332 Viridiana

[daniel p]

beaver

[HerrSchreck]

Early copy. Looks quite good except for one point early on in Viridiana's arrival to her uncle's estate where another, generational, flat-contrasted print was used-- why this scene was missing from the negative they used for their telecine I have no idea, but it's the only sore spot for a film whose prints were buried, smuggled in plastic bags, hidden in farms, confiscated relentlessly like DEEP THROAT. The Savant review which beefs on the image quality is nitpicking: it's the digitizing of peoples minds where they want everything to look supersharp & supercrisp like digicam made yesterday without nicks & light scratches & without any of the inherent softness of celluloid.

CC continues it's odd process of slicing vintage extras up and giving you only pieces: the Cineastes Notre Temps episode has been excerpted for extracts (like some of Kobayashi material was not presented in full, etc) rather than run from start to finish which irks me. The fucking interviews with Bunuel are some of the most compelling talks with a director I've ever seen, period, and I certainly wish I could have seen it from start to finish. Editing the episode was clearly done to keep them from having to either compromise on bitrate, or having to put it on a 2nd disc, which I far would have preferred. If DAZED & CONFUSED can warrant a 2-disc set, or EQUINOX, then surely what is perhaps Bunuel's masterpiece can afford the 75 cents or so in cost-increase for packaging the thing in a double-case as well as the extra DVD, which couldve even been a dvd5.

The POrton interview is decent, very levelheaded & humble in his opinion-presentation, and the Pinal interview is a gas. Again though, the high point of the extras is the Cineastes episode-- and the magnificent Bunuel interview. The guy had me rolling. The booklet included is huge-- miracle the clips didn't bust a la KING OF KINGS. Editing-nitpicking aside, a little package of pricelessness for 25 bucks. Must-own. Even if you've never seen, it, blind-buy it. The beggars banquet sequence will, if nothing else moves you, remain with you until your deathbed.

One scene sums up the film in a nutshell for me. For those who know, I'll leave it cryptic for those who don't:

Cousin buys the dog to relieve it; as he turns away another dog in the same disposition. This futility which confronts each thinking person each morning upon waking, and the finding of reasons to go on nontheless.... love this movie, speaks fabulously to the uselessness of so many of the best motivations in life and the mystery of judgement and decision, and finding motivation nontheless. As well as hints of something else at the end which I find magnificent: (SPOILER ALERT):

Pinal elaborates on the ending by recounting conversations with Bunuel viz what is happening here, where Viridiana sits down to play cards with her cousin: that Viridiana is giving up on the impossible moral woods of Christian charity, which makes little difference in the overall and the long-run (life is moral chaos post-Moses/Jesus/Buddha/Mohammed, so little hope for the pious young lady's efforts to manufacture sincere hearts), and which does little, especially in the face of honest examination of personal reward when unflinchingly admitting to herself the near impossibility of overcoming the condescention & patronization for the person she is in the minds of her charity recipients. In this crushing disappontment & disillusionment & late-discovery of her being a victim of patronization (and rape, psychologically & physically) of cunning impoverished street-hustlers & poor folk Viridiana very closely resembles the female protagonist in TWILIGHT OF A WOMANS SOUL by Bauer. In discussions w Pinal Bunuel explained to the slightly disconcerted-with-the-ending actress that Viridiana is not shaming herself in entering into a sexual relationship with Jorge... she is becoming real, growing up, becoming a functional human being by planting healthy and natural seeds that will actually grow. That is, engaging with life, tilling real soil, sowing real seeds, allowing her body and her mind real intercourse with the world, rather than hiding in an impossible fantasy world where she is living a saintly fantasy while dooming herself to being forever hustled by those she would seek to prosletyse. Upon entering the real world, working the earth in her uncles (now-her's) farm, allowing her body to find a place in life, she has found her way to serve god honorably and propagate life, and successfully and actually add goodness to the world. The sanctity and profundity of these simple pleasures, particularly when measured against the obtuse fantasy-world of the missionary-mindset and absurdity of the belief in the spiritual truth of their endeavors, is real good food for the soul, head & genitalia.

[jorencain]

As excited as I have been for this release, you now have me waiting by my mailbox in the hopes that it will arrive at any moment. I cannot wait to get it, and now I'm extremely excited about the Bunuel interviews.

[stroszeck]

GREAT transfer, and I honestly don't mind all that much that its only a single discer, because I got my fill of bunuel on the Discreet DVD. Now all I need is Tristana and a bit of Nazarin and El and I can die peacefully.

[justeleblanc]

GREAT transfer, and I honestly don't mind all that much that its only a single discer, because I got my fill of bunuel on the Discreet DVD. Now all I need is Tristana and a bit of Nazarin and El and I can die peacefully.

Don't forget Exterminating Angel and Milky Way. Maybe you'll resurrect yourself for those releases?

[domino harvey]

this is definitely the best Bunuel film I've seen yet, and as much as I was a fan of the previous cover, I must say that the new cover is more appropriate after having seen the film.

[justeleblanc]

this is definitely the best Bunuel film I've seen yet, and as much as I was a fan of the previous cover, I must say that the new cover is more appropriate after having seen the film.

And is it me or is Silvia Pinal tied with Theresa Russell and Barbra Stanwyck for being the sexiest ladies to grace Criterion DVDs??

[Cinesimilitude]

Cardinale, Vitti, Sandrelli... the Italians trump all when it comes to sexy.

[justeleblanc]

Cardinale, Vitti, Sandrelli... the Italians trump all when it comes to sexy.

Different strokes for Gary Coleman.

It's hard for me to fantisize about Vitti, I feel like she wouldn't be paying attention to me in bed -- she'd be too busy seeing how empty I was, or how empty she was.

But I do love how Bunuel shows the nun-to-be's legs and she's undressing, and the general turning her into a sex object.

[bunuelian]

A very pleasing release. The Cineastes de Notre Temps stuff is quite excellent and a nice thing to have available, despite being truncated. It would be interesting to know how much was cut from the original - anyone know how long the original was?

The Pinal interview doesn't reveal anything new, but it's nice to have just the same.

The transfer is enormously pleasing. A huge improvement over my VHS version, that's for sure!

Each telling of this film's circumstances is a little different. It's hard to nail down the truth about a lot of different aspects. For example, Pinal says that Bunuel invented the ending, while at least one other telling indicates that the censor suggested it. The censor origin has always tickled my fancy - the censor might have known full well what he was suggesting. But perhaps that explanation isn't accurate. One thing that becomes immediately clear with things like this is how quickly memory changes.

[Lino]

It's hard for me to fantisize about Vitti, I feel like she wouldn't be paying attention to me in bed -- she'd be too busy seeing how empty I was, or how empty she was.

You really need to check out Modesty Blaise. Your opinion of Vitti will change dramatically!

[Anonymous]

My, Viridiana was quite a thrill, but really, does it matter if Belle de Jour has a different release? It's quite lovely as it is, and expect that a multitide of extras will change anything.

[Gigi M.]

My, Viridiana was quite a thrill, but really, does it matter if Belle de Jour has a different release? It's quite lovely as it is, and expect that a multitide of extras will change anything.

I'm just pleased that Belle de Jour is available on dvd.

[GringoTex]

My, Viridiana was quite a thrill, but really, does it matter if Belle de Jour has a different release? It's quite lovely as it is, and expect that a multitide of extras will change anything.

Are you referring to the Miramax Belle de Jour? That disc is an abomination.

[Cobalt60]

I can't look at that Viridiana last supper scene without wanting to give Bunuel a big thankful kiss on the lips

[justeleblanc]

My, Viridiana was quite a thrill, but really, does it matter if Belle de Jour has a different release? It's quite lovely as it is, and expect that a multitide of extras will change anything.

Are you referring to the Miramax Belle de Jour? That disc is an abomination.

My hope is that Miramax will lose the rights to it shortly. The subtitles are so annoying.

[bunuelian]

Viridiana must be the last great sigh of Bunuel's sublime Mexican period, despite being made in Spain.

Don't forget Exterminating Angel (1962). I wholeheartedly agree that his Mexican period is not to be missed, and the unity of his filmography rewards a broad and deep study. Everyone should pick up the El/Archibaldo double feature disc always on sale on ebay - the transfers are good and the films tremendous.

I'm surprised you rank Nazarin among his weakest efforts, in part because I've also been slow to see what the critics find so great about the film. But then, I've always been slow to appreciate things. I've warmed to it after reading some analysis that puts it in better context for me as an atheist without much Christian background. It certainly rewards repeated viewings, like most of his films.

[tavernier]

But even these or supposed dross like Susana and Abismos de Pasion are fanatstically inventive and engaging.

Agreed.....always loved Susana!

[zedz]

I can only think of three or four Bunuels that do less than knock me out - Robinson Crusoe, Nazarin, la Voie Lactee, Gran Casino and Cela s'Appelle Aurore. But even these or supposed dross like Susana and Abismos de Pasion are fanatstically inventive and engaging.

I'd add El Gran Calavera to the list of disappointments, but, as you say, even the weakest films offer a worthwhile insight into Bunuel's art. Fond as I am of the later films, I think the heights of the Mexican period (which extends past Exterminating Angel to the miraculous Simon of the Desert - maybe my favourite Bunuel - thus slightly overlapping the French / Carriere period) far outweigh those of the French.

[justeleblanc]

You're wrong (insert "ignorant slut" comment here). Did you get a chance to watch That Obscure Object of Desire?

[zedz]

Fond as I am of the later films, I think the heights of the Mexican period (which extends past Exterminating Angel to the miraculous Simon of the Desert - maybe my favourite Bunuel - thus slightly overlapping the French / Carriere period) far outweigh those of the French.

You're wrong (insert "ignorant slut" comment here). Did you get a chance to watch That Obscure Object of Desire?

Hey, I still like most of the later films a lot, but my favourite Bunuels are probably Simon, Exterminating Angel, Viridiana, Un Chien Andalou, Las Hurdes, Los Olvidados, El, La mort en ce jardin and Archibaldo, so the French ones barely make the top ten. Even the best of those (and I agree that Obscure Object is near the top of that particular heap) would be hard-pressed to beat out any of the top six on points. I find the episodic films more 'safe' and less explosive than extended hallucinations like Simon and Exterminating Angel.

[justeleblanc]

Hey, I still like most of the later films a lot, but my favourite Bunuels are probably Simon, Exterminating Angel, Viridiana, Un Chien Andalou, Las Hurdes, Los Olvidados, El, La mort en ce jardin and Archibaldo, so the French ones barely make the top ten. Even the best of those (and I agree that Obscure Object is near the top of that particular heap) would be hard-pressed to beat out any of the top six on points. I find the episodic films more 'safe' and less explosive than extended hallucinations like Simon and Exterminating Angel.

And there are still many Mexican films of his I still need to see. Though I kinda don't really care for chien or l'age. And I know I'm gonna get beaten with soap for saying this, but they are like Eisenstein's October, important films but the payoff has been lost over time.

And this might be a stupid question but does anyone know the name of the rock song at the end of Viridiana?

[GringoTex]

Don't forget Exterminating Angel (1962).

Coming to DVD!

[Cinesimilitude]

well, if there is no criterion news by the release date, I'll get it.

[justeleblanc]

well, if there is no criterion news by the release date, I'll get it.

I would give it a year.