Viridiana - Criterion Collection
by Luis Bu?uel
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Fernando Rey, Francisco Rabal, Jos? Calvo (II), Margarita Lozano, Silvia PinalDirector: Luis Bu?uel
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-05-23
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of Viridiana - Criterion Collection
Movie Review: Yawn
Summary: 2 Stars
The criticism of intent is a killer on bad films that have no real depth and do not last a few years beyond their intent's purpose. Such was re-emphasized to me watching Spanish filmmaker Luis Bu?uel's vastly overrated black and white 1961 `shock classic' Viridiana. Of course, all the alleged shock value had to do with Bu?uel's puerile attempts to poke fun at and scandalize both the Roman Catholic Church and the regime of Fascist dictator Francisco Franco, and nearly five decades later it looks more like a college prank video than any serious cinema. Furthermore, it is not in the least bit subversive, as many poor critics claim, because its criticism of the Church, especially- and even then, was so manifest as to make one wonder if those who claimed it had subversive qualities even knew what the term meant.
Of course, given Bu?uel's start as a Surrealist superstar- that overused and often misapplied term, it's no surprise that much of his filmic career would be seen through such a pretentious lens- especially by fans masquing as critics, rather than dealing with the individual films, and whether they fail or not. The fact is, while Viridiana is a reasonably capably made film- on a technical level (although there is no standout cinematography, musical scoring, nor interesting visual compositions), it fails because its screenplay is abysmal. As in other `classics' of his, whose luster has faded (think Belle De Jour), Viridiana is larded with cardboard characters, caricatures, and outright stereotypes that are bad enough, alone, but given that they are not put to any truly subversive use, makes them all the more a wasted effort. They also suggest the paper thin grasp of reality- especially the political sort, that die hard Leftists like him are often represented as having; making him the biggest unintended caricature of all those associated with the film.
Yes, Bu?uel is not as pretentious and lacking in filmic basics as that other Surreal fraud, Jean Cocteau- so what? That doesn't make Bu?uel a Master; not even close, despite all the praise tossed his way. Viridiana fails not for a huge error or two, but for an unending string of little wrong and inane things, such as ridiculous symbolism- Viridiana sleepwalks and tosses ashes into Jaime's bed, and a film that moves far too quickly and gives no real insight into anything- especially its characters. For ellipses to work, they must be deployed within well-defined characterization, so that viewers can reasonably extrapolate the elided events. Without that, the missing elements shortchange both the tale and the characters.
Furthermore, the film's criticism of Roman Catholicism is absolutely depthless- it has been done before and since, and done better. There is no intellectual rigor, nor a hint of poesy. The political intent overwhelms the minuscule art. And, without real characters, who gives a damn what is intended? The exercise is rendered pointless by its own incompetence, something that haunts most of the Bu?uel canon, which may explain why Viridiana- film and character, have such vacancies in their gazes.
Summary of Viridiana - Criterion Collection
Viridiana is a novice on the verge of taking her vows when she visits her uncle Don Jaime's farm. Still pining for his wife who died on their wedding night Don Jaime is struck by Viridiana's resemblance to her. He drugs Viridiana and attempts to rape her. Later on Don Jaime confesses to her what he tried to do but soon hangs himself humiliated by his own atrocious behavior. Viridiana inherits his farm and in an act of charity opens it up to a marauding troupe of beggars. To her dismay they ruin the main house in a wild orgy culminating in a gross parody of the Last Supper. Upon its release in 1961 VIRIDIANA was condemned by the Church banned in Spain awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and admired by film audiences the world over.System Requirements:Running Time: 91 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:?DRAMA Rating:?NR UPC:?037429212622 Manufacturer No:?VIR040While its so-called "blasphemies" have been tamed by the passage of time, Luis Bu?uel's Viridiana remains a masterpiece for the ages. After 22 years in Mexico and the United States, Bu?uel returned to his native Spain in 1961 with dictator Franco's permission to make any film he wanted, pending the approval of censors. Inspired by a minor saint named Viridiana and an erotic fantasy about making love to the Queen of Spain after drugging her, Bu?uel proceeded to combine these elements into a characteristically provocative scenario about Viridiana (Silvia Pinal), a young woman about to become a nun, who leaves her convent to visit the decaying estate of her uncle, Don Jaime (Fernando Rey), an eccentric widower who's immediately taken with Viridiana's close resemblance to his dead wife. Jaime's aborted attempt to seduce Viridiana (and his subsequent suicide) sets the film's second half in motion, as Viridiana assuages her guilt by turning Don Jaime's estate into a haven for the dispossessed--quite literally a "beggar's banquet" that culminates in one of the most indelible images in all of Bu?uel: a staged recreation of da Vinci's "The Last Supper," with a cast of itinerant peasants as "disciples" in Bu?uel's new world order--a cutting response to backward notions of progress.
Like any great film, Viridiana reveals its depth and detail through multiple viewings. The film is scathingly critical of Catholic hypocrisy and Franco's Spain (Don Jaime's estate is a direct reflection of the country's moribund state of sociopolitical decay), and its allegorical content was not lost on Spanish authorities, who banned the film (it wasn't shown in Spain until 1977) after it won the coveted Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In a closing stroke of genius, Bu?uel skirted around his censors with a final scene even more provocative (in its subtle implications) than the sexually suggestive ending he'd originally filmed. With much to say about the conflicting nature of human desires, Viridiana may have softened over decades, but it's never lost its ability to spark debate, discussion, and rewarding analysis of Bu?uel's directorial vision. --Jeff Shannon
On the DVD
The newly restored, high-definition digital transfer of Viridiana impressively maintains Criterion's exacting standards of audio-visual quality; it's a flawless transfer, with deep blacks and richly detailed clarity. The supplements include new (2006) video interviews with actress Silvia Pinal and Spanish cultural scholar Richard Porton; warmly revealing excerpts from the 1964 French TV series "Cineastes of Our Times," featuring an interview with Bu?uel; and a 30-page booklet with an essay on Viridiana by Princeton film scholar Michael Wood, and a generous interview excerpt from the book Objects of Desire: Conversations with Luis Bu?uel. --Jeff Shannon
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