BD 104 The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz

[What A Disgrace]

In Luis Buñuel’s darkly comic psychodrama, a reawakened childhood memory convinces rich, cultured Archibaldo that he is able to cause the death of others. But his murderous impulses are frustrated at every turn, driving him to find ever more inventive ways to fulfil his desires.

A key work of his Mexican period, Buñuel’s gloriously twisted The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz anticipates his later works with an ambiguous tale of bourgeois hysteria, transgression and erotic obsession. Full of pitch-black humour and Surrealist flourishes, the film is an unjustly neglected gem from one of cinema’s greatest artists.

BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:
• The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (Ensayo de un crimen, 1955) presented from the new 4K restoration by Cineteca Nacional México.
• Surreal Frames: A three-part video series by writer and filmmaker Cristina Álvarez López investigating the development and key phases of Buñuel’s filmography.
• Film historian David Wilt’s visual essay on The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz.
• Luis Buñuel’s annotated personal script of the film. (BD-Rom content)
• 24-page booklet featuring writing by film scholar and Buñuel expert Jordi Xifra and also Cristina Álvarez López.
• New and improved English subtitle translation.
• UK Premiere on Blu-ray.

May 25

[MichaelB]

WONDERFUL news! I had absolutely no idea that they were doing this.

I first saw it in the 1990s in a print that was already decades old, and which had been given decidedly minimalist subtitling, covering only what the translator deemed to be essential dialogue. The problem is, Buñuel's not the kind of director who takes kindly to that approach, and there were a couple of Spanish speakers in the audience who were hooting with laughter at lines that whooshed right over everybody else's head, so it was a somewhat frustrating experience—but it's a great tribute to the film that it actually survived that.

[domino harvey]

I don’t know, how will it compare to the VCI Blu-ray that spelled Bunuel’s name wrong?

[MichaelB]

Well, that's a conundrum and no mistake.

[andyli]

Fantastic news! DAY ONE purchase.

[MichaelB]

For anyone who doesn't know this film, it's 100% worth a blind buy—it's one of Buñuel's finest Mexican films, and a comedy so black that parts of it are pretty startling even today.

[rapta]

Buñuel! Very unexpected, figured this might come from Radiance but this is just as good. Exciting!

[eerik]

Wow, surprising news. Will definitely get this, hopefully Second Run will release more Mexican films in the future.

I don’t know, how will it compare to the VCI Blu-ray that spelled Bunuel’s name wrong?

The final cover itself fixed the error, don't know why they did not bother updating the online cover art.

[Michael Kerpan]

It is distressingly funny, given how black the humor is.

[Lowry_Sam]

Will it be Region A/B/C?

[rapta]

Yes, all Second Run discs are region free AFAIK (there may be one or two exceptions but I'm not sure which those are from memory).

[MichaelB]

It’s ultimately down to the rightsholder, so I wouldn’t assume that because their Eastern European films are invariably region-free the same will be true of a Mexican title.

That said, I’m pretty sure all of Indicator’s Mexican titles were region-free.

[hearthesilence]

Like all the other restorations I saw at MoMA's amazing retrospective of Buñuel’s Mexican films, this one looked great and it is indeed a masterpiece. Very much looking forward to this.

[Lowry_Sam]

Reason why I asked was because there's already a region A blu from VCI who normally do public domain releases.
Their release states that their blu comes from

part of the project for the preservation of Mexican Cinema implemented by the National Cinematheque. This film is owned by the Film Production Workers Union (STPC) and has been restored by the institution's Digital Restoration Laboratory.

Image Digitization was performed from the original 35 mm negative acetate. 129,589 frames were restored. The sound was worked from a composite positive copy, using the optical sound negative to fill in the missing audio.

No mention of a 4k resto though, so I'm wondering if it's the same, but also if there's the possibility of a Mexican Bunuel (UHD) box somehwere down the line. I would have thought Criterion would pick this up rather than VCI, but there you have it.

[swo17]

Second Run's shop says this is region-free

[What A Disgrace]

Hm, this has already been delayed until June 8.

[ryannichols7]

Hm, this has already been delayed until June 8.

let it be for the best reason imaginable...

WONDERFUL news! I had absolutely no idea that they were doing this.

[MichaelB]

I have no involvement with this release, didn’t know it was happening before the announcement, have said nothing privately to Second Run beyond “wow!”, and wouldn’t have had the time to contribute anything anyway.

I’m also not at all sure that I’d want to tackle this particular title; I adore the film, but—as with my reason for turning down Mr Vampire for Eureka a few years ago—I’d rather listen to someone else’s commentary than attempt my own, as it’s not really my area of expertise.

[ryannichols7]

I have no involvement with this release, didn’t know it was happening before the announcement, have said nothing privately to Second Run beyond “wow!”, and wouldn’t have had the time to contribute anything anyway.

I’m also not at all sure that I’d want to tackle this particular title; I adore the film, but—as with my reason for turning down Mr Vampire for Eureka a few years ago—I’d rather listen to someone else’s commentary than attempt my own, as it’s not really my area of expertise.

only wishful thinking! your Viridiana track was awesome and I hope for more on Buñuel from you, but hopefully for a future title

[Lowry_Sam]

your Viridiana track was awesome and I hope for more on Buñuel from you, but hopefully for a future title

..on UHD too!

[Bikey]

"Remains one of Buñuel's most enjoyably macabre oddities. [...] The typically cool and yet piquant flavour resides throughout in this rich mixture of real and abstract, real and imagined, with a perfect balance maintained between morbid wit and blood-stained drama [...] in fact, this film provides yet another reminder that Buñuel's is one of the few truly individual visions in the cinema"


An archival, spot-on review from the December 1960 issue of Monthly Film Bulletin by Robert Vas when Buñuel's THE CRIMINAL LIFE OF ARCHIBALDO DE LA CRUZ was first released in the UK - five years after its Mexican debut.

66 years later, it makes it's UK home video debut. Blu-ray 8 June.

[MichaelB]

Robert Vas also wrote by far the most perceptive English-language review of The Round-Up (when it was still so new that it was known in English as The Hopeless Ones, a literal translation of its Hungarian title)—although in that case he had the huge advantage of actually being Hungarian, so was able to dig deep in a way that his fellow UK-based critics simply couldn't.

[Lowry_Sam]

Any chance they'll also be releasing El Bruto? The 4k restoration also got a public domain blu in the US, but I haven't picked it up yet and would go for a Second Run blu over VCI.

[Michael Kerpan]

I wonder how much improvement we will get with the new Archibaldo BluRay?

[MichaelB]

Mondo Digital.