Lozano, Margarita

Jean De Florette / Manon of the Spring (MGM World Films)

Disc 1 Side A: **Widescreen Feature Film - Jean de Florette

Disc 2: **Widescreen Feature Film - Manon of the Spring

A Fistful of Dollars (2-Disc Collector's Edition)

A Fistful of Dollars launched the spaghetti Western and catapulted Clint Eastwood to stardom. Based on Akira Kurosawa's 1961 samurai picture Yojimbo, it scored a resounding success (in Italy in 1964 and the U.S. in 1967), as did its sequels, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The advertising campaign promoted Eastwood's character--laconic, amoral, dangerous--as the Man with No Name (though in the film he's clearly referred to as Joe), and audiences loved the movie's refreshing new take on the Western genre. Gone are the pieties about making the streets safe for women and children. Instead it's every man for himself. Striking, too, was a new emphasis on violence, with stylized, almost balletic gunfights and baroque touches such as Eastwood's armored breastplate. The Dollars films had a marked influence on the Hollywood Western--for example, Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch--but their most enduring legacy is Clint Eastwood himself. --Edward Buscombe

An anonymous but deadly man rides into a town torn by war between two factions the Baxters and the Rojo's. Instead of fleeing or dying as most other would do the man schemes to play the two sides off each other getting rich in the bargain.Run Time: 100 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: WESTERN/MISC. Rating: R UPC: 027616077387 Manufacturer No: M107738

A Fistful of Dollars

A mysterious gunman (Eastwood) has just arrived in San Miguel a grim dusty border town where two rival bands of smugglers are terrorizing the impoverished citizens. A master of the "quick-draw" the stranger soon receives offers of employment from each gang. But his loyalty cannot be bought; he accepts both jobs...and sets in motion a plan to destroy both groups of criminals pitting one against the other in a series of brilliantly orchestrated set-ups showdowns and deadly confrontations.System Requirements:Starring: Clint Eastwood Marianne Koch John Wels W. Lukschy S. Rupp and Joe Edger. Directed By: Sergio Leone Running Time: 110 Mins. Color This film is presented in both "Widescreen" and "Standard" formats. Copyright 1999 MGM Home Entertainment Inc.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: WESTERN/MISC. Rating: R UPC: 027616785824 Manufacturer No: 907858

A Fistful of Dollars launched the spaghetti Western and catapulted Clint Eastwood to stardom. Based on Akira Kurosawa's 1961 samurai picture Yojimbo, it scored a resounding success (in Italy in 1964 and the U.S. in 1967), as did its sequels, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The advertising campaign promoted Eastwood's character--laconic, amoral, dangerous--as the Man with No Name (though in the film he's clearly referred to as Joe), and audiences loved the movie's refreshing new take on the Western genre. Gone are the pieties about making the streets safe for women and children. Instead it's every man for himself. Striking, too, was a new emphasis on violence, with stylized, almost balletic gunfights and baroque touches such as Eastwood's armored breastplate. The Dollars films had a marked influence on the Hollywood Western--for example, Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch--but their most enduring legacy is Clint Eastwood himself. --Edward Buscombe

Viridiana - Criterion Collection

While its so-called "blasphemies" have been tamed by the passage of time, Luis Buñuel's Viridiana remains a masterpiece for the ages. After 22 years in Mexico and the United States, Buñuel returned to his native Spain in 1961 with dictator Franco's permission to make any film he wanted, pending the approval of censors. Inspired by a minor saint named Viridiana and an erotic fantasy about making love to the Queen of Spain after drugging her, Buñuel proceeded to combine these elements into a characteristically provocative scenario about Viridiana (Silvia Pinal), a young woman about to become a nun, who leaves her convent to visit the decaying estate of her uncle, Don Jaime (Fernando Rey), an eccentric widower who's immediately taken with Viridiana's close resemblance to his dead wife. Jaime's aborted attempt to seduce Viridiana (and his subsequent suicide) sets the film's second half in motion, as Viridiana assuages her guilt by turning Don Jaime's estate into a haven for the dispossessed--quite literally a "beggar's banquet" that culminates in one of the most indelible images in all of Buñuel: a staged recreation of da Vinci's "The Last Supper," with a cast of itinerant peasants as "disciples" in Buñuel's new world order--a cutting response to backward notions of progress.

Like any great film, Viridiana reveals its depth and detail through multiple viewings. The film is scathingly critical of Catholic hypocrisy and Franco's Spain (Don Jaime's estate is a direct reflection of the country's moribund state of sociopolitical decay), and its allegorical content was not lost on Spanish authorities, who banned the film (it wasn't shown in Spain until 1977) after it won the coveted Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In a closing stroke of genius, Buñuel skirted around his censors with a final scene even more provocative (in its subtle implications) than the sexually suggestive ending he'd originally filmed. With much to say about the conflicting nature of human desires, Viridiana may have softened over decades, but it's never lost its ability to spark debate, discussion, and rewarding analysis of Buñuel's directorial vision. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVD
The newly restored, high-definition digital transfer of Viridiana impressively maintains Criterion's exacting standards of audio-visual quality; it's a flawless transfer, with deep blacks and richly detailed clarity. The supplements include new (2006) video interviews with actress Silvia Pinal and Spanish cultural scholar Richard Porton; warmly revealing excerpts from the 1964 French TV series "Cineastes of Our Times," featuring an interview with Buñuel; and a 30-page booklet with an essay on Viridiana by Princeton film scholar Michael Wood, and a generous interview excerpt from the book Objects of Desire: Conversations with Luis Buñuel. --Jeff Shannon

Viridiana is a novice on the verge of taking her vows when she visits her uncle Don Jaime's farm. Still pining for his wife who died on their wedding night Don Jaime is struck by Viridiana's resemblance to her. He drugs Viridiana and attempts to rape her. Later on Don Jaime confesses to her what he tried to do but soon hangs himself humiliated by his own atrocious behavior. Viridiana inherits his farm and in an act of charity opens it up to a marauding troupe of beggars. To her dismay they ruin the main house in a wild orgy culminating in a gross parody of the Last Supper. Upon its release in 1961 VIRIDIANA was condemned by the Church banned in Spain awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and admired by film audiences the world over.System Requirements:Running Time: 91 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 037429212622 Manufacturer No: VIR040

The Night of the Shooting Stars

With its subtle mixture of wartime hardship, comedic interludes, and a hallucinatory hint of Italian magic realism, The Night of the Shooting Stars was named the best film of 1982 by the prestigious National Society of Film Critics. Drawing inspiration from their own experiences in Nazi-occupied Italy, the codirecting Taviani brothers (Paolo and Vittorio) remade this feature from their 1954 debut short "San Miniato, July 1944," framing its touching yet occasionally vague tale of wartime survival as a bedtime story, told by a loving mother from her memories as a 6-year-old, fleeing her Tuscan village in the closing days of World War II. American liberation is promised within days, but the Nazis have rigged village houses with mines, so the residents of San Martino flee to the countryside, where encounters with fascists are common and deadly. The film's dreamy nostalgia isn't as satisfying as, say, Cinema Paradiso, but it's still a lovely film, filled with quintessentially Italian vitality while proving, as one character observes, that "even true stories can end well." --Jeff Shannon

Framed as the memory of a woman remembering her childhood during WWII it focuses not on combat but on the life-changing effects of war on the residents of a small village. Starring Maria Lozano as Concetta the narrator the film begins during the closing days of the war as Nazi troops aware that the war is lost take revenge on the old men women and children who remain in the towns and villages of Italy as they continue to retreat in the face of advancing American forces. The people of Concetta's town San Minato try to decide whether to stay and possibly be butchered by the Nazis or leave the area to seek out Allied troops. Although one faction led by a wise old man ventures out on the road the rest distrusting the Americans as much as they fear the Nazis stay put. Although the death and suffering inevitably take prominence in Concetta's memories there are surreal touches such her fantasy that the partisans are Greek warriors. In addition moments of lyricism such as Galvano's awkward declaration of love for her evoke the complex texture of war experiences.System Requirements:Running Time: 103 minutes Language: Italian Subtitles: English / SpanishFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/LOVE & ROMANCE UPC: 741952315094 Manufacturer No: KLF-DV3150

Manon of the Spring

Less a sequel than a seamless continuation of its predecessor, Jean de Florette, Manon of the Spring brings with it a more epic scope as it depicts the growth to womanhood of the daughter (Emmanuelle Béart) of the doomed farmer of the first film. As she discovers the truth of what happened to her father as a result of the scheming of their neighbor (Yves Montand), who took the land for himself, she vows revenge, realizing that the neighbor's deeds have irrevocably shaped the course of her life. Her moves toward avenging her father's demise provide an ironic twist to this harsh and thought-provoking saga, and French director Claude Berri perfectly illustrates the lasting consequences of deceit, greed, and revenge. Manon of the Spring is a very special foreign film choice, destined to be revered for years to come. --Robert Lane

Jean De Florette

A truly impressive French film destined to become a modern masterpiece, Jean de Florette is an evocative adaptation of the highly regarded French novel. Two 1920s farmers engage in a bitter rivalry as one tries to tend to a plot of land and the other deviously undermines his efforts in order to conceal a valuable spring. The peasant farmer (Gérard Depardieu) who comes to the countryside to tend the land he has inherited is a naive and trusting soul seeking only to provide for his wife and daughter, while his neighbor (Yves Montand) is intent on doing whatever he can to discourage and demoralize the farmer so that he can take the land for himself. This simple tale unfolds in a wrenching fashion to a tragic conclusion, bringing forth questions about human nature and the prevalence and price of greed. Along with its follow-up, Manon of the Spring, this film will leave an indelible impression on anyone who sees it. --Robert Lane

Night Sun

Based on Leo Tolstoy's novel, Father Sergius, Night Sun stars Julian Sands as Sergio, a nobleman in 18th-century Italy who is expected to marry a duchess, Nastassja Kinski. Upon learning that she was previously the King's mistress, Sergio turns his back on society and becomes a monk. While at the hermitage he tries to resist all sexual temptations before him and soon becomes known as a miracle worker. Eventually he succumbs to a young seductress and knowing he is undeserving of the adulation, leaves the hermitage to travel around as a homeless beggar.

Nos Miran

In the shivery tradition of The Sixth Sense and The Others Nos Miran is a supernatural thriller in which a detective investigating the strange disappearance of a businessman uncovers evidence that the living aren't alone. His discovery that thousands of persons - each with a terrible hidden secret - have similarly vanished raises questions as hard to answer as they are disturbing. Are we really being watched from the other side? Directed by Norberto Lopez. Starring Carmelo Gomez Iciar Bollain Manuel Lozano Massimo Ghini Margarita Lozano.Running Time: 104 min.System Requirements:Running Time 104 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating: NR UPC: 012569724433

The Night of the Shooting Stars

With its subtle mixture of wartime hardship, comedic interludes, and a hallucinatory hint of Italian magic realism, The Night of the Shooting Stars was named the best film of 1982 by the prestigious National Society of Film Critics. Drawing inspiration from their own experiences in Nazi-occupied Italy, the codirecting Taviani brothers (Paolo and Vittorio) remade this feature from their 1954 debut short "San Miniato, July 1944," framing its touching yet occasionally vague tale of wartime survival as a bedtime story, told by a loving mother from her memories as a 6-year-old, fleeing her Tuscan village in the closing days of World War II. American liberation is promised within days, but the Nazis have rigged village houses with mines, so the residents of San Martino flee to the countryside, where encounters with fascists are common and deadly. The film's dreamy nostalgia isn't as satisfying as, say, Cinema Paradiso, but it's still a lovely film, filled with quintessentially Italian vitality while proving, as one character observes, that "even true stories can end well." --Jeff Shannon