Product Details

• Actors: Linda Christian, Miguel Mate
• Directors: Francesco Rosi
• Format: NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: Italian
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Criterion Collection
• DVD Release Date: January 24, 2012
• Run Time: 107 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B005VU9LIG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,572 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Moment of Truth (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

The Moment of Truth, from director Francesco Rosi (Salvatore Giuliano) is a visceral plunge into the life of a famous torero—played by real-life bullfighting legend Miguel Mateo, known as Miguelin. Charting his rise and fall with a single-minded focus on the bloody business at hand, the film is at once gritty and operatic, placing the viewer right in the thick of the ring’s action, as close to death as possible. Like all of the great Italian truth seeker’s films, this is a not just an electrifying drama but also a profound and moving inquiry into a violent world—and perhaps the greatest bullfighting movie ever made.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, Gory, and possibly Offensive, February 12, 2012

By 

Fast Food Blogger "Fast Food Blogger" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Moment of Truth (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

The Moment of Truth follows poor Spanish youth, Miguelin, who finds fame and fortune in the ring fighting.......bulls. Director Francesco Rosi set out to fully depict bull fighting with all of its cruelty, danger, and beauty. He definitely accomplishes that task. Nearly everything in the film is authentic. The main character is an actual matador. The bull fights are real. The gore and accidents are too. There is only one professional actor in the film, an actress actually, who plays an actress. And the cinematography gorgeous inside and outside of the ring--I am particularly reminded of the scene where Miguelin walks through a field of female laborers harvesting grain. As the women fling grain in the air, it all falls like strands of gold in the background.

But The Moment of Truth is not for everyone. If you have any protective feelings toward animals, and you are going to watch this, prepare yourself. Like I said earlier, this is a bloody movie, and every time you see a bull die its gory death, you actually did see a bull die a gory death. So while the beauty of the sport comes through, so does the butchery. Finally, it seemed to me that the story was the second emphasis of the film. That's not to say its poorly acted or even without emotional content. The Moment of Truth clearly points out the nightmarish worlds Miguelin, and others in his position, felt forced to choose between. I just mean that, to me, it seemed like Rosi's main intent was to capture the full scope of bull fighting. While that may make The Moment of Truth the best movie of its kind, it also makes it, at moments, feel more like a documentary than a movie. Think about it.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Gritty Look at Life in the Arena, January 17, 2012

By 

The Movie Man "tenebre89" (Maywood, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Moment of Truth (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

"The Moment of Truth," new to Blu-ray, is an intriguing look into the life of a famous bullfighter, played by real-life bullfighting legend Miguel Mateo, known as Miguelin. Tracing his career's rise and decline with an unswerving focus on the dangerous sport, the movie is gritty, seldom turning away from its less-than-glamorous aspects.

Several Hollywood pictures have used bullfighting and its milieu ( "Blood and Sand," "The Matador," "The Bullfighter and the Lady"), but none has captured the day-to-day drama as well as "The Moment of Truth." Mateo is a charismatic actor, and his dramatic scenes outside the arena come off convincingly, particularly his romantic scenes with co-star Linda Christian.

Though the setting is Spain, the movie is in Italian with English subtitles. Blu-ray bonus extras include a 2004 interview with director Francesco Rosi, new English subtitles, and a booklet containing a critical essay.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars running of the the fleas, February 4, 2012

By 

Russell E. Scott "futurestar" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Moment of Truth (Criterion Collection) (DVD)

as a film on bull fighting Rosi gets The Moment Of Truth as close to the real action as possible. going into this I don't think he knew what the end result would be other than documentation. my read is the Spanish as a people must be bored to tears in actually finding amusement in a fight to the to death regardless the result. its almost a coliseum/gladiator mentality thing dating back ages. man's thirst for blood flow is obviously insatiable. the bull and fighter are nothing more than token entertainment and fodder. the rewards vs the risk is nothing more than a color poster fluctuating in value depending on event, date, and age. Rosi got it right. it's bloody wrong in Technicolor circa 1965 or any other format. it makes for great fiction writing if nothing else. Criterion has verve in breathing new air into this cruelty as an art form thanks to the good graces of director Rosi and matador Miguelin posthumously. its worth every copper coin one can muster. olay!