Product Details

• Actors: Sara Baras, Elena Camunez Andújar, Eva Yerbabuena
• Directors: Mike Figgis
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: New River Media
• VHS Release Date: July 1, 1998
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305071764
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,266 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Delicate yet deafening, fierce yet gentle, the Spanish art of flamenco overwhelms the senses and inflames the spirit. In Flamenco Women, director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) focuses on an ensemble brought together just six days before a performance as it struggles to orchestrate the guitars, singers, and dancers under the gun. Using almost no narrative, Figgis lets the raw footage of the rehearsals tell the story of frustration and building excitement. The rhythms of the pounding feet and the swaying bodies are hypnotic, the singing is powerful and moving, and the artists' devotion is palpable. If the rehearsals are merely exciting, though, the performance itself is absolutely stunning, a masterpiece of passionate precision. It's no substitute for a month in Barcelona, but for most of us it'll have to do. Olé! --Rob Lightner

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of Money, November 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Flamenco Women [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I had such high hopes for this video. I was attending classes at the Amor de Dios studio in Madrid when this video was made in 1997 and was excited to see how it turned out. Unfortunately, most of the film is a complete misrepresentation of flamenco by someone who does not have a clue about it. The end performance is about as far from real flamenco as you can get. Yes, the performers are well known and excellent dancers in their own right. But please, I wanted to gag when I saw the "fashionable" outfits (marketing ploy for designers "Vacas Flacas") and the many Spanish celebs Figgis got to stand in the audience (right in the front, of course). Flamenco is not about celebrities or fancy costumes. I think the film would have been a lot more interesting had it shown more of the classroom footage. There's a lot more magic happening there with women dancing in old leotards than there is in the whole performance which is supposed to be the point of this film. If you want to see some real "Flamenco Women" check out the Carlos Saura film instead!

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An hour of aimless noodling, January 4, 2000

By 

Harvey S. Liszt (Charlottesville, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Flamenco Women [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Sara Baras and Eva La Yerbabuena ostensibly rehearse for a performance, with some outtakes of studio work at Amor de Dios. We see snippets of alegrias, bulerias and tangos with some nice footwork but no development, not a single complete dance and the artistry of the "Flamenco Women" is wholly smothered by the ineptitude of the filmmakers. It makes you realize what talent Carlos Saura has.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars British filmmaker misunderstands flamenco, June 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Flamenco Women [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Michael Figgis doesn't have a clue about flamenco, as he proves with this idiotic documentary film. It is a murky film shot in grainy black and white, a jumble of 5-10 second snippets--mostly isolation shots of dancers' feet. This reduces flamenco to nothing more than flashy footwork. The viewer is left with no sense of the use of the arms (very important for female dancers), the choreography nor the interplay of dancers with the singer and guitarists. All we are left with is a confused jumble of very noisy and disjointed footwork. For a real look at flamenco, watch Saura's "Flamenco."