Abril, Victoria

The Lovers - Criterion Collection

Louis Malle unveiled the natural beauty of Jeanne Moreau in his breakthrough, Elevator to the Gallows. With his follow-up, the scandalous smash The Lovers> (Les amants), he made her a star once and for all. A deeply felt and luxuriously filmed fairy tale for grown-ups, perched on the edge between classical and New Wave cinemas, The Lovers presents Moreau as a restless bourgeois wife whose eye wanders from both her husband and her lover to an attractive passing stranger (Jean-Marc Bory). Thanks to its frank sexuality, The Lovers caused quite a stir, being censored and attacked for obscenity around the world. If today its shock has worn off, its glistening sensuality and seductive storytelling haven't aged a day.

Special Features

* - New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the complete, uncensored version
* - Selection of archival interviews with Louis Malle, actors Jeanne Moreau and José Luis de Villalonga, and writer Louise de Vilmorin
* - Gallery of promotional material from the U.S. theatrical release
* - New and improved English subtitle translation
* - PLUS: A new essay by film historian Ginette Vincendeau

Robin and Marian

This underrated Richard Lester film is really a classic--and one of the most romantic movies ever made. Working from James Goldman's script, Lester casts Sean Connery as an aged Robin Hood, returned after years away at the Crusades with an increasingly mad King Richard (Richard Harris). Robin and Little John (a very funny Nicol Williamson) return to find that the sheriff of Nottingham (Robert Shaw) is up to his old nasty tricks--and that Maid Marian (Audrey Hepburn) is now a nun. Lester brings the same touch to this period film that he did to The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, blending authenticity with a knowing wink at the conventions of period films. But the heart of this film is the very palpable emotion between Hepburn and Connery (and between Connery and Williamson). The ending is guaranteed three hankies, minimum. --Marshall Fine

Between Your Legs

This taut unpredictable thriller about sexual obsession from Spanish director Manuel Gomez Pereira stars Academy Award nominee Javier Bardem (The Dancer Upstairs Before Night Falls) and Victoria Abril (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!). Javier a married screenwriter with a penchant for phone sex and the family babysitter attends a sex addict's meeting where his eyes lock with the sultry Miranda who likes her sex in public. After the meeting unable to control their urges clothes are shed and lives damaged as Miranda and Javier have sex in an abandoned car - which happens to have a corpse in the trunk. From the sizzling opening sex scene to the shocking conclusion Between Your Legs is a consistently engaging absolutely compelling mystery.System Requirements:Running Time 120 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE Rating: NR UPC: 807839000542 Manufacturer No: TLA045

101 Reykjavík

Sexy Spaniard Victoria Abril heats up the wintry city of Reykjavík in 101 Reykjavík. Icelandic slacker Hlynur (Hilmir Snær Guðnason) lives on welfare with his mother, leading a depressed and aimless existence. His mother invites her flamenco teacher, Lola (Abril), to live with them; while his mother is away for New Year's Eve, Hlynur and Lola have a drunken fling. But upon her return, Hlynur's mother tells him that she and Lola are lesbian lovers--and it soon comes out that she and Lola are going to have a baby together. 101 Reykjavík seems to be the contemporary Icelandic version of American movies of the 1970s like Five Easy Pieces, in which antiheroic characters struggle to make sense of a world that doesn't seem to have any place for them. The movie is a bit unfocused, but its urban malaise feels genuine, if not particularly new. Abril is delightful, as always. --Bret Fetzer

Libertarias

Spain, July 19, 1936. The War has just begun and women as always play their part in this human tragedy. Maria, an innocent young nun, is forced to leave the convent after the arrival of the revolutionary troops in Barcelona. She takes refuge in a brothel, where she meets a group of "Libertarias", who are being "drafted" for the "Free Women" organization under the leadership of Pilar (Ana Belen) a pure feminist warrior, passionate and fiery. Alongside, Charo (Loles Leon) the hooker with the heart of gold and Floren (Victoria Abril) a spiritualist, Maria joins in. Within the brutal realities of war, Maria experiences love with an unexpected character and companionship through those she is fighting with. Libertarias is an epic of six women fight for freedom, their struggle for justice amid their passionate cry for a better world. One of Spain's best known directors, Vicente Aranda, Winner at the Tokyo International Film Festival, has made 17 previous films including the internationally acclaimed "Amantes".

French Twist

Josiane Balasko wrote, directed, and costars in this lightweight French comedy about a lesbian (Balasko) who falls for a housewife (Victoria Abril) seething over the philandering of her husband (Alain Chabat). The latter is outraged about his spouse's same-sex affair, but over time, the two rivals make peace with the situation--causing Abril's character to throw a hissy fit of her own. This is a cute film that becomes, thank goodness, more interesting as it goes along, challenging comfortable notions about love as a haven from other challenges to the heart. --Tom Keogh

Sassy, sexy, and utterly outrageous, this comedy treat received outstanding critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award nomination! Saucy suburban housewife Loli is furious when she discovers her playboy husband is a wild womanizer who has been cheating on her left and right for years! But things take an unusually funny turn when the van of a tough-talking, tender-hearted woman named Marijo breaks down in front of Loli's house! From then on, expect the hilariously unexpected as Marijo and Loli's relationship develops into much more than just a friendship ... and between the two of them, they devise the perfect revenge!

Benditio Infierno

Heaven has sent its best (Victoria Abril) and the devil his worst (Penélope Cruz), two rival agents battling for ultimate supremacy decided by whoever can secure the soul of Manny (Demián Bichir), a punch-drunk boxer on earth. These sexy angels pull no punches using their brains, wit and sex appeal to accomplish their missions. Defeating the temptations of the devil will be no easy task, as his recruits are led by the mastermind Jack Davenport (Gael García Bernal). Damnation has never been this seductive and seduction never more heavenly!

SPANISH SYNOPSIS: El cielo envía a la tierra a su mejor agente (Victoria Abril) y el infierno a su peor (Penélope Cruz), para luchar por la supremacía final. Quien obtenga el alma de Manny (Demián Bichir), un boxeador que ha recibido demasiados puñetazos, será quien venza. Estas son sensuales serafines que usan el cerebro, el ingenio y, por supuesto, el atractivo sexual para cumplir con su misión. No será fácil sobreponerse a las tentaciones del demonio, pues sus huestes las dirige Jack Davenport (Gael García Bernal). ¡La condenación nunca ha sido tan seductora ni la seducción tan divina!

Don't Tempt Me

Heaven has sent its best, and the devil has enlisted his worst - Victoria Abril and Penelope Cruz co-star as agents doing battle for ultimate supremacy. The winner is to be decided by whoever can secure the soul of a short-tempered, punch-drunk boxer on earth. These sexy angels pull no punches, using their brains, wiles and of course, sex appeal. Damnation has never been this seductive, and seduction never more heavenly; he's not going to know what hit him…he's only human!

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 2-DVD Boxset: 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 French (subtitles) o German (subtitles) o Spanish (subtitles) o Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1) Synopsis: Pedro Almodóvar takes an warmly unorthodox look at relationships in Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, a romantic comedy with a plot similar to William Wyler's thriller The Collector. Despite the tawdriness indicated in the title, this is not just a steamy tale of kinky sex practices, but rather a dark comedy with a compelling relationship at its center, both characters literally struggling for power and desperate for love. Rather than populate the film with tons of zany, colorful characters like in his previous films, Almodóvar chooses to let the camera focus on the two attractive leads, each possessing a strong screen presence. Antonio Banderas broods with boyish passion as dull-witted mental patient Ricky, showing enough vulnerability to make him adorable. His behavior is shown as a result of his lovesickness, coupled with a complete lack of subtlety. Veteran actress Victoria Abril brings enough strength to the character of Marina to make it faulty to dismiss her as just a victim. Keeping the action confined to Marina's bedroom in lclose-up shots with a swelling musical score from Ennio Morricone, the film feels more like a '50s romantic drama than the shocker its critics claimed it to be. Though it received a public outcry and an NC-17 rating upon release, this love story of a kidnapper and victim is surprisingly told with compassion. One of Almodovar´s most acclaimed comedies, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! features explicit scenese of sexuality that created worldwide controversy. Special Features: o Biographies o Cast/Crew Interview(s) o Collectors Edition o Commentary o Filmographies o Interactive Menu o Music Video o Photo Gallery o Scene Access o Special Edition

Perhaps only Pedro Almodóvar could come up with a story about a mental patient who stalks and kidnaps an ex-porn star--and turn it into a tender love story. But that's exactly what happens in Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, a lively installment from the Spanish director's wacky middle period (after the scruffy early films, and before his mature melodramas). Two of Almodóvar's sexiest stars, Antonio Banderas and Victoria Abril, play the leads: a cracked young man with dreams of bourgeois domesticity, and an actress who used to specialize in porno and heroin. Despite that fact that he binds her limbs with cord when he leaves the house, he always returns with a cheerful "I'm home!" For all Almodóvar's outrageousness, there's a touch of classical Hollywood in his construction. And while this movie is not for the politically correct, it does play by its own warped rules. --Robert Horton

Si Te Dicen Que Cai (If They Tell You I Fell...)