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Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown



Pedro Almodóvar makes telephones, a mambo taxi, and a burning mattress into delirious plot points and indelible images in his international breakthrough, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Melding melodrama with screwball farce, this Academy Award–nominated black comedy secured the auteur's place at the vanguard of modern Spanish cinema. Continuing Almodóvar's exploration of the female psyche, the film tells the story of Pepa, an actor—played by the director's frequent collaborator Carmen Maura—who resolves to kill herself with a batch of sleeping-pill-laced gazpacho after her lover leaves her. Fortunately, she is interrupted by a string of visitors, setting in motion a deliciously chaotic series of events. The filmmaker channeled inspiration by the likes of Alfred Hitchcock and Douglas Sirk into his own unique vision, arriving at the irreverent sense of humor and vibrant visual sense that define his work today. With a sensational ensemble cast of early Almodóvar regulars that also includes Antonio Banderas and Rossy de Palma, this film shows an artist in total control of his craft.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED EDITION:

• New high-definition digital restoration, supervised by director Pedro Almodóvar and producer Agustín Almodóvar, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master
• Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray
• New interviews with director Pedro Almodóvar, actor Carmen Maura, and producer Agustín Almodóvar
• New discussion by film scholar Richard Peña of the film's impact in Spain and abroad
• Trailer
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by critic Elvira Lindo

I guess they're going to be spacing these out every couple months like Ozu a decade ago and more recently Fassbinder. Might as well pick up the UK box based on these scant extras and how long it will take Criterion to get these out

Yes, based on these specs it looks like the UK box should be utilizing the same restorations, and all the films have at least a few bonus features included. Did not find a great many reviews, but it looks worthwhile once the price comes down a bit.

A warning about the UK set, it seems that it has forced subtitles.

Was hoping for a feaurette on the Mambo Taxi....
One of my favorite of many Almodovar films.

Yes the UK BD set seems to have forced subs but the DVD version has optional.

And for those interested, it seems the French set doesn't have English subs at all and the French subs are forced anyway, so this one will be out of reach for English-speaking countries...

What did happen with the P.A's audio comentary that was in the Laser Disc?
Edit: Elvira Lindo is a popular author, but an essay writer? Come on! She is too frivolous, or egocentric, or auto biographical, or even brown-nosing.

Edit 2: They could have bought some TVE programs or interviews such this http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/vers ... 10/916543/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
almost an hour with Almodovar and Banderas talking about it.

Jane Fonda and later Whoopi Goldberg bought the rights for a remake.

rohmerin wrote:Elvira Lindo is a popular author, but an essay writer? Come on! She is too frivolous, or egocentric, or auto biographical, or even brown-nosing.

This is the same company that hires Lena Dunham and Michael Musto to write essays for their releases, so it sounds like they're only being consistent with this commission.

Werewolf by Night wrote:

rohmerin wrote:Elvira Lindo is a popular author, but an essay writer? Come on! She is too frivolous, or egocentric, or auto biographical, or even brown-nosing.

This is the same company that hires Lena Dunham

I'm sure she could just Search-Replace her Big Chill essay: "These are your women. These are your nervous breakdowns"

"Let me tell you about another woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown: Hillary Clinton,"

Minkin wrote:Svet on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

So it's identical to the UK box set (with the exception of the few, meager bonus interviews)?

Lowry_Sam wrote:

Minkin wrote:Svet on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

So it's identical to the UK box set (with the exception of the few, meager bonus interviews)?

Its still over an hour of bonus features, I wouldn't exactly call it "few/meager" - especially compared to the Studio Canal's puff piece "Around Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown." + the UK set has forced subtitles.

Are the subtitles different to the UK set?