The House Of Spirits (La Casa De Los Espiritus) Collectors Edition [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

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Esteban Trueba (Jeremy Irons), a poor miner with a strong character, manages to escape his destiny when he buys an abandoned country estate, which he completely re builds. When marries Clara (Meryl Streep), the beautiful daughter of a rich politician, they move into the hacienda. Clara is a mysterious woman with inexplicable magic powers and a particular relationship with Ferula (Glenn Close), Estebans sister. Blanca (Winona Ryder), their daughter, has the same strong character as her father, falls in love with a left wing leader (Antonio Banderas). A generational conflict arises between them..

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Duvivier and Gabin, not quite at the level of Pepe le Moko!

La Bandera
Starring: Annabella , Jean Gabin , Robert Le Vigan , Raymond Aimos , and Pierre Renoir
Director: Julien Duvivier
Manufacturer: Cinema Libre
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001KNHHC
Release Date: 2004-04-20

Product Description

Pierre Gillieth (Jean Gabin pepe le Moko, Grand illusion) kills a man alter a violent argument and must flee Paris. He finds sanctuary in Barcelona, Spain, but while there, his wallet is stolen. Destitute and at wit s end , pierre decides to join the Spanish Foreign Legion. Two other Frenchmen who enlist at the same time befriend Pierre. He tries to forget the violent act that caused him to flee his home but one day one of his newfound friends drops an identity card in front of Pierre with disturbing consequences.

System Requirements:

Running Time 96 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Duvivier and Gabin, not quite at the level of Pepe le Moko!.......2003-05-04

La Bandera is an earlier pairing of actor Jean Gabin and director Julien Duvivier prior to their much-imitated classic, Pepe le Moko. In La Bandera, both Duvivier and Gabin show flashes of their later brilliance in Pepe, but never quite hit the same level.

Bandera tells the story of Pierre Gilieth (Gabin). The film opens with Gilieth killing a man in Paris. The scene quickly shifts to a cheap boarding house in Barcelona, where Gilieth is hiding from the law... He is robbed one night and joins the Spanish Foreign Legion just to eat. His Legion unit is stationed in North Africa, and this is where the film shines. The African scenes were all filmed on location at actual Spanish Foreign Legion forts and towns. Locals and tribesmen are constantly sniping at the soldiers, but Duvivier makes these seem larger than life by never actually showing them. You never see the enemy in any of the combat sequences, and somehow this makes them seem more threatening.

Once in Africa, Gilieth and his mates start to frequent a brothel and Gilieth falls in love and marries a local girl. He also develops a conflict with another soldier, who may or may not be a real threat to him...

If you see the amazon.com trivia section, you'll notice that this film was originally dedicated to Spanish General Franco, and that this was removed after the Spanish Civil War. Its interesting as this film had to be made just prior to the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, and in fact uses scenes of real Spanish Legion soldiers. These soldiers were in fact Franco's shock troops of the civil war and his real power base both prior to the conflict and during it. I suppose its nothing more than historical trivia, but in a way it accounts for the way La Bandera has been generally forgotten. I know this film has also been compared (a little unfavorably) with Beau Geste, but I suspect the way it glorifies the Spanish Legion just prior to the Spanish Civil war and the Legion's role in the fascist victory accounts for the film's relative obscurity...

Regarding the dvd, I'm a bit disappointed. The film is watchable, for sure, but the transfer is nowhere near the quality of something Criterion or Kino would produce. There is plenty of dirt and noise, and the print itself is quite soft (usually indicating a bad attempt at cleaning it). The soundtrack has plenty of noise and hiss, and is obviously untouched. Compared to some recent Criterion releases from similar dates that look like they were produced yesterday, the La Bandera transfer is a disappointment. Perhaps worse, the English subtitles are not great, and are non-removable, so even if you can understand the French you are stuck watching the film with bad subtitles.

Product Description

Antonio Banderas ("Otchajannyj", "Soblazn") i Usebio Ponsela ("Intakto") v fil'me "Zakon zhelanija". Scenarist i rezhisser Pedro Al'modovar, "samyj jarkij talant kinematografa vos'midesjatyh godov" (Leonard Maltin), vybral shokirujuwuju temu, kotoraja nekotorym mozhet pokazat'sja neprijatnoj i dazhe omerzitel'noj, no reshil on ee na vysokom hudozhestvennom urovne. Sjuzhet postroen vokrug ubijstva na pochve strasti. To, chto jeto ljubov' gomoseksualistov, suti ne menjaet. Ljubov' svodit ljudej s uma i tolkaet na prestuplenie, ostavajas' nepodsudnoj. Molodoj (20-letnij) ljubovnik (Banderas) izvestnogo kinorezhissera (Molina) ubivaet sopernika - policija vedet sledstvie. Al'modovar za 1 chas 38 minut jekrannogo vremeni daet ischerpyvajuwuju psihologicheskuju kartinu podopleki proishodjawego s redkoj vyrazitel'nost'ju i jemocional'nost'ju. V fil'me ispol'zovany zamechatel'naja muzyka i pesni.

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La Corte de Faraón
Starring: Ana Belén , Fernando Fernán Gómez , Antonio Banderas , Josema Yuste , and Agustín González
Director: José Luis García Sánchez
Manufacturer: Suevia Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: o English (subtitles) o Spanish (subtitles) o Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: La Corte de Faraon is a romp of a zarzuela ("operetta" is a loose translation) that first appeared in 1910 (original libretto by Guillermo Perrin and Miguel de Palacios, original music by Vicente Lle). The Pharaoh rewards his victorious general Putifar (Josema Yuste) with a new bride, Lota (Ana Belen), but the general is more intrigued with his own ego on his wedding night, and in the morning he dashes off. Along comes Friar Jos (Antonio Banderas) with his soulful eyes and innocent sexuality, and Lota aggressively goes after him. He escapes, but when brought before the Queen, she follows Lota's precedent and the poor Friar barely escapes a second time with his virtue intact. (In the original the Friar is none other than Joseph of the colored coat.) In this updated version, the troupe of zarzuela players gets in trouble with the police, and the whole lot of them are hauled in for scandalous behavior. Between the on-stage and off-stage insanity, the singing, the dance numbers, the music, the slapstick, and the slams at censors, police, and political repression -- this zarzuela upholds the tradition of pleasing all types of viewers. Except Franco, that is -- he banned the operetta. Special Features: o Film Credits o Filmographies o Interactive Menu o Scene Access o Trailer(s)

Law of Desire (La Ley del deseo) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

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Law of Desire (La Ley del deseo) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Manufacturer: Roadshow
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000LQJ9MI

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SYNOPSIS: Popular film director Pablo Quintero (Eusebio Poncela) has found a new love in the form of handsome blue-collar Juan (Miguel Molina). Not altogether comfortable with his lifestyle, Juan decides to leave Pablo for a while to contemplate his future. Pablo insists that Juan keep in touch by sending him love letters. Ever the director, he plans to write the letters himself, and have Juan mail them back with his signature. If you think that settles things, you don't know filmmaker Pedro Almodovar. Among the many plot complications in Law of Desire is Pablo's subsequent romance with the possessive Antonio (Antonio Banderas, whose "gay kiss" in the film prompted front-page headlines in the Brazilian press), and Pablo's efforts to film the life story of his sister (Carmen Maura), who started out life as his brother. SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Commentary,

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Duvivier and Gabin, not quite at the level of Pepe le Moko!

La Bandera
Starring: Annabella , Jean Gabin , Robert Le Vigan , Raymond Aimos , and Pierre Renoir
Director: Julien Duvivier
Manufacturer: Vanguard Cinema
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000087F0R
Release Date: 2003-03-25

Customer Reviews:

Duvivier and Gabin, not quite at the level of Pepe le Moko!.......2003-05-04

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