Customer Reviews

Eclipse Series 6: Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy (Blood Wedding / Carmen / El Amor Brujo) (The Criterion Collection)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Passionate, dramatic, riveting as Flamenco itself, the film is simply amazing. It is set on the immortal Bizet's music. The original music is written and performed by one of the greatest classical guitarists, leading proponent of the Modern Flamenco style, Paco de Lucia who plays a musician with the same name. Legendary Flamenco dancer and choreographer Antonio Gades co/wrote the script and choreographed this fabulous version of the celebrated Georges Bizet/Prosper Mérimée novella/opera. He plays a main character Antonio, the famous dancer/choreographer who works on retelling the story of Carmen in the Flamenco style that combines dances with singing and rhythmic hand clapping and has a highly charged level of dynamics that appeals enormously to the viewers.

Brilliant and graceful Cristina Hoyos whose technical excellence matches the elegant artistry of her dancing shines in the supporting role. Hoyos had been the first dancer in Gades' company for twenty years (1968-1988) and she was the protagonist of three films that Carlos Saura made of Gades' three great shows: "Bodas de Sangre" (1978), "Carmen" (1983) and "El Amor Brujo" (1985). Gorgeous Laura del Sol is a young dancer named Carmen in whom Antony sees from the first sight another Carmen, who was immortalized by two Frenchmen, the writer Prosper Mérimée in his most famous novella written in 1846 that had inspired George Bizet's world famous Opéra-Comique version from 1875.

As in the opera and in the novella, Carmen in Saura's film is desirable and deadly, the ultimate femme fatale who has to be free above anything else. She could not tolerate the possessive love of any man and would prefer death to submission. There are some 50 movie adaptations of the story and the opera to the screen, and as different as they are, they all have in common the only possible tragic end. Saura/Gades' film is unique as the most sensual of all and truly Spanish. I fell in love with it from the first time I saw it over twenty years ago and it is as special and beautiful today as it was back then. Highly recommended.

Saura's Carmen is a magnificent movie. It is about a flamenco troupe who is rehearsing a dance version of Carmen. The director and the lead dancer begin to act out the Carmen story in their personal lives. The famous opera songs come alive in a new way when performed in the classical folk style of Spain, as if we are outside a real cigarette factory listening to gypsy women dancing and making music and rhythm with their bodies spinning. The dance scenes have a fierce intensity that completely absorbs your attention like no other movie I have seen.

Blood Wedding and El Amor Brujo are more straightforward showcases of the most famous flamenco dancers in Spain doing what they do best - good movies, but without the high drama of Merimee's story and Bizet's tunes, the dancers are simply professionals at the height of their careers.

I've been looking for these to come to dvd for years. It's a fascinating and thrilling trilogy. The series starts with Blood Wedding, in which a filmed dance rehearsal draws the viewer into a compelling story. Carmen is a blend of reality and fantasy in which elements of the flamenco production spill over into the dancer's lives (or is it vice versa??). El Amor Brujo is a fully realized musical production, set entirely on a soundstage with lush colors, much like a 50s Hollywood musical. It's an interesting progression to consider and each of the films fantastic on their own terms.

If you love the flow of dance, this trilogy will delight you. I originally saw these three films when they came out. Since I speak Spanish and love the culture, I fell in love at first sight. The Spanish word "duende" refers to the state a flamenco dancer enters when the spirit of dance takes over. I would suppose we could compare it to being in the zone. These films are true to that spirit. There isn't a single false note. If you want to understand the Spanish culture, these films are the perfect way to learn what the essence of the culture is all about.

I knew nothing about flamenco, these movies, or Carlos Saura before I received this set for my birthday. Carmen took my breath away a number of levels. It's a wonderful depiction of a mixing of story and reality that occurs in the course of performance preparation. Transported me to a completely different world.

I saw these incredible movies when they first came out and never could find videos to buy or rent. So I was ecstatic when they were rereleased. When I found them on Amazon, not only are they authentic in quality - but cost 30% less than the nearest competitative venders.
This is my first time using Amazon, but I'll start my search here from now on. I was surprized by the availablity & variety of obscure titles I haven't found anywhere else.
Also, ease of use at check-out and delivery were clear, easy and fast!

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.

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.

Probably the greatest performances I have ever seen. The story and dancing is superb. Though flamingo is best seen live...these films are the next best thing. I saw Carmen 1st and loved it from the beginning. One cannot tell the difference from reality and performance. Blood Wedding reveals the quality and skill aquired over many long years to be able to dance as the troupe does. I have seen nothing to compare in my 62 years of life.

If you are a fan of flamenco dancing, or just of dancing, you will love these three movies. They are magnificent, especially the last title of the trilogy, "El Amor Brujo". It kept me spellbound, from beginning to end.