Death of a Cyclist
by Juan Antonio Bardem
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alberto Closas, Antonio Casas, Carlos Casaravilla, Lucia Bos?, Manuel AlexandreDirector: Juan Antonio Bardem
Brand: Image Entertainment
Cinematographer: Alfredo Fraile
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Spanish (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 87 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-22
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion Collection
Movie Reviews of Death of a Cyclist
Movie Review: A Hitchcockian Spanish film
Summary: 4 Stars
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.
"Death of a Cyclist releases" in Spain as "Muerte de un ciclista" is a film about an adulterous couple who accidentaly hits and kills a bicyclist with their car. It is in a rural area and nobody but them sees it happen. They leave without helping mainly because they don't want their affair to become known. They later become haunted by their crime.
The film has plot elements similar to that of Alfred Hitchcock's films and is also an allegory on the gap between the wealthy and the poor in Franco era Spain. For this the film was censored, but is now freely available.
The special feature on this release is a documentary about the film's director, Juan Antonio Bardem, titled "Calle Bardem"
This is a great film but the DVD could have more special features.
Summary of Death of a Cyclist
Juan Antonio Bardem's Death of A Cyclist cinematically resembles a noir thriller while it makes a stark political statement against the Spanish government at the time of its conception, namely Franco's regime. Class inequities and distrust thematically color this film, starring Maria Jose (Luc?a Bos?), whose insecurities about her infidelity to wealthy businessman, Miguel Castro (Otello Toso), are compounded when she and her illicit love, Juan Soler (Alberto Closas), accidentally hit a bicyclist while driving together. Panicking and leaving the cyclist to die, Juan and Maria are plagued by guilt and fear of discovery. An art critic and friend of Castro's, Rafael Sandoval (Carlos Casaravilla), serves as a corrupt conscience to the secret couple and threatens them with blackmail. Juan and Maria are thrust into his guessing game, in attempts to glean how much Sandoval knows. As Marsha Kinder mentions in her excellent essay accompanying this Criterion Collection release, Bardem's revolt lies not only in the plot and in his efforts to create a "realistic" Spanish film, but also by establishing characters who rebel against conformity—Maria against typical gender roles, and Juan, a liberal but poor Geometry teacher, against his upper-class family's desire for him to grow rich. Landscapes and sets, like the barren desert road where the accident takes place versus the lavish Spanish villa interiors, provide more visual fodder for Bardem's condemnation of power imbalance. Included as an extra is the short documentary, "Calle Bardem," (2005) comprised of interviews with Bardem's friends and colleagues that offer a clearer image of this highly-opinionated auteur. Death of A Cyclist's narrative is juicy in itself but is succeeded by its ambition to revamp Spanish cinema while speaking out against causes the director was dedicated to.--Trinie DaltonUpper-class geometry professor Juan and his wealthy married mistress Maria Jose driving back from a late-night rendezvous accidentally hit a cyclist and run. The resulting exquisitely shot tale of guilt infidelity and blackmail reveals the wide gap between the rich and the poor in Spain and surveys the corrupt ethics of a society seduced by decadence. Juan Antonio Bardem's charged melodrama Death of a Cyclist (Muerte de un ciclista) was a direct attack on 1950s Spanish society under Franco's rule. Though it was ultimately affected by the dictates of censorship the film's sting could never be dulled.SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:New restored high-definition digital transferCalle Bardem (2005) a documentary on the revolutionary life and career of director Juan Antonio BardemTheatrical trailerNew and improved English subtitle translationPLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by scholar Marsha Kinder and a 1955 essay by Bardem on Spanish cinemaSystem Requirements:LENGTH: 87 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/MELODRAMA UPC: 715515028622 Manufacturer No: CC1744DDVD
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