As the Spanish Civil War draws to a close, Fando, a young boy, is tormented by violently conflicting feelings towards his mother, who he suspects may have had a role in his father’s capture by fascists; feelings that manifest themselves as a nightmare onslaught of terrifying and bizarre imagery. Based on Fernando Arrabal’s own brutal experiences during the Civil War, Viva la muerte is a shockingly provocative work of surrealist cinema from the artist and filmmaker, who co-founded the ‘Panic Movement’ collective alongside Alejandro Jodorowsky. Acclaimed on release by critics and scorned by censors, Viva la muerte would later achieve notoriety as a midnight movie, and was a favourite film of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Restored in 4K with the collaboration of Fernando Arrabal, Radiance is proud to present Viva la muerte on English-subtitled Blu-ray for the first time ever.
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Supplements
- Audio discussion from the Project Booth podcast featuring Mike White, Heather Drain and Jess Byard (66 mins)
- Sur les traces de Baal - a short documentary by Abdellatif Ben Ammar in which the filmmaker followed Arrabal’s film and captured him at work on Viva la Muerte! (1970, 20 mins)
- VIDARRABAL - a feature-length documentary on Arrabal by Xavier Pasturel Barron capturing the life and work of this singular filmmaker, playwright, painter and essayist, featuring interviews with admirers, friends and family, including members of the Panic Movement he founded (2011, 98 mins)
- Interview with scholar and Spanish cinema expect David Archibald (2024)
- Trailer
- Booklet featuring new writing by Sabina Stent and archival interview with Fernando Arrabal