Product Details

• Actors: Assumpta Serna, Antonio Banderas, Nacho Martínez, Eva Cobo, Julieta Serrano
• Directors: Pedro Almodóvar
• Writers: Pedro Almodóvar, Jesús Ferrero
• Producers: Andrés Vicente Gómez
• Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Spanish
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NC-17
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: November 3, 2009
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002M2T1TU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,618 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Matador (1986)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

MATADOR - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark and Perverse and Funny....Ole, Almodovar!, November 22, 2002

By 

yygsgsdrassil "yygsgsdrassil" (Crossroads America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Matador [VHS] (VHS Tape)

...."Matador" goes places that the typical Hollywood fare will never go.

Let's see "Matador" in DVD. Let's see if I could titulate you with my interpretation of the story.

Diego is a matador unable to get back into the ring after having been impaled by a bull. He, therefore, is reduced to teaching the arts of bullfighting to younger folks...including a fan, Angel, (Banderas) who is a little twisted. See, he can't stand the sight of blood...like what's produced from a successful bullfight.... His Ma may have ruined him for life and he has these intense visions/dreams of reported murders thru-out the city. He figures he must be the murderer. But he is not. Still, he confesses and turns himself in. His story line is one of several here...

Meanwhile, we find out that the lawyer assigned to Angel, Maria, (Serna) has a penchant for death and eros....she is like what you'd imagine a black widow would be. And, in the height of passion, the stickpen.

But see, Diego also is a little twisted. "To stop killing is to stop living", he says, and he has his own passion and murder psychosis going. As with Maria, Diego searches out for the ultimate sensual experience and he goes through young women as if he's objectified them like he has bulls during a bullfight....but...!

Maria meets Diego. And it is like they have been there before and they realise what each has done and it just is as it is and what must be done must be done...it's like Peck and Jones in that "Duel in the Sun" moovy they end up both being hypnotised by.

And the ultimate love, the ultimate sensuality, is the unquestioning willingness to die for another. To me it is why "Matador" in all it's perversity and darkness, turns out to be an unforgettable and beautiful film. What will you give to have love and passion like that...?

Now, I gave you the thumbnail sketch of the story to get you to see when you see the moovy, no one can quite capture the true essence of an Almodovar. You really have to experience his films. Thru out "Matador" (as well as many in his great catalog) there are images and insinuations, symbolism and absurdities that are going to stick with you loooong after you've viewed the film. The cinematography is stupendous, the mood just takes you. Initially, there is a disconnected feel, but it speeds up and there are scenes and edits you're going to rewind to and since it is subtitled in Spanish--unless you speak the language--you find yourself rewinding trying to catch the dialog, as not to miss something. This is reminescent of the Sharon Stone/Micheal Douglas piece, and of Cronenberg's rendition of "Crash." Also the absurdity reminds me of whenever "The Sopranos" go for that dark and funny thing...

Try an Almodovar this weekend...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pitch black comedy, flawed but unique and striking, July 23, 2010

By 

K. Gordon - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Matador (1986) (DVD)

Almodovar meets DePalma in this dark thriller with less `jokes' than most of his films, though black humor pervades the whole thing. All the characters are obsessed with death; a murderess who kills during sex, a teacher of matadors who lives to kill, and masturbates to snuff films, and a student who wishes he could kill but faints at the sight of blood. Some of the twists are silly, obvious and/or cop-outs, and the characters never feel `real', but there are some great, operatic disturbing and funny moments as well. Sort of a thinking person's, surrealist `Fatal Attraction'. Some of it is clunky, but the film sticks with me. Very good performances all around. Most major critics I respect liked it even more than me, and I'll probably re-visit it down the line. It seems like the kind of film that could easily grow on a second viewing -- its flaws more forgivable, its strengths more powerful.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Almodovar Work, June 28, 2011

By 

Brian R Yandle "Brian R Yandle" (High Point, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Matador (1986) (DVD)

This may very well be one of the most brilliant, if not unsettling Almodovar films I've ever seen. Here we have Almodovar's statement or tribute to guilt, sex, & death which may prove to be very gratifying to those who appreciate very dark comedy. Others may quickly find themselves literally out of their element when watching this bizarre masterpiece.

Note: Newcomers to Almodovar's work may want to try something a bit more tame such as Volver, All About My Mother, or Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown unless you are a complete cinema daredevil. If that be the case, have at it! Come join the party!

Where do we begin? There are scenes are bloody bullfights, attempted rape, & serial killings laced with wicked humor sporadically throughout the entire film. In fact, the opening scene of the film is quite a shocker which depicts either a snuff film or an extreme horror film that may put off potential viewers. Sounds interesting, right?

Matador basically involves two serial killers in completely different occupations who essentially kill just for the fun of it. In the midst of this craziness, we have a young man who secretly desires to be a bullfighter but strangely faints at the site of blood. Trust me, things get even zanier when the two serial killers meet atlast & the ending is anything but what you'd expect.

Again, not a film for everyone but it's definitely one of the lesser known Almodovar films worth checking out.