Portuondo and Compay Segundo. Directed By: Wim Wenders. Running Time: 105 mins color. This film is presented in "Standard" format. Copyright: 1999 Artisan Live Entertainment.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating:  UPC: 012236101765 Manufacturer No: 10176

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

159 of 162 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Buena Vista Social Club December 17, 1999

By Mike Baker

Format:VHS Tape

I could have stayed to watch Buena Vista Social Club all day and all night. The film traces master guitarist Ry Cooder's seemingly endless search for more musical legends to play with, as he takes us to Cuba to meet the masters of "Son" music. The result is a warm, beautiful and touching portrait of the aging "Son" masters emerging from a long hiatus to show us they haven't lost their touch.

Cooder has long sought out masters of "roots" music to learn from and play with. This time he found his way into a diamond mine, and the resulting three albums, "Buena Vista Social Club", "Afro-Cuban All-Stars" and "Introducing Ruben Gonzales" could all have won the 1998 Grammy award, as the former actually did.

The film follows the aging Son musicians around their native Cuba as they prepare for overseas concerts in both Holland and New York City. The city of Havana shows the effects of aging itself, run down and seedy, but, as with the musicians themselves, there is a spirit of unity and inner strength that overrides the worn down facade. That spirit emerges quickly as you see how deeply the Cubans feel their music. You also see a country that preserves the old and makes it work personified in the "antique" automobiles the Cubans use to get around.

Several musicians are featured in the film, but two gain the film's focus, jazz pianist Ruben Gonzales and singer Ibrahim Ferrer, the "Cuban Frank Sinatra". Gonzales no longer has a piano and plays one in a gymnasium reserved for Cuban gymnasts. Ferrer feels the public no longer appreciates his music and is shining shoes to supplement a tiny retirement. Ry Cooder and his son Joachim (sp?), a talented drummer, try to stay as far in the background as possible. Cooder's style is to sit at the feet of the masters to learn and participate. I think the director, Wim Wenders, gives him more face time than he would prefer. No matter, as he is a wonderful musician and facilitator, without whom the original project and the film would not have happened.

Wenders weaves the music and the life of the musicians in a pattern that draws the audience into the lives of the musicians, especially Ferrer. I was very familiar with the music from the three albums and that made my experience with them almost personal. I was excited as I saw the rehearsals draw the musicians closer and tighter. They became young again as the music started flowing from them.

The culmination of the film is the concert at Carnegie Hall. I was fully engaged by then and I had chills when the Son music was playing and when the audience responded with such enthusiasm. I had tears of pleasure as the music flowed over me.

I've recommended this film to many of my friends, and they all have gone out of their way to thank me. I don't think I've seen another film in 1999 that I've liked better. I'll paraphrase what Ry Cooder says to his son in the film, "This is the kind of opportunity that comes once in a lifetime".

81 of 81 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So much talent. The spirit of music in the raw! January 30, 2000

By Eduardo Middleton K.

Format:DVD

After all that's been said about the Grammy award winner album by Ry Cooder, I had to watch this superb documentary. They were right, this film deserves, also an award. Reknown musician and singer Ry Cooder sits back as Dream Team coach and lets this long forgotten talents of cuban music tell him naturally their stories, like Ibrahim Ferrer's recording debut at age 72 or Compay Segundo's 90 year old romance intentions. The heartwarming side of this film probably is the chance that this very talented singers and musicians have to fulfill every musician's dream concert: full house attendance at the legendary Carnegie Hall and Amsterdam. They also get to know the Big Apple and display child-like innocence and awe. One of the mayor acheivements of the film is how Wim Wenders blends the cuban studio and city shots with the actual concerts in N.Y. and Amsterdam. This is Not a concert though. All the songs are blended with interviews or Havanna scenaries.The video quality is very good, but don't expect IMAX or so. The sound quality is impecable and there are some extras (a couple of full songs). If you want an experience beyond ethnic music (which is great) but into ethnic discovery (which is grater) buy this gem.

56 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars this film will inspire you to jump on the next plane to cuba October 27, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

this is literally one of the greatest movies i've ever seen. wim wenders is an excellent, though often overlooked, director who managed to compliment an ideal narrative with pure, optical pleasure. the films storyline reflects perfectly the sensations of the individualls involved. you will leave the film with a feeling of placidity, comfort, and radiant warmth, which one can only find through (or in this case viewing) the endeavors of maximum human achievement. also, the film communicates well the essence of cuban culture, of which american's are usually unaware. if nothing else sells you, just imagine the fun of watching cute, old men who thought the world had forgotten them play their little instruments and light up with life. it's wonderful.