|
 Spanish Cinema
- Portuguese Cinema
- SEE ALSO:Brazilian Cinema
- War Films (for listing of movies about the Spanish Civil War
- Spanish History and Culture; Spanish/Latin American Literature
- Latin America & the Caribbean videography
- Bibliography of articles and books about Spanish cinema
- Bibliography of articles and books on Luis Buñuel
- Bibliography of articles and books on Pedro Almodóvar
- UC Berkeley student writing on the films of Luis Buñuel (Film 51)
Spanish Cinema
- Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes) (Spain / France / Italy, 1997)
- Director, Alejandro Amenábar. Cast: Penelope Cruz, Chete Lera, Fele Martinez, Eduardo Noriega, Najwa Nimri. In this steamy, intriguingly complex, psychological thriller the line between reality and fantasy is hopelessly blurred. Cesar tries to make sense of his life after a car crash leaves his once-handsome face grotesquely disfigured. After he is placed into a psychiatric penitentiary for a murder he doesn't remember committing, Cesar's only hope is to delve into the depths of his subconscious mind where the answer to ending his living nightmare lies in his dreams. 117 min. 999:3507
 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Adorables Mentiras (Spain / Cuba, 1992)
- Director, Gerardo Chijona. Explores the encounter of a promising screenwriter and a woman who fantasizes about becoming the star of his next film. As the two pursue their affair, they enter into a fantasy film that in the end will never be made. In Spanish, no subtitles. 108 min. 999:3037
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Alas de Mariposa (Butterfly Wings) (1991)
- Directed by Juanma Bajo Ulloa. Carmen, hoping for a boy to carry on her husband's name, becomes pregnant but guilt and fear keep her from breaking the news to her shy and sensitive six-year-old daughter. The birth of the new baby however soon triggers a series of nightmarish events. 105 min. 999:2862; 999:3558 is in Spanish with no subtitles
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- La aldea maldita (1942)
- Directed by Florián Rey. Cast: Florencia Becquer, Julio Rey de las Heras, Pablo Hidalgo.
In this unforgettable depiction of Castilian rural life, Juan leaves his impoverished village seeking a better life elsewhere, leaving behind his wife, who departs to the city. Many years later they both return to the village. In Catalan without English subtitles. PAL format. 62 min. DVD 8646
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- La Alegría de la Huerta (1965)
- A Spanish operetta which presents a complicated love story with many pitfalls and intrigues. Videocassette release of the film originally presented on Spanish television. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 67 min. 999:1774
- Alma Gitana (1996)
- Directed by Chus Gutiérrez. Cast: Pedro Alonso, Amara Carmona, Peret, Rafael Alvarez, Loles Leon. A young man who wants to become a professional dancer falls in love with a gypsy girl but comes to realize how much he conflicts with her completely different cultural background. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 97 min. 999:1784
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Los Amantes del Círculo Polar (Lovers of the Arctic Circle) (Spain / France, 1998)
- Directed by Julio Medem. Cast: Najwa Nimri, Fele Martinez, Nancho Novo, Maru Valdivielso. Ana and Otto come to live under the same roof when Ana's mother and Otto's father marry. As the two grow older, they begin to discover an attraction for each other. But when destiny tears the family apart their journey comes to an abrupt halt, until years later, they meet again with one last chance to be reunited before the passion cools forever. 108 min. DVD 8641; vhs 999:2888
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- El amor brujo (1986)
- Directed by Carlos Saura. Cast: Antonio Gades, Cristina Hoyos, Juan Antonio Jimenez, Laura del Sol, Emma Penella.
A modern take on composer Manuel de Falla's gypsy ballet, dressed up in pink sunsets and hellishly red fires. Set in a dusty Andalusian village, El amor brujo (Love the Magician) is a seductive melodrama of a man whose beloved is haunted by the ghost of another. 103 min. DVD 9170
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- El Año de las Luces (1986)
- Directed by Fernando Trueba. Cast: Jorge Sanz, Maribel Verdu, Manuel Alexandre, Rafaela Aparicio, Jose Sazatornil, Santiago Ramos. The story of Manolo who ends up in a tuberculosis sanatorium that is designed for younger children. Manolo's problem is that he is experiencing the first stirrings of sexual desire. His first overture to one of the nurses meets with rejection, but he really asks for trouble when he falls for another pretty nurse and she herself becomes attracted to him. In Spanish without subtitles. 115 min. 999:3544
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- La Ardilla Roja (The Red Squirrel) (1993)
- Directed by Julio Medem. Cast: Emma Suarez, Nancho Novo, Maria Barranco, Karra Elejalde, Carmelo Gomez. Jota, a troubled former pop star is the sole witness to the crash of a motorcycle ridden by a young woman. After learning of the woman's amnesia Jota pretends to be her lover, naming her Lisa and creating a fictitious life for her. Then the two take a vacation to the Red Squirrel campsite. But there may be more to Lisa than meets the eye... 104 min. 999:2923
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- ¡Átame! (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!) (1990)
- Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Cast: Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas, Loles Leon, Francisco Rabal. Comedy in which an orphaned mental patient kidnaps a porn star in an irrationally inspired bid for love. 105 min. DVD 501; VHS 999:1504
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
 Movie Review Query Engine
- ¡Ay, Carmela! (Spain / Italy, 1989)
- Directed by Carlos Saura. Cast: Carmen Maura, Andres Pajares, Gabino Diego, Maurizio de Razza, Jose Sancho, Mario de Candia, Miguel Angel Rellan, Edward Zentara. Carmela and her two companions are travelling performers entertaining the Republican troops during the Spanish Civil War. They decide to seek their fortune elsewhere, but mistakenly fall in with the Nationalist forces, who arrest and imprison them, but give them a chance to perform for their freedom. 105 min. 999:2651 (subtitles); 999:3532 (in Spanish)
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Movie Review Query Engine
-
- La Barberillo de Lavapies (1996)
- In this Spanish operetta Lamparilla, a dashing barber and his sweetheart, Paloma, become embroiled in a plot against Grimaldi, minister to Carlos III of Spain. Based on the novel"El Bailaor" by Timo Lozano. In Spanish without titles. PAL format tape. 95 min. 999:1785
- Belle Époque (Spain / Portugal / France, 1992)
- Directed by Fernando Trueba. Cast: Penelope Cruz, Miriam Diaz-Aroca, Gabino Diego, Fernando Fernan Gomez, Michel Galabru, Ariadna Gil, Agustin Gonzalez, Chus Lamprave, Mary Carmen Ramirez, Jorge Sanz, Maribel Verdu. Fernando, a handsome, young Spanish Civil War deserter who befriends a free-thinking artist, finds himself in a romantic dilemma when the artist's four beautiful daughters return to their country home. Which woman should he romance? 109 min. 999:1726
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Beltenebros (Spain / Netherlands, 1991)
- Directed by Pilar Miró. Cast: Terence Stamp, Patsy Kensit, José Luis Gomez. One night in the winter of 1962, Captain Darman remembers events of the Spanish Civil War. Days before in England he had been charged with a secret mission, to fly to Madrid and execute a traitor who had infiltrated the Communist Party's clandestine apparatus. But Darman remembers a similar order 16 years before. 110 min. DVD 8610; DVD 3317 (In Spanish without subtitles); also VHS (PAL) 999:3560
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Las Bicicletas Son Para el Verano (Bicycles Are for the Summer) (1983)
- Directed by Jaime Chávarri. A dramatization of the day-to-day experiences of a lower middle class family in Madrid during the Civil War, 1936. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 109 min. 999:1726
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Bienvenido Mister Marshall (1953)
- Directed by Luis G. Berlanga. Cast: Lolita Sevilla, Manolo Moran, Jose Isbert, y la voz de Fernando Rey. The inhabitants of tiny Villar del Rio hear that they have been selected for aid under the Marshall Plan. The promise of great wealth transforms the village overnight. 103 min. PAL format. 999:1771
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Blood Cinema
- (CD-ROM/Mac). CD-ROM reviews the breadth of Spanish films and culture over the last 60 years. Includes excerpts from 15 films, with detailed analytical commentaries and hundreds of illustrations--including movie stills, publicity photos, paintings, drawings, and maps. Compu/D 316
- Boca a Boca (Mouth to Mouth) (1995)
- Directed by Manuel Gómez Pereira. Comedy about a down and out actor who gets a job with an erotic telephone service where the woman he falls in love with turns out to be the wife of his best client. PAL format. In Spanish without titles. 110 min. 999:1789
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Movie Review Query Engine
- Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding) (1981)
- Directed by Carlos Saura. Flamenco interpretation of the classic drama by Federico García Lorca. THe National Ballet of Spain is first shown arriving at the dance studio, making up and rehearsing, dramatizing the technique by which they transform themselves into a unified dance company. The story of murderous passion and revenge is told entirely through dance without dialogue. A young bride runs off from her wedding with a married lover. Her jilted husband tracks them down and fights a knife duel to the death. Based on the play by Federico García Lorca (XMAC.H893.B56 Grad Svcs; PQ6613.Ga763 .B62 1939a (translations) Main Stack; PQ6613.A763 B61 1966 Main Stack (other editions available). 71 min. DVD 9168; vhs 999:652
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
-
- El Bola (Pellet; Bullet) (2000)
- Directed by Achero Mañas. Cast: Juan José Balleta, Publo Galan, Alberto Jimenez, Manuel Moron, Ana Wagener. A 12-year-old boy raised in a violent and unforgiving environment, meets a new classmate and learns a new definition of friendship and the discovery of a family where communication and love prevail over domination and violence. 88 min. DVD 2320
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Butterfly (Butterfly Tongues)(Lengua de las mariposas) (1999)
- Directed by José Luis Cuerda. Cast: Fernando Fernan-Gomez, Manuel Lozano, Uxia Blanco, Gonzalo Uriarte. A shy young boy is brought out of his cocoon by a wise teacher who shows him the wonder of the natural world around him, amidst the growing tensions and chaos of the Spanish Civil War in Galicia. 94 min. DVD 1418
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Bwana (1988)
- Directed by Imanol Uribe. A taxi driver and his family picnic on a lonely beach where they meet Ombasi, an African newly arrived in Spain in search of his fortune. They spend a pleasant night talking but the morning brings a terrible surprise: the arrival of a group of neonazis.Based on the theatrical work by Ignacio del Moral,"La Mirada del Hombre Sscuro." PAL format. In Spanish without titles. 82 min. 999:1788
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Santaolalla, Isabel. "The Representation of Ethnicity and 'Race' in Contemporary Spanish Cinema." Cineaste. Winter 2003. Vol. 29, Iss. 1; p. 44
 UC users only
- El Calentito (2005)
- Directed by Chus Gutiérrez. Cast: Veronica Sanchez, Macarena Gomez, Juan Sanz, Ruth Diaz, Nuria Gonzalez.
Sara gets involved in a political revolution in Spain when she joins an all-female, lesbian rock band at the underground Calentito nightclub. 89 min. DVD 8141
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- El camino de los ingleses (Summer Rain) (2006)
- Director, Antonio Banderas. Cast: Lucio Romero, Juan Diego, Alberto Amarilla, Maria Ruiz, Raul Arevalo.
A group of Spanish friends on vacation at the end of the 1970s get their first experiences with love, lust and obsession. 118 min. DVD 8630
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Carmen (1983)
- Director, Carlos Saura. A director-choreographer's search for a fiery, passionate Carmen takes him to flamenco dance schools where he eventually discovers his leading lady in an untried young dancer. As time goes on, they find themselves living the"Carmen" story of love and treachery. 93 min. DVD 9169; also DVD 2179
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Carne Trémula (Live Flesh) (1997)
- Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Cast: Javier Bardem, Francesca Neri, Liberto Rabal, Angela Molina, José Sancho, Pilar Bardem, Penelope Cruz. The lives of five people are intertwined by romance, friendship and rivalry. Victor has fallen for a woman, Elena but she wants nothing to do with Victor and calls the cops when he shows up at her apartment. The two cops that show up are David and Sancho. Sancho is a chronic, abusive drunk and believes his wife, Clara may be having an affair with his partner, David. 101 min. DVD 1591
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- La casa de Bernarda Alba (House of Bernarda Alba) (1987)
- Directed by Mario Camus. Cast: Irene Gutiérrez Caba, Ana Belen, Florinda Chico, Enriqueta Carballeira, Victoria Pena, Aurora Pastor. After her husband's death, Bernarda Alba forces her five daughters into eight years of strict mourning. The appearance of Pepe El Romano, a man who wishes to marry the eldest daughter, Angustias, unleashes a series of events which culminate in a tragic denouement. Based on the play of the same title by Federico García Lorca. 103 min. DVD 3476
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
For other versions of this play on video SEE Spanish History, and Culture videography
- La Caza (1965)
- Director, Carlos Saura. A heavily symbolic study of hatred and rivalry among four hunters, three of whom are Franquist veterans. They go to shoot rabbits in an area near Madrid where some of the heaviest battles of the Civil War were fought. The hunt becomes an allegory of war. In Spanish without subtitles. 84 min. 999:3534
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- El Cochecita (1960)
- Directed by Marco Ferreri. A black comedy about an old man who wants a motorized bicycle so he can ride through town with his crippled friends. When his family refuses to buy him a bike as well he methodically poisons his family members one by one, using their tiny legacies to finance his purchase. Strange but true: the audience's sympathy is with the elder gent in this study of aging, loneliness, neglect and rebellion. 90 min. 999:2099
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- La Colmena (1982)
- Director,Mario Camus. Cast: Victoria Abril, Francisco Algora, Rafael Alonso, Ana Belen, Jose Bodalo, Mary
Carrillo , Camilo Jose Cela, Queta Claver, Luis Escobar, Fiorella Faltoyano, Agustin Gonzalez, Emilio Gutierrez Caba, Rafael Hernandez, Charo Lopez, Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez.
This drama presents a series of vignettes set in 1942 Madrid examining the misery suffered by those on the losing side in the Spanish civil war, especially literary figures, who survived in misery under Franco while the victors emerged as a successful middle class engaged in illegal activities. In Spanish without English subtitles. Based on the novel by Camilo Jose Cela. 112 min. DVD 8618
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Cómo Ser Mujer y no Morir en el Intento (1991)
- Director, Ana Belen. Examines the complexities of Carmen's life, who at 42 is married to her third husband, Antonio, and has two children from previous marriages. She tries to carry on her professional career, without neglecting her relationship with Antonio, the house, her friends, or the emotional needs of the children. In Spanish without subtitles. 86 min. 999:3556
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- El Corazón del Bosque (1978)
- Director, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón. Set in the countryside of Asturias and based on a real event of the 1930's, tells the story of a Basque revolutionary during the Spanish Civil War, who refuses to surrender to the Nationalist government. He hides in the hills for 10 years while the local people help him avoid constant searches by the police. A returning exile seeks him out to try and get him to surrender, with tragic consequences for both of them. In Spanish without subtitles. 102 min. 999:3551
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Las Cosas del Querer (1989)
- Director, Jaime Chávarri. Mario, a homosexual singer and his two vaudeville artist friends perform popular songs in post-Civil War Madrid. Mario engages in affairs with a string of lovers. After an affair with a young nobleman, whom he spurns, the nobleman's mother concocts a nasty revenge. In Spanish without subtitles. 100 min. 999:3542
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Costa Brava: (Family Album) (1995)
- Directed by Marta Balletbò-Coll. Cast: Marta Balletbò-Coll, Desi del Valle, Montserrat Gausachs, Joséf Maria Brugues, Ramon Mari, Sergi Schaaff. Anna lives in Barcelona where she works as a tour guide to pay the bills. Her dream is to perform her monologue, Love thy neighbor, on tour with Another Stage, a gay and lesbian theatre company based in San Francisco. On one of her tours she meets Montserrat, a Jewish seismic engineer, and their adventures and misadventures shape this romantic comedy. 92 min. 999:3766
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- El Crack (1981)
- Directed by José Luis Garci. A sharp detective is visited by a strange man who wants him to find his daughter who disappeared three years ago into the high-class courtesans of Madrid. PAL format. In Spanish without titles. 127 min. 999:1947
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Cría Cuervos (1976)
- Director, Carlos Saura. Surrounded by tragedy and death, a nine-year old girl comes to believe that she has the power of life and death over those close to her. 107 min. 999:1967
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- El Crimen de Cuenca (1979)
- Director, Pilar Miró. A realistically detailed film based on a true event in which two innocent men were accused of killing a priest who disappeared from their town in the early 1900s. The men are tortured to elicit confessions in scenes which graphically portray the methods of the Guardia Civil. The film, a plea to end police brutality and provincial ignorance, was banned in Spain until 1982. 90 min. 999:1791
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- El Crimen del Padre Amaro (The Crime of Padre Amaro) (2002)
- Director, Carlos Carrera. A recently ordained priest is sent to a small parish church in rural Mexico to help an aging priest. Upon arriving at his new post, he meets a beautiful young woman with a religious passion that borders on obsession. Quickly her passion for her faith becomes entangled in a growing attraction to the new priest. When the priest crosses the line that separates temptation from sin, he finds himself torn between the devine and the carnal, the righteous and the unjust. 119 min. DVD 2297
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Crónica del Alba (1919, Crónica del Alba) (1983)
- Directed by Antonio José Betancor. In a time of anarchist agitation and police repression, the adolescent son of a declining bourgeois family discovers society's falsehoods as well as life's pleasures. Based on the novel Cronica del Alba by Ramon J. Sender. 82 min. 999:1727
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Demonios en el Jardín (Demons in the Garden) (1982)
- Directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón. Cast: Angela Molina, Ana Belen, Encarna Paso, Imanol Arias, Eusebio Lazaro, Francisco Merino, Alvaro Sanchez-Prieto. Examines the dynamics of a post-Spanish Civil War family which achieves economic success in the black market while currying favor with the ruling party. This saga of a family damaged by fraticidal rivalries and morally wasted by corruption, is presented through the eyes of a small boy. 100 min. 999:1725; also 999:1945 (PAL format, Spanish without subtitles)
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Deprisa, Deprisa (Hurry, Hurry) (Spain / France, 1981)
- Directed by Carlos Saura. This film noir about juvenile delinquents tries to show how modern Spanish society can alienate its youth and thus become the real villain. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 99 min. 999:1941
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Insdorf, Annette
- "Sonar Con Tus Ojos:
Carlos Sauras Melodic Cinema." Quarterly Review of Film Studies VIII/2, Spring 83;
p.49-55.
- Jones, Julie. "The Way We Live Now: Carlos Saura's Deprisa, deprisa and the Documentary Mode."
Quarterly Review of Film and Video. 2007. Vol. 24, Iss. 2; p. 117
- El Día de la Bestia (Spain / Italy, 1995)
- Directed by Alex de la Iglesia. Cast: Alex Angulo, Armando de Razza, Santiago Segura. The priest Angel Berriatua, a university professor, has been studying the Apocalypse of Saint John. He concludes that the Antichrist will be born in Madrid on December 25, 1995 so he decides to prepare an offensive by gathering together a variety of eccentric companions. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 100 min. Video 89 min. 999:1801
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Días de boda (Días de voda) (2002)
- Director, Juan Pinzás. Cast: Javier Gurruchaga, Asuncion Balaguer, Comba Campoy, Ernesto Chao, Miguel Insua, Rosa Alvarez, Pilar Saavedra, Belen Constenia, Alfonso Agra.
An ambitious writer uses sex to advance professionally, and becomes engaged to the daughter of a well established editor to further his career. His fiancee is the perfect bride awaiting her marriage day that she has dreamt of all her life, only to find herself suddenly faced with her partner's dark secret for everyone to see. 104 min. DVD 8607
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- El Disputado Voto del Señor Cayo (1986)
- Director, Antonio Gimenez-Rico. Cast: Francisco Rabal, Juan Luis Galiardo, Inaki Miramon, Lydia Bosch. A group of young politicians come to Curena, a town in northern Castile, to campaign for votes. There they meet two neighbors who hate each other and never speak. One of these is Cayo, a soft-spoken older man full of ancestral wisdom. The encounter between the world of the young city politicians and that of Sr. Cayo is the necessary counterpoint to contrast two cultures ignorant of each other. In Spanish without subtitles. 94 min. DVD 3320; also VHS 999:3538
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Divinas Palabras (1987)
- Directed by José Luis García Sanchez. Cast: Ana Belen, Francisco Rabal, Imanol Arias, Esperanza Roy, Aurora Batista, Juan Echanove. In 1920, in the village of San Clemente, in Galicia, a cruel and shameless story unfolds with the exploitation of a hydrocephalic put on display in fair after fair by the wife of the sacristan, the ecclesiastical authority in the village. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 89 min. 999:1794
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Don Juan en los Infiernos (1991)
- Director, Gonzalo Suarez con la colaboracion de Azucena Rodriguez Pomeda. Cast: Fernando Guillen, Mario Pardo, Charo Lopez. While the last vestiges of the empire are being extinguished and King Philip II is dying, there comes a man that challenges all designs, converts his passions into destiny and his will into law. His fame is as great as his pride. His name is a legend: Don Juan. In Spanish without subtitles. 105 min. 999:3559
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Don Juan, Mi Querido Fantasma (1990)
- Director, Antonio Mercero. Cast: Fernando Guillen, Mario Pardo, Charo Lopez. The legendary Don Juan Tenorio comes back to life on All Souls' Day, at midnight, and has 24 hours to redeem himself. He has been trying to do that for 450 years now, without success. In the meantime a company is rehearsing the play"Don Juan". Don Juan the 'ghost' is mistaken for Don Juan the actor. After a series offarcical situations, the 'ghost' redeems himself and becomes human again, while the 'actor' ends up in the tomb. In Spanish without subtitles. 99 min. 999:3545
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Don Quijote de Orson Welles (Spain / Italy / USA, 1992)
- Director/writer, Orson Welles. Cast: Francisco Reiguera, Akim Tamiroff, Orson Welles; subsequent dubbed voices, José Mediavilla, Juan Carlos Ordonez, Constantino Romero. In this film, Welles is reviewing the personalities of Cervantes' Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Welles has placed the characters in 1960's modern Spain and uses them as commentary on Spain's social life. Behaviors and customs, particularly bullfights, are explored. This dramatization of the Don Quixote story compiled of film fragments from Orson Welles, offers viewers a unique opportunity to see some of the master's mature story ideas onscreen and footage of the famed director at work. Originally released as a motion picture in 1992, although Orson Welles did not complete this film. The film was reconstructed from fragments that were studied and analyzed by Jess Franco, who adapted the film along with Javier Mina, who assisted with dialogue adaptation. PAL format DVD. 116 min. DVD 2688
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- El Dorado (Spain / France / Italy, 1988)
- Director, Carlos Saura. Cast: Omero Antonutti, Eusebio Poncela, Gabriela Roel, Lambert Wilson. Film about the 16th century explorer, Lope de Aguirre and his search for the mythical El Dorado. He leads 300 Spanish soldiers and 300 natives in his search for the legendary land in Peru. The expedition is attacked by hostile jungle tribes before mutiny breaks out among the soldiers and the leaders of the expedition are targeted for assassination. In Spanish without subtitles. 118 min. 999:3540
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Entre tinieblas (Dark Habits) (1983)
- Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Cast: Cristina Pascual, Julieta Serrano, Marisa Paredes, Carmen Maura, Chus Lampreave. A nightclub singer hides out in a convent after her lover dies of an overdose. The eccentric nuns, who welcome her with open arms, have problems of their own: with the church, with the law and with their benefactor. In the end, it's hard to say who's redeemed, if anyone. 115 min. DVD 1878; vhs 999:1724
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Pedro Almodóvar bibliography
- Epílogo (1943)
- Directed by Gonzalo Suárez. Cast: Jose Sacristan, Francisco Rabal, Charo Lopez. A story about two writers who have collaborated for years. They separate when they discover that they are in love with the same woman. After ten years, the two reunite to finish a final story gathered from their experiences. Spanish without titles. PAL format. 88 min. 999:1937
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- La Escopeta Nacional (1977)
- Director, Luis García Berlanga. Cast: Rafael Alonso, Luis Escobar, Antonio Ferrandis, Agustin Gonzalez, Andres Mejuto, Conchita Montes, Monica Randell, Barbara Rey, Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez, Jose Sazatornil, Laly Soldevila, Amparo Soler Leal, Rossana Yanni. Centering on one of the many hunting extravaganzas organized for members of the ruling class, this comedy is about how business deals were made and concessions granted during the Franco years. In Spanish without subtitles. 98 min. 999:3536
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- El Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil's Backbone) (Spain / Mexico, 2001)
- Directed by Guillermo del Toro. Cast: Marisa Parades, Eduardo Noriega, Federico Luppi, Fernando Tielve, Iñigo Garces, Irene Visedo.
Thanks to the Civil War in Spain, Carlos his arrived at the desolate Santa Lucia School, now a makeshift shelter for war orphans, where an unexploded bomb rests in the courtyard. More frightening are the odd things keep happening to Carlos - he sees strange shadows, hears voices, and at night he is being visited by the "One Who Sighs." Special features: Guillermo del Toro commentary ; Director's thumbnail track ; Making of documentary, "?Que es un Fantasma? The Making of the Devil's Backbone" (28 min.) ; Deleted scenes ; Thumbnail/storyboard comparisons ; Galleries ; Previews. 108 min. DVD 8225
- Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Brinks, Ellen.
""Nobody's Children": Gothic Representation and Traumatic History in The Devil's Backbone." JAC: A Journal of Composition Theory, 2004, Vol. 24 Issue 2, p291-312, 22p
- Davies, Ann. "he Beautiful and the Monstrous Masculine: The Male Body and Horror in El espinazo del diablo (Guillermo del Toro 2001)." Studies in Hispanic Cinema; 2007, Vol. 3 Issue 3, p135-147, 13pUC users only
- Lázaro-Reboll, Antonio. "The Transnational Reception of El espinazo del diablo (Guillermo del Toro 2001)." Hispanic Research Journal, Feb2007, Vol. 8 Issue 1, p39-51, 13p
UC users only
- Savage, Julian "The Object(s) of Interpretation: Guillermo Del Toro's El Espinazo Del Diablo (The Devil's Backbone)"
Senses of Cinema: An Online Film Journal Devoted to the Serious and Eclectic Discussion of Cinema, vol. 21, pp. (no pagination), July 2002
El Espíritu de la Colmena (The Spirit of the Beehive) (1973) Directed by Victor Erice. Cast: Isabel Telleria, Ana Torrent, Fernando Fernan Gomez, Teresa Gimpera. Shortly after the Spanish civil war, a six-year-old girl attends a traveling movie show of Frankenstein and becomes haunted by her memory of it. A poignant glimpse into the inner life of children. DVD Special features:"The footprints of a 'Spirit'" ="Huellas de un espiritu" documentary featuring director Victor Erice, producer Elias Querejeta, coscreenwriter Angel Fernandez-Santos, and actor Ana Torrent; new interviews with scholar Linda C. Ehrlich and actor Fernando Fernan Gomez; Victor Erice in Madrid: an interview by filmmaker Hideyuki Miyaoka. 95 min. DVD 6759; vhs 999:427; 999:3535 (in Spanish); 999:1940 (PAL format, no titles) Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Esquilache (1988)Director, Joséfina Molina. In 18th century Madrid the people rise against the monarchy. The destiny of the crown and the Marques de Esquilache Ilega depend upon the next few hours. In Spanish without subtitles. 102 min. DVD 3319; also VHS 999:3546
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Estrella de Sierra Morena (1952) Directed by Ramón Torrado. Cast: Lola Flores, Jose Nieto, Ruben Rojo, Manolo Moran. Estrella, a child of an aristrocratic Spanish family is taken by a band of brigands to live in the mountains. Here she is raised as the daughter of the leader, living all of their adventures with them and learning their "code of honor." She eventually discovers her dual origin, which creates a conflict for her. She feels gratitude to those who found and raised her but allegiance also to her original family. In Spanish without English subtitles. 92 min. DVD 8601 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Fábula de la Bella Palomera (Fable of the Beautiful Pigeon-Fancier). (Garcia Marquez Collection) (Spain / Brazil, 1988). Directed by Ruy Guerra. Cast: Ney Latorraca, Claudia Ohana, Tonia Carrero, Dina Sfat, Chico Diaz. Set on a panoramic Brazilian beach, this film confronts the sexual and social tensions between classes in the romantic story of a wealthy aristocrat's obsessive desire. 73 min. Video/C 999:489
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Familia (1996)Directed by Fernando León de Aranoa. Cast: Juan Luis Galiardo, Amparo Muñoz, Agata Lys, Chete Lera, Elena Anaya, Raquel Radrigo.
A comic treatment on the Spanish family in which Santiago (the father) is greeted on his birthday by a present from his son which he does not appreciate. He laments, as does his family,"Who has not wished for the perfect family?" 95 min. Based on the novel by Fernando Leon. PAL format. Spanish without subtitles. 999:1851
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Faraona(Mexico / Spain, 1956)Director, René Cardona. Cast: Lola Flores, Augustin Lara, Joaquin Cordero, Julio Villareal, Florencio Castello, Carmen Flores.
A millionaire wants to leave his money to his granddaughter, a singer who desires to expand her career and become famous. But there are others who want to steal his inheritance and they set a trap for him. In Spanish without English subtitles. 84 min. DVD 8629
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Ficció (2006)Director, Cesc Gay. Cast: Eduard Fernandez, Javier Camara, Montse German, Carme Pla, Agata Roca.
Alex is a motion picture director who is trying to finish the script of his film. He decides to go away, leaving his wife and children to settle in house of a friend in a small town. In this calm and solitary place he hopes to finish his work.... 103 min. DVD 8624
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
FlamencoDirector, Carlos Saura. Popular dancers and folk groups demonstrate what is considered to be the national dance of Spain, the Flamenco. Over 300 dancers participate as they are photographed by the master cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro. Performers: Paco de Lucia, Manolo Sanlucar, Enrique Morente, Joaquin Cortes, José Menese, Lole y Manuel, Mario Maya, José Merce, Matilde Coral, Carmen Linares, Merche Esmeralda, Chocolate, Manuela Carrasco, Farruco, Fernanda de Utrera, La Paquera de Jerez, Manzanita, Ketama, Agujeta, Manuel Moneo, Paco Toronjo, Maria Pages, Aurora Vargas, Remedios Amaya, Juana la del Revuelo, La Macanita, Chano Lobato, Rancapino, Tomatito, Potito, Duquende, Belen Maya, El Grilo. 100 min. 999:2041
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Movie Review Query Engine
El flor de mi secreto (The Flower of My Secret) (Spain / France, 1996)Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Cast: Marisa Paredes, Juan Echanove, Carmen Elias, Rossy De Palma, Chus Lampreave, Joaquin Cortes, Manuela Vargas. Leo writes romance novels, but with a loveless marriage, she finds herself fresh out of inspiration. Angel is a tough and gruff journalist with an iron will and a heart of gold. When their paths happen to cross, they discover something neither had expected, a real-life love affair. 207 min. DVD 3889; vhs 999:3402
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Flores de Otro Mundo (Flowers from Another World) (1999)Directed by Icíar Bollaín. Cast: José Sancho, Luis Tosar, Lissete Mejia, Marlin Torres, Chete Lera. "Patricia, a woman from Dominican Republic, needs a home and an economic security that her illegal status in Madrid does not provide her. Milady, twenty, born in Havana and dying to travel the world. Marirosi has a job, a home, and the most complete solitude... just like Alfonso, Damián and Carmelo, men from the St. Eulalia, a village lacking both marrying women and future. A bachelors' party forces the encounter between them and the beginning of this bittersweet story of sharing a living." [IMDB] 100 min. DVD 5242
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Santaolalla, Isabel. "The Representation of Ethnicity and 'Race' in Contemporary Spanish Cinema." Cineaste. Winter 2003. Vol. 29, Iss. 1; p. 44 UC users only
Furtivos (1975) Directed by José Luis Borau. Cast: Lola Gaos, Ovidi Montllor, Alicia Sanchez, Felipe Solano. Angel, a hunter, marries a girl who has escaped from a reformatory to save her from his mother and from being sent to prison. When the girl's former fiancee arrives and she disappears, Angel swears to get revenge. Spanish without titles. PAL format. 90 min. DVD 2175; vhs 999:1943
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Goya en Burdeos (Goya in Bordeaux) (Spain / Italy, 1999) Directed by Carlos Suara. Cast: Francisco Rabal, José Coronado, Maribel Verdu, Eulalia Ramon. In Bordeaux, France, in the early 1800's, Goya suffers from strange visions and nightmares. Goya reflects on his tumultuous career, a love affair with the beautiful Duchess of Alba and the evil crusade of Napoleon's French army. 121 min. DVD 563
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La gran final (The Great Match) (Spain / Germany, 2006)Directed by Gerardo Olivares. Tells the story of three soccer fans, who live in the farthest-flung corners of the planet but are determined to watch the TV broadcast of the 2002 World Cup final. A global comedy featuring a family of Mongolian nomads, a camel caravan of Tuareg in the Sahara, and a group of Indios in the Amazon. 88 min. DVD 6850
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Habla con Ella (Talk To Her) (2002)Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Cast: Javier Camara, Dario Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Rosario Flores, Mariola Fuentes, Geraldine Chaplin. In a private clinic Barco and Benigno strike up a friendship while caring for comatose women. Benigno is the caregiver for Alicia, a beautiful dance student and Marco is there to visit his girlfriend Lydia, a famous matador also in a coma. As the men wage vigil over the women they love, the story unfolds in flashback and flashforward as the lives of the four move toward a surprising conclusion. 114 min. DVD 1669
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Historias de la Television. (1965) Felipe, the son of a custodian at a zoological park meets Katy, a rock music singer, when they both become participants in a television contest. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 112 min. 999:1797
Hola, ¿Estas Sola? (1979) Director: Icíar Bollaín. Cast: Candela Peña, Silke, Alex Angula, Elena Irureta, Arcadi Levin. Nina is a 20 year-old woman from Valladolid who lives with her divorced father, an authoritarian and conservative man. Trini is of the same age and has lost her mother. For Nina and Trini, Valladolid and their families have nothing to offer, so they go on an adventurous voyage to the Costa del Sol in the south of Spain. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 90 min. 999:1792
Hormigas en la boca (Ants in the mouth) (Spain / Cuba, 2005) Directed by Mariano Barroso. Cast: Eduard Fernandez, Adriana Gil, Jorge Perugorria, Jose Luis Gomez, Samuel Juan Claxton.
After ten years in a Barcelona prison, Martin travels to Havana to search for his beautiful girlfriend. She was the only one of his gang of bank robbers to get away. She also got away with the loot. 92 min. DVD 8588
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Las Hurdes (Land Without Bread) (1930) Directed by Luis Buñuel. Land without bread (27 min.) is Buñuel's only documentary film. It portrays the everyday lives of indigent peasants in one of Spain's most desolate regions. 43 min. 999:173
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La ironía del dinero (Spain / France, 1959). Directed by Edgar Neville and Guy Lefranc. Cast: Fernando Fernan Gomez, Irene Alba Caba, Antonio Casal, Antonio Vico, Philippe Lemaire, Carmen de Lirio, Cecile Aubry, Guillermo Marin.
The finding of a lost portfolio with a great amount of money becomes the subject of four comic stories. First the man who finds the money blows it in bar in Seville, then it moves on to the scatterbrained wife of an employee of a French railway station. Third it winds up in Salamanca with a civil employee submissive to the tyranny of his authoritarian and despotic wife. And fourth it becomes the property of a pathetic bullfighter. In Spanish without English subtitles. 81 min. DVD 8645
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
El Jardín de las Delicias (The Garden of Delights) (1970). Directed by Carlos Saura. Cast: Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez, Lina Canalejas, Luchy Soto, Francisco Pierra, Charo Soriano. A ruthless tycoon suffers amnesia, paralysis, and loses his ability to communicate after an auto accident. As his greedy family tries to shock his memory back in order to get his Swiss bank account, he struggles to recapture his own identity and plots his twisted revenge. A disturbing, surrealistic portrait of the frustration caused by helplessness. 101 min. 999:1723
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Jarrapellejos (1987)Director, Antonio Giménez-Rico. Cast: Antonio Ferrandis, Juan Diego, Lydia Bosch, Amparo
Larrañaga, Joaquin Hinojosa, Miguel A. Rellan, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Carlos Tristancho, Florinda Chico, Jose Coronado. This is the story of Pedro Luis Jarrapellejos, who dominates everyone and everything in La Joya, Extremadura, Spain, in 1912. A young woman and her mother are murdered by his nephew and friend, and Pedro uses his considerable influence to cover up the crimes. In Spanish without titles. 108 min. 999:3554
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Juego de Luna (Luna's Game) (2001)Directed by Mónica Laguna. Cast: Ana Torrent, Ernesto Alterio, Carlos Kaniowsky, José Pedro Carrion, Manuel San Martin. Luna earns a living the only way she knows how: by playing poker. Her talent has taken her to the top of a profession dominated by men, and she becomes the lead player in a special game in which the stakes are much higher than a big stack of chips. 96 min. DVD 5243
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Kika (1993) Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Cast: Veronica Forque, Peter Coyote, Victoria Abril, Alex Casanovas, Rossy de Palma, Santiago Lajusticia, Anabel Alonso, Bibi Andersen, Jesus Bonilla, Karra Elejalde, Manuel Bandera. A dizzy dame hairdresser, Kika, gets involved with a host of unusual characters: a homicidal expatriate Yank writer, Nicholas, and his bewildered stepson, Ramon, an uncommunicative underwear photographer; a vampish, oddball femme TV reporter, Andrea; a lesbian maid, Juana, and her mentally-deficient convicted rapist brother, Pablo, who escaped while on parole from prison to attend a religious festival in his home town. 999:1710
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Movie Review Query Engine
Letters from the Park (Cartas del Parque) Gabriel García Márquez Collection. (Cuba / Spain, 1988) Directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. Two shy young lovers enlist the help of the local poet to write passionate letters to each other, but soon the woman becomes the object of the poet's affection, and all are faced with a perplexing dilemma. 85 min. 999:490
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Ley del Deseo (Law of Desire) (1987)Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Satire about a gay porn director, his transsexual brother (now a woman living with her daughter) and their various liaisons, romantic double-crossings and sexual confusions. 105 min. 999:1466
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Movie Review Query Engine
Libertarias (Spain / Italy / Belgium, 1995)Directed by Vicente Aranda. The Spanish revolution has just started in a small town near Barcelona. Maria, a young innocent nun escaping from her convent, which is being ransacked by revolutionaries, finds refuge in a whorehouse. In the whorehouse some militia women - Libertarias - burst in with the mission of freeing the prostitutes. Befriended by the group, Maria will participate in the armed fight, and the course of her life will be forever changed. In Spanish without subtitles. PAL format. 125 min. 999:1805
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Línea del Cielo (Skyline) (1983)Directed by Fernando Colomo. This bittersweet comedy depicts the adventures and misadventures of a Spanish photographer who comes to Manhattan seeking fame and fortune in the Big Apple. Once there, he falls in love and must decide between two worlds. 84 min. 999:1809; also copy 2 in PAL format without titles: 999:1935
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Lola la Piconera (1951) The story of a beautiful singer, Lola, and the soldier she loved set during the struggle of the Spanish people against Napoleon during the siege of Cadiz. In Spanish without titles. 89 min. 999:1776
Lola Torbellino (Mexico / Spain, 1952) Directed by René Cardona. Cast: Lola Flores, Agustin Lara, Ricardo Adalid, Luis Aguilar, Abel Salazar.
The singer dancer Lola meets the great Mexican composer Agustin Lara and offers to travel to Mexico where she has promised to do several performances for him. Lola stays in his house as a guest and Agustin falls in love with her, but complications ensue when another falls for her too. In Spanish without English subtitles. 79 min. DVD 8628
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Mala Educacion (Bad Education) (1999) Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Cast: Gael García Bernal, Fele Martinez, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Lluis Homar, Francisco Boira. Enrique gets a visit from his old school friend who has written a story about their traumatic childhood spent at Catholic school. In the story, a drag performer known as Zahara attempts to blackmail a predatory priest by exposing their scandalous past. But when the villainous priest from their school days arrives to tell his own version of events, the truth is wilder than anything they could have imagined. 105 min. DVD 3714
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Mamá Cumple 100 Años (Spain / France, 1979) Directed by Carlos Saura. Tells the story of the 100th birthday celebration of the great matriarch at her baronial country estate. In Spanish without titles. 98 min. 999:1950
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
El Mar (The Sea) (Spain, 2000) Directed by Agustí Villaronga. Cast: Roger Casamajor, Bruno Bergonzini, Antonia Torrens.
Two boys (Ramallo and Manuel) and a girl in the Spanish Civil War are involved in the death of other two boys, one killed, the other suicided. This terrible secret remains with them for all their lives. Years pass and they meet in a hospital for tuberculosis treatment. She is now a nun, Ramallo is a thief and Manuel is obsessed by religion. Reality is too hard to feel, only the sea should be the best place, where all is quiet. 107 min. DVD 8149
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Mar Adentro (The Sea Inside) (Spain / France / Italy, 2004)Directed by Alejandro Amenabar. Cast: Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda, Lola Due~nas, Mabel Rivera, Celso Bugallo, Clara Segura, Joan Dalmau, Alberto Jimenez, Tamar Novas. Based on a true story, Ramon Sampedro wants to end his life because a diving accident 28 years before that turned him into a quadriplegic. For most of those years he made the most of it: writing, developing a close relationships with his family, who all help to care for him. While grateful to his family and friends for their help, Ramon was always an active person. He has come to see his life as frustrating and pointless and wishes to die with what remains of his dignity. Gene is a friend who works with a"Right to Die" organization who introduces Ramon to Julia, a lawyer he hopes will help him persuade the courts to let him end his own life. As Ramon and Julia work together on his case, Ramon finds himself falling in love with his attorney, but Ramon remains convinced that the greatest gift to him would be an end to his life. 125 min. DVD 4052
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Marcelino Pan y Vino(The Miracle of Marcelino) (Spain / Italy, 1954) Directed by Ladislao Vajda. Story of the miracle of a little boy, abandoned at a monastery, who is discovered to be talking with Jesus Christ. In Spanish with English subtitles. 89 min. 999:1196
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
María de la O (1959 )Directed by Ramón Torrado. Cast: Lola Flores, Manuel Luna, Antonio Gonzalez, Manuel Arbo, Aurora Garcia Alonso.
Luis Suarez is a rich landowner who is found wounded by a traveling gypsy clan. They take him in and cure him, saving him from the probability of a certain death. Luis spends days traveling with them and is eventually pledged with Maria de la O, a handsome gypsy who has been engaged to Miguel, who also travels with the clan. Luis asks Maria to leave the clan and go away with him to his world which is very different from the one she knows. Unexpectedly, she accepts his proposal... In Spanish without English subtitles. 94 min. DVD 8600
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Mas Que Amor Frenesi (1996) A suspense filled drama about individuals involved in sex crimes and murder. In Spanish without titles. 101 min. Film preceded by theatrical advertisements 9 min. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 999:1781
Matador (1986)Director, Pedro Almodóvar. Cast: Assumpta Serna, Antonio Banderas, Nacho Martinez, Carmen Maura, Eva Cobo. Trainee bullfighter Angel, sexually repressed and mother-fixated, is taunted about his suspected homosexuality by his instructor, Diego Montes. To prove his masculinity, he attempts to assault Diego's girlfriend. Failing in his attempt and consumed by guilt he confesses to murders he did not commit - the victims are killed with bullfighting instruments at the moment of sexual climax. Agnel is defended by lawyer Maria Cardenal, the real killer, who is obsessed with Diego and uses Angel to draw the maestro Matador into one last confrontation. 103 min. Non-US format DVD. DVD 2971 Also on vhs 999:665
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Movie Review Query Engine
Mi Querida Señorita (1972)Directed by Jaime de Armiñán. In this romantic drama Lopez Vazquez plays the double role of a man and a woman (Juan/Adela). Adela, an old maid who spends all her time doing works of charity becomes engaged to a local businessman, but is disgusted by his advances. Disturbed by this, she seeks psychiatric help and the doctor tells her that she is, in fact, a man. Adela, horrified, cannot bear to return to her village so takes up life in Madrid as Juan. Her identification papers list her as a woman, and she must improvise in order to survive. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 60 min. 999:1939
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Milagro en Roma (Miracle in Rome) Gabriel García Márquez Collection. (1988) Directed by Lisandro Duque Naranjo. The story of Margarito Duarte, whose 7 year-old daughter dies suddenly. Visiting her grave 12 years later, he finds his daughter's body just as he left it. After his townspeople call the event a miracle, he tries to have his daughter a saint, but it will take a miracle of a different order to get his wish. 76 min. 999:491
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Misericordia (TV, 1986)Directed by Jose Luis Alonso, Juan Mediavilla. Cast: Cast: Maria Fernanda D'ocon, Jose Bodalo, Luisa Rodrigo, Julia Trujillo, Jose Segura.
Presents in a semi-musical, the plight of the homeless. A poor woman struggles to help those she loves but faces the frustration of not getting the help she needs. Based on the book by Benito Perez Galdos. In Spanish without subtitles. 110 min. DVD 3354
La Mitad del Cielo (Half of Heaven) (1986)Directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón. A story of the social rise of a beautiful ambitious peasant girl, the film is a lusty appreciation of the power, tenacity and mysteries of women. 127 min. 999:3549
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Morena Clara (1936) Directed by Florián Rey. A comedy in which a beautiful young singer, Trini, and her brother are accused of a crime. The prosecutor fails to gain a conviction when the judge, won over by Trini, grants her a pardon. Then Dona Teresa, the mother of the prosecutor, charmed by Trini's singing and dancing, organizes a fiesta and invites her to stay in her hacienda. Based on the novel by Antonio Quintera and Pascual Guillen. In Spanish without titles. PAL. 83 min. 999:1786
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Muerte de un ciclista (Spain / Italy, 1955) Director, Juan Antonio Bardem. Cast: Lucia Bose, Alberto Closas, Bruna Corra, Carlos Casaravilla, Otello Toso, Julia Delgado Caro.
Upper-class geometry professor Juan and his wealthy, married mistress Maria Jose, driving back from a late-night rendezvous, accidentally hit a cyclist and run. The resulting tale of guilt, infidelity, and blackmail reveals the wide gap between the rich and the poor in Spain and surveys the corrept ethics of a society seduced by decadence.
88 min. DVD 9690
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Muerte de Mikel (1983) Director, Imanol Uribe. A series of flashbacks gradually reveal the life of a young Basque pharmacist who was brutally killed for his involvement in the ETA inspired left-wing separatist movement. In Spanish without subtitles. 88 min. 999:3557
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) (1984) Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Comedy about a woman who has been jilted by the love of her life, her friend who is in love with a terrorist, and her ex-lover's crazed wife. Mix them all together and you end up with women on the verge of a nervous breakdown! In Spanish with English subtitles. 88 min. DVD 646; VHS 999:667; VHS in Spanish/no subtitles 999:3550
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Evans, Peter William. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown = Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios / Peter William Evans. London: British Film Institute, 1996. Series title: BFI modern classics. (UCB Main PN1997.M8126 E82 1996)
Nadie Hablará de Nosotras Cuando Hayamos Muerto (1995) Directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes. Escaping gangsters who are trying to kill her because she has witnessed a crime, Gloria, a young woman of working class origins, comes back to her family in Madrid, where she tries to find work and earn some money. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 105 min. 999:1790
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Niña de tus ojos (The Girl of Your Dreams) (1998) Directed by Fernando Trueba. Cast: Neus Asensi, Jesus Bonilla, Penelope Cruz, Karel Dobry, Loles Leon, Gotz Otto, Antonio Resines, Jorge Sanz, Rosa Maria Sarda.
In Civil War torn Spain, Germany invites a group of filmmakers to shoot two versions of the Andalusian musical drama"The girl of your dreams" in Berlin. Happy to leave the war behind them, the troupe of Spaniards starts filming in Hitler's Berlin. The hospitality upon their arrival has more to do with the youthful charms of Macarena Granada. What's more, the only Andalusion-looking extras in Germany are the gypsies and Jewish prisoners in a nearby concentration camp. When Macarena befriends one of the prisoners, the troupe must decide if the movie is more important than their lives. 105 min. 999:1790
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Hardcastle, Anne E. "Representing Spanish Identity through españolada in Fernando Trueba's The Girl of Your Dreams." Film Criticism. Spring 2007. Vol. 31, Iss. 3; p. 15 (22 pages) UC users only
No Desearás al Vecino del Quinto (Spain / Italy, 1970)Director, Ramón Fernandez. A comic look at heterosexual and homosexual stereotypes in suburban Madrid. The lead actor Alfredo Landa who exemplified the legend of the Hispanic macho, became a sociological phenomenon in the 70's called Landismo (Landism). In Spanish without subtitles. 85 min. DVD 2177
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Noche Más Hermosa (1984) Directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón. As a television executive passes the afternoon with his mistress, he begins to wonder if his wife is doing the same thing with his best friend. Spanish without titles. PAL format. 90 min. 999:1936
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Noche Oscura (1989)Directed by Carlos Saura. In the year 1577 Father John of the cross, poet, church reformer and future saint has been taken prisoner at the Carmelite order in Toledo where he is sentenced to the penance of seclusion and stripped of freedom indefinitely. The guards systematically torture and starve him to break his resistance but the warden, impressed with his candor, gives him pen and paper to write his poems. The dark night explores the thoughts and feelings of Saint John of the cross, his dreams, his visions, and his mysterious spirituality. In Spanish without subtitles. 89 min. 999:3548
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Nosotros los Decentes. (1975) Directed by Mariano Ozores. Don Roque seeks assistance for his ailing wife but when Maria, an attractive widow, arrives at his house both Roque and his son fall in love with her. Maria and Don Roque fall in love and when he becomes a widower his life is totally transformed but they have to pass through many trials, gaining the approval of his children, before they can finally wed. Spanish without titles. PAL format. 88 min. 999:1948
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Ópera Prima (Spain / France, 1980)Directed by Fernado Trueba. Matias, a young divorced employee at a news agency, chances to meet his beautiful cousin, Violeta. The two commence an affair but then drift apart. Violeta, an aspiring musician, falls under the spell of her pretentious tutor. On the verge of leaving the country with her teacher, she is"rescued" at the airport by Matias. Spanish without titles. PAL format. 90 min. 999:1944 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
El Otro Lado de la Cama (The Other Side of the Bed) (2003)Directed by Emilio Martinez-Lázaro. Cast: Ernestao Alterio, Paz Vega, Guillermo Toledo, Natalia Verbeke, Alberto San Juan, Maria Esteve. The story of two couples, along with a collection of their friends and co-workers, whose switching back and forth between their lovers leads to lies and heartache and lots of song and dance. 114 min. DVD 6300 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Pasodoble (1988)Director, José Luis García Sánchez. A French girl arrives in Cordoba in search of her father. She finally tracks him down in a minor city museum where he and his clan have been squatting refusing to leave. Two policemen have been given the job of persuading the wacky family to vacate the premises, but their response is to threaten to destroy the museum's treasures. In Spanish without subtitles. 92 min. 999:3553 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno) (Mexico / Spain / USA, 2006)Directed by Guillermo del Toro. Cast: Ariadna Gil, Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Doug Jones, Alex Angulo, Federico Luppi, Manolo Solo, Cesar Vea, Roger Casamajor, Ivan Massague, Gonzalo Uriarte.
Set in 1944 Spain, against the backdrop of the anti-Franco guerrilla warfare. When young Ofelia and her mother go to live with her new stepfather on a rural military outpost, she finds herself in a world of unimaginable cruelty. Soon Ofelia finds the creatures of her imagination in which she used to escape have become a reality and she must battle them to save both her mother and herself. In the terrifying battle that ensues, Ofelia soon learns that innocence has a power that evil cannot imagine. Special features: (Disc 1). Video prologue; audio commentary by director Guillermo Del Toro; marketing campaign; sneak peeks -- (Disc 2). Featurettes (approx. 24 min. ): "The power of myth", "Pan and the Fairies = El fauno y las hadas", "The color and the shape", "The lullaby"); director's notebook (notes & sketches, storyboard/thumbnail comparisions; galleries); "The Charlie Rose Show" with Guillermo Del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron & Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu (approx. 50 min.); DVD comics. 119 min. DVD 7558
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Pena, penita, pena (Mexico / Spain, 1953)Directed by Miguel Morayta. Cast: Lola Flores, Luis Aguilar, Antonio Badu, Manuel Luna.
Brothers Carlos and Luis Melgor find themselves with no money in a hotel in Madrid. Their rich father living in Mexico is behind on sending them money and they have to pawn their suits. They enter a nightclub and meet Carmen, a pretty gypsy and a lottery vendor, who desires to go to Mexico. She convinces them to buy lottery tickets and requires that they must share the money with her if they win. 90 min. DVD 8583
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón (1980)Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Cast: Carmen Maura, Félix Rotaeta, Paco Femenia, Olvido Gara"Alaska", Eva Siva. In this quirky comedy, an independent heiress gets into trouble with the police. This hilarious film follows her adventures with a punk rock band, a voyeur with a bearded lady for a wife and an uproarious contest staged by Almodóvar himself. 86 min. 999:2400 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Movie Review Query Engine
Perdona Bonita, Pero Lucas Me Queria a Mi (1996) Directed by Félix Sabroso-Dunia Ayaso. In this comedy three gay roomates decide they need another roomer to meet expenses. They accept Lucas and each of them falls in love with him. This creates considerable tension until the day Lucas is found dead. When two cops show up that is when the real fun begins. Spanish without subtitles. PAL format. 90 min. 999:1853
El Pisito (1958) Directed by Marco Ferreri and Isidoro M. Ferry. Rodolfo and Petrita are one of those engaged couples who cannot marry because they are not able to find a place to live. For 12 years they await the death of dona Martina, Rodolfo's benefactress, who has promised to bequeath them her furniture and the flat she occupies. Based on a novel with the same title by Rafael Azcona. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 95 min. 999:1778
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Plácido (1961) Directed by Luis García Berlanga. Cast: Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez, Casto Sendra, "Cassen," Elvira Quintilla, Manuel Alexandre, Mari Carmen Yepes.
In a small Spanish town, a group of old ladies decide to celebrate Christmas Eve with a "Sit a poor man at your table" dinner: each wealthy household of the town will have a homeless person dining with them that night. The celebration also includes a parade, and in it we find Placido, the humble owner of a three-wheeler, whose family is forced to live in a public lavatory because of the lack of money to pay the rent, and who has to pay the second bill of his vehicle before midnight or else he will lose it. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 85 min. DVD 2174; vhs 999:1793
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Plaça del Diamante (1981)Directed by Francesc Betriú. Two opposing characters--she, docile and sensitive, he, domineering yet childish--are forced to mature when their lives are shattered by a tragic, cruel and violent civil war. In Spanish with titles. 112 min. 999:815
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
¿Por Qué Pecamos a los Cuarenta? (1970) Director, Pedro Lazaga. To help Alejandro celebrate his overseas accomplishments, his friends host a private dinner party for him, during which they discuss the good old days. While his friends seem to have aged and become less active, Alejandro proves that at forty one can truly live a second youth. In Spanish without subtitles. 103 min. 999:3552
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Princesas (2005) Directed by Fernando León de Aranoa. Cast: Candela Peña, Micaela Nevarez, Mariana Gordero.
Caye, a Madrid prostitute, comes to the aid of Zulema, a Dominican streetwalker beaten by a government official blackmailing her for free sex. They form a strong bond and imagine themselves as royalty, to offer them a glimpse of hope. 114 min. DVD 7849 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Puente de Coplas (1961) Directed by Santos Alcocer. A musical film of romantic intrigues set among the rancheros of Spain designed to highlight famous Spanish dancers and singers. Performers: Singers: Antonio Molina, Rafael Farina, Angela Bravo, Sun de Sander, Mariya Tamayo, Manuel de Juan, Manuel Atalaya, Porrina de Badajoz, Maruja Baena, Espeleta de Cadiz. Dancers: Lola Zori, Paquita Sadorni, Margarita Ga. Bueno, Perua Morena, Eugenio de Badajoz y Maria Luisa a la guitarra Nino Ricardo y Aurora de Alba. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 100 min. 999:1796 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
¿Qué hace una chica como tú en un sitio como éste? (What's a Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?) (1978)Directed by Fernando Colomo. A woman who is separated from her husband meets a rock singer through some friends who invites her to one of his concerts. When her husband finds out, he takes their two children away from her. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 105 min. 999:1504Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto? (What Have I Done to Deserve This?) (1984)Director, Pedro Almodóvar. Cast: Carmen Maura, Luis Hostalot, Gonzalo Suarez, Veronica Forque. Gloria is a very resourceful working-class housewife, a true feminist heroine who's on the go 18 hours a day, trying to keep her outrageously wacky family afloat. Comedy and tragedy blend to portray a surreal and perverse fable of contemporary life. 101 min. DVD 1886; vhs 999:664Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Movie Review Query Engine
Remando al Viento (1988)Director, Gonzalo Suárez. In the summer of 1816, Percy Shelley, his mistress Mary and her stepsister Claire visit Lord Byron at Lake Geneva. Byron challenges each to write a horror story, and Mary begins her novel, Frankenstein. She imagines the monster becoming real and for the next six years, as tragedy befalls those around her, she believes her personification of her imagination is the cause. In Spanish without subtitles. 96 min. 999:3537Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Retrato de Familia (1976)Director, Antonio Giménez-Rico. The socio-political events in Spain during the year 1918, 1931, and 1936 condition the life of Cecilio Rubes, even though he tries to remain neutral. His son Cecil dies during one conflict. At the end, saddened and disillusioned, Cecilio jumps out the window. In Spanish without subtitles. 110 min. 999:3555Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Revoltosa (1991) An operetta centering around the great beauty, Mari-Pepa, who uses her charms to cause mischief among married men, much to the anger of their womenfolk, who one night decide to get even with Maria-Pepa and their wayward husbands. Directed by Juan de Orduna. Spanish without titles. PAL format. 75 min. 999:1782
El Rey Pasmado (pain / France / Portugal, 1996) Directed by Imanol Uribe. It is the 17th century and the king of Spain is a young man, inexperienced in politics and love. Nevertheless, he soon discovers a world of new sensations in the arms of Marfisa, one of the most beautiful prostitutes of the court. The news runs from mouth to mouth, filtering through the walls of the palace. Spanish without titles. Based on the novel Cronica del Rey Pasmado by Gonzalo Torrente Ballester. 105 min. Spanish without subtitles. DVD 3316; also VHS (PAL) 999:1780Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Del Rosa - al Amarillo (1963)Director, Manuel Summers. A parallel love story about two youths, Guillermo and Margarita and an elderly couple, Valentin and Joséfa. In the first story Guillermo falls for an older girl of 14 but is unable to win her affection. In the second story two residents of an old folks home for the poor express their love through letters to each other. In Spanish without subtitles. 88 min. 999:3539Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Salvador Puig Antich (Spain / UK, 2006)Director, Manuel Huerga. Cast: Daniel Bruhl, Tristan Ulloa, Leonor Watling, Ingrid Rubio, Leonardo Sbaraglia.
A dramatization of true life anarchist and bank-robber Salvador Puig Antich, whose 1974 execution under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco ushered in a period of unrest that helped Spain transition to democracy. 137 min. DVD 8595Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Los Santos Inocentes (1984)Director, Mario Camus. A peasant family working for well-to-do landowners in northern Spain struggles with the callousness of the employers and dreams of rising out of poverty and changing their life of subordination. Non-US format DVD. 105 min. DVD 2176Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Sé Infiel y No Mires con Quién (1985)Directed by Fernando Trueba. Paco and Fernando have succeeded in promoting a best seller for Adela Mora. Paco asks Fernando for his house to carry on an affair. Paco's wife asks Fernando's wife for her house to carry on her own affair. Fernando suspects that his wife is having an affair with Oscar and Oscar thinks Fernando is a homosexual who is having an affair with his partner. In Spanish without subtitles. 86 min. 999:3541Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Secretos del Corazón (Secrets of the Heart) (France / Portugal / Spain, 1997)Directed by Montxo Armendáriz. Javi believes he can hear the voices of the dead and that they whisper to him their secrets, which were left unspoken in life. At his mother's house in the mountains, he is fascinated by the room in which his father died and which his mother carefully keeps locked. But, Javi also learns that the living have their secrets as well. 108 min. DVD 610Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Sexo por compasion (Compassionate Sex) (Spain / Mexico, 2001)Directed by Laura Mana. Cast: Elizabeth Margoni, Alex Angulo, Pilar Bardem, Juan Carlos Colombo, Carmen Salinas, Mariola Fuentes, Leticia Huijara, Damian Alcazar, José Sancho. Dolores is a mature and kind woman whose husband abandons her because he can't stand her generosity. Desperate to get her husband back, she decides to devote her life to works of charity. She decides that one of her charitable acts is to go to bed with all the other men of the town. Dolores, now known as"Lolita," becomes so famous that all men seek out her help now. It is through her compassionate sex that she brings back the color and happiness to a town that was immersed in sadness. 107 min. DVD 5244
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Si te dicen que caí (If They Tell You I Fell) (Spain, 1989)Directed by Vicente Aranda. Cast: Victoria Abril, Jorge Sanz, Antonio Banderas, Javier Gurruchaga, Guillermo Montesinos.
In the post Spanish civil war years, Catalan kids would sit in circles among the ruins and tell 'aventis', stories with no beginning or end or purpose, to vent frustration about the times. The movie tells these creative stories as flashbacks. 120 min. DVD 8155Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Smoking Room (2002) Directed by Roger Gual and Julio D. Wallovits. Cast: Eduard Fernandez, Juan Diego, Antonio Dechent, Chete Lera.
Ramirez, an employee of an American company in Spain, is collecting signatures to protest a smoking ban in the office. His colleagues agree with him, and their individualism, selfishness and cowardice surface. Special features (Disc 2): Making of, additional scenes, extra features ; story boards. 92 min. DVD 8635Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Soldados de Salamina (Soldiers of Salamina) (2003) Directed by David Trueba. Cast: Ariadna Gil, Ramon Fontser?e, Joan Dalmau, Maria Botto, Diego Luna.
Lola reacts with disdain and exasperation when asked to write an article inspired by the Spanish Civil War for the newspaper where she works. To her the war is ancient history and no longer relevant. But a reader's response to her article puts her on the trail of a mystery stemming from the last days of the war. In the process she becomes more interested in what motivated those who fought in the war. Based on the novel Soldados de Salamina by Javier Cercas. 114 min. DVD 8855Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Solos en la Madrugada (1978) Directed by José Luis Garci. The host of a midnight radio talk-show discusses the problems of the night life of Madrid. Many themes treated in the program are mirrored in the life of the announcer's wife. Spanish without titles. PAL. 108 min. 999:1946Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Sud express (Spain / Portugal, 2005)Directors, Chema de la Pña, Gabriel Velázquez. Cast: Gerald Morales, Tino Guimaraes, German A. Joao, Lidia Pinville, Javier Delgado, Pilar Borrego.
A slice of life portrait of various people who live near or travel on the Sud Express train that runs between Paris and Lisbon. 95 min. DVD 8589Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
El Sur (Spain / France, 1983)Director, Victor Erice. Estrella, a little girl from Southern Spain who has been uprooted to the North, maintains a sentimentalized attachment to the region of her birth, an attachment manifested in her love for her father. The girl's rose-colored memories are shattered when she learns that her beloved dad once carried on an affair with a Southern woman, and that the flames of passion still smolder within him. In Spanish without subtitles. 92 min. 999:3533Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Tacones Lejanos (High Heels) (1991)Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The husband of a TV anchorwoman, ex-lover of her long-estranged singer-actress mother, is mysteriously killed, and both mother and daughter come under suspicion in a frenzied investigation filled with romantic mix-ups and mistaken identities. In Spanish with English subtitles. 113 min. 999:668
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Movie Review Query Engine
Tango (Tango, no me dejes nunca) (Spain / Argentina, 1998)Directed by Carlos Saura. Set in Buenos Aires with a rich blend of muted light and intoxicating dance this film tells the story of director Mario Suarez's quest to create the ultimate tango film. Complications develop when Mario falls in love with Elena, a talented young dancer who is the girlfriend of an investor in the picture. And Mario's creative vision is challenged by his investors when he plans a scene that recreates Argentina's dark years of political suppression and"disappearances." 115 min.DVD 6194; vhs 999:2650Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Movie Review Query Engine
Tasio (1984) Directed by Montxo Armendáriz. Shows the life of a man born at the foot of the Sierra de Urbasa mountain. Shows life in a small town involving coal mining, marriage, fishing, hunting, and saddling horses. Spanish without English subtitles. PAL format. 119 min. 999:1938Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
El taxista ful (The Taxi Thief) (2005)Directed by Jo Sol. Cast: Pepe Rovira, Marc Sempere, Marcos Rovira, Dinero Gratis.
Jose R. carries out his routine as a taxi driver around the streets of Barcelona. His life would be the same as any 52 year-old taxi driver if it weren't for the fact that the taxis that he drives are stolen. Jose steals so that he can work. 81 min. DVD 8634 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Tesis (1996)Directed by Alejandro Amenábar. Angela is preparing a thesis on violence and the media. Figueroa, her project director, accidentally discovers a film and on the following day he turns up dead. Angela follows her curiosity and gets in up to her neck. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 126 min. 999:1803Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Tierra (Earth) (1996)Directed by Julio Medem. Angel is called in to fumigate the land after a plague of woodlice imparts a distinctive, earthy taste to the wine. He falls in love with the married Angela while lusting after Mari, a women reflective of his own split personality. 118 min. 999:2922Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Tiempo de silencio (1986) Directed by Vicente Aranda. Cast: Imanol Arias, Victoria Abril, Juan Echanove ; Francisco Rabal, Charo Lopez, Francisco Algora, Joaquin Hinojosa.
In 1949 Madrid a doctor performs an abortion on a gypsy woman in an attempt to save her life, but is unsuccessful. The police accuse him of murder. The film follows his efforts in avoiding capture and at the same time gives an ironic view of the different social strata of Madrid at this time. Based on a novel with the same title by Luis Martin Santos. In Catalan without English subtitles. 107 min. DVD 8636
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother) (1999) Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Cast: Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña, Antonia San Juan, Penelope Cruz. Manuela is the perfect mother. A hard-working nurse, she's built a comfortable life for herself and her teenage son. But when tragedy strikes and her son is killed in a car accident, her world crumbles. 102. DVD 319
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Todos a la Cárcel (1993)Directed by Luis García Berlanga. A celebration in honor of the"International Day of Awareness" brings together political prisoners in a model Valencia prison, politicians and entertainers in a comedy of errors. In Spanish without titles. PAL format. 105 min. 999:1854Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Tristana (France / Italy / Spain, 1970) Directed by Luis Buñuel. Performers: Catherine Deneuve, Fernando Rey, Franco Nero. Set in 1920's Spain, this film is a scathing examination of moral decay. Tristana, a victim of her own captivating beauty, is desired by two men. One is her lecherous guardian whose physical advances repulse her and cause her to have nightmares of his death, and the other is a young artist who wants to marry her, but lacks the courage. 98 min. DVD 4211; vhs 999:798Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Truhanes (1983)Director, Miguel Hermosa. Gonzalo Millares, swindler and con artist, ends up in prison because of one of his scams. He becomes friends with Gines, an old pickpocket who is respected inside. Gines and Gonzalo make a pact that Gines will protect Gonzalo until they are released -- then Gonzalo will take care of Gines. But when they are released, Gonzalo finds he may have more than he can handle. In Spanish without subtitles. 102 min. 999:3542Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Vacas (1991) Directed by Julio Medem. Cast: Emma Suarez, Carmelo Gomez, Ana Torrent, Karra Elejalde, Txema Blasco, Kandido Uranga, Klara Badiola.
A saga spanning over half a century of the twisted goings on between families in Northern Spain. From the Carlist Wars of 1875 to the Spanish Civil War in the thirties, the fathers, sons and grandsons are locked in an absurdly stubborn and emotionally exhausting conflict. Sometimes there seems to be no escape from how family ties dictates our fate. 92 min. DVD 8606 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Vaquilla (1985) Directed by Luis García Berlanga. During the Spanish Civil War, a group of republican soldiers plans a raid on a village fiesta. In Spanish without titles. 118 min. 999:1777 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
La Verdad Sobre el Caso Savolta (France / Spain / Italy, 1978)Director, Antonio Drove. Weapons manufacturer Savolta and his partner expand their business at the expense of their workers. His 'goons' use violence to supress strikes but one day, they go too far when they kill a worker who is in contact with anarchists. In Spanish without subtitles. 125 min. DVD 3318; also VHS 999:3547Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings (Un Señor Muy Viejo Con Unas Alas Enormes) Gabriel García Márquez Collection. (1988) Directed by Fernando Birri. Amid the debris of a Columbian cyclone lands a man whose seemingly miraculous anatomy attracts the curious and devout from around the world. Silent and disheveled, this fantastical"creature" is housed in a chicken coop as onlookers wait for his heavenly message which turns out to be a very mixed blessing. 90 min. 999:488 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
El Viaje a Ninguna Parte (1986)Director, Fernando Fernon-Gomez. An amusing story of a group of traveling actors and actresses in Spain who don't always remember with precision what their relationships are. Work inter-mixes with love, economic problems, and their triumphant dreams. In Spanish without subtitles. Non-US format DVD. 127 min. DVD 2178
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Viaje de Carol (Carol's Journey) (2004)Directed by Imanol Uribe. Cast: Clara Lago, Juan José Ballesta, Alvaro de Luna, Maria Barranco, Carmelo Gomez, Rosa Ma Sarda. Carol's journey: Carol, a 12-year-old Spanish-American girl from New York, travels with her mother to Spain in the spring of 1938, at the height of the Spanish Civil War. Separated from her beloved father, she arrives in her mother's home village and transforms the secretive family environment. Her innocence and rebellious nature drive her at first to reject a world that is both new and foreign. But she soon journeys into adulthood through a friendship with the village teacher and a young local boy. 100 min. DVD 6317 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Viva la Muerte (Long Live Death) (France / Tunisia, 1970)Directed by Fernanco Arrabal. Cast: Madhi Chaouch, Anouk Ferjac, Ivan Henriques, Nuria Espert, Jazia Klibi. Fando is a young boy whose father has been arrested for treason during the Spanish civil war. He struggles with his father's arrest, and in a shocking moment discovers a letter in which his mother admits to betraying his father. His mother convinces him that his father committed suicide in prison, but Fando doubts this and attempts to discover his father's true fate. 87 min. DVD 6126 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Volver(2006) Directed by Almodóvar. Cast: Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Due~nas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave, Antonio de la Torre, Carlos Blanco.
Raimunda lives in Madrid with her daughter Paula and her drunk husband Paco. Her sister, Sole, is separated and works clandestinely as a hairstylist for women. Years ago, in the sisters birth village, they lost their parents in a fire in La Mancha. Their aunt, Paula, still lives in the village and continues to speak about her sister Irene, mother of the two sisters, as if she were still alive. When the old aunt dies the situation changes and the past returns. 121 min. DVD 7342Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Volver a Empezar(1982) Directed by José Luis Garci. An exiled Spanish writer and U.C. Berkeley professor returns to his native town to re-live old memories and meets his sweetheart of 40 years ago. 90 min. 999:1942Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Yerma (1998)Directed by Pilar Tavora. Cast: Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Irene Papas, Juan Diego. Yerma is the lonely housewife of a Spanish farmer. She longs to have a child, but believes she is unable to conceive. Upon learning from an elderly psychic woman that the problem may have more to do with her husband, Yerma rebels against her lonely life and her place in society. Based on a work of the same title by Federico García Lorca. 118 min. DVD 5309
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Yo Soy Esa (1990)Director, Luis Sanz. At the premier of her own movie the famous Spanish singer Carmen sees in the character she has portrayed on the screen the sad reality of her own life. In Spanish without subtitles. 95 min. 999:3531
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Yo Soy el que Tú Buscas (I'm the One You're Looking For) (Austria / Spain 1988). Directed by Jaime Chávarri. Through the exotic streets of Barcelona's underworld, the darker side of love and sexuality comes to life in this psychological thriller about a beautiful celebrity model seeking revenge from her rapist. Vengeful desire becomes an uncontrollable obsession when she teams up with a short-tempered taxi driver and a hot-blooded erotic dancer in her frantic search. Spanish with English subtitles. 85 min. 999:486
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Yo soy la Juani (2006)Directed by Bigas Luna. Cast: Dani Martin, Laya Marti, Gorka Lasaosa, Jose Chaves, Mercedes Hoyos.
A pair of women leave their small town and dud boyfriends behind for fun in Madrid. 88 min. DVD 8623
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Los Zancos (The Stilts) (1984) Directed by Carlos Saura. An aging professor has a brief devastating affair with a young woman who has saved him from suicide after the death of his wife. In Spanish without subtitles. 95 min. 999:1681
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Carlos Saura bibliography
Spanish TV Commercials. Part I (1988) Commercials about your favorite products in Spain. Includes ads for Reynold's Wrap, Kellogg's Corn Flakes, as well as typical Spanish products as Gallina Blanca (dessert), Pepilla (cereal), La Cabana (cheese), along with public service adds on the prevention of drug abuse and the promotion of other public safety issues. Contents: Reynolds--Vespa--Drogas--Spalding--Paredes--Rondel-- Estivalia--Pedro Domecq--Visa--Saimaza--Drogas, para que?--Braun--Mopu--Milupa--Knorr--Banco Union--Sarpe-- Bitter Cinzano soda--Camy--Sucaryl--Kellogs--Gallina Blanca--Nugget--Opel Corsa--Cimarron jeans--Ginger ale Schweppes--La Cigala--Citroen--Cabana--Polo Royal-- Dhul--Jane--Condicion femenina--Toja--Brik--Artespana-- Colgate--Renfe--Spontex--Tacto--Banco de Bilbao-- -Teatro / Ministerio de Cultura--Telefonica-- Dosan--Danone--Nivea creme--La Once--Iberia-- Generalitat de Catalunya--Drogas? Simplemente di no-- Taifol--Yoplait--Codorniu--Schweppes--Oil of Ulay-- Avidesa--Fiat--Braun trial--Peugeot--J'Hayber--Nescafe--Vetiver--Renault-- Nestle--Bando Exterior de Espanna--Yoplait--La Casera-- Glory viva--Tuc--Trasmediterranea. 42 min. Video/C 5102
Spanish TV Commercials. Part I (1988) Presents 90 television commercials from Spain covering such products as Mosto (grape juice), Gior (laundry detergent), Panrico (bread), Froderm (face cream), Basic home de Vichy (Barbie dolls) and many, many more. The film is an insightful look into the daily life of the Spanish people and culture. Contents: Renault--Principe--Arcoroc--Mosto--Temas ocultos--Gior-- C&A--Dixan--Panrico--TVE--Friskies--Froderm--Bonka-- del--Loteria nacional--Gallina Blanca--Citreon-- Conservas miau--Conejo--Ruffles--Ajax--Sunsilk--Bimbo-- Nationale--Dan'up-- Trident--Michelin--Peugeot--Ike-- Spontex--Citreon--Huesitos--Oscar Mayer--Pan ortiz---BBV--Leche--Chiquilin--Yoplait--Nutriben-- Pato WC--Pronto--Alimentos--Diccionario--Aceite Guillen--Clesa--Vision lab--Opel--Enciclopedia-- Revilla--Sundy--Volkswagen--Verja--Frudesa-- Expansion--Porcelanosa--Pescanova--Ram--Coca cola-- Flor--Bilore--Lejia neutrex--Bonduelle--Knorr Quik-- Chocolate chips--Sensitis guantes cel--Inespal--Nissan--Yoplait--Equalis de Vichy-- McCain--Caserio--Lavax--Pasley--Glassex--Nescafe--Gran Bretana--Copa Danone--Raider--Jamon Revilla--Ariel-- Mayonesa--Compensating--Lejia Estrella--Basic home de Vichy--Fantastic--Servi red--Digestive--Frostes. 40 min. Video/C 5103
To the top
Portuguese Cinema
Uma Abelha na Chuva (A Bee in the Rain) (Portugal, 1971)Directed by Fernando Lopes. Cast: Laura Soveral, Joã:o Guedes, Zita Duarte, Ruy Furtado, Carlos Ferreiro. This drama, centering on a crime in a Portuguese rural town, examines the minutae of the daily life and intrigues of two scions of society. One is a wealthy landowner, the other a widowed aristocrat who lives in a world of her own. 65 min. Non-US (PAL) format DVD. DVD 5268
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Ala-Arriba (Portugal, 1942)Directed by José Leitão de Barros. Cast: Elsa Bela-Flor, Luis Pinto, Madalena Vilaca, Maria Olguim. This historical documentary and drama tells a tale of romance set in the 1940s in a Northern Portuguese fishing village, where the actors were real fisherman from the area playing themselves in the film. 117 min. Non-US (PAL) format DVD. DVD 5186
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Aldeia de Roupa Branca (Portugal, 1939)Directed by Chianca de Garcia. Cast: Beatriz Costa, Manuel Santos Carvalho, José Amaro, Oscar de Lemos, Elvira Velez. Gracinda, a young laundry washer, lives with her godfather"Uncle" Jacinto and together they run a family laundry. Unfortunately, the business is not going very well, but that changes when Gracinda goes to the city to convince Chico,"Uncle" Jacinto's son, to return to the village. Meanwhile the village is preparing for the annual festivities and a dispute erupts between Jacinto and his business rival, the widow Quiteria, when each of them invites different bands to play during the party and dances. 84 min. Non-US (PAL) format DVD. DVD 5269
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Le Bassin de J. W. (The Hips of J.W.) (Portugal, 1997)Directed by João César Monteiro. Cast: João César Monteiro, Pierre Clementi, Hugues Quester. This comedy contrasts two men, Henrique and Jean de Dieu, appearing in a producton of Strindberg's The Inferno. Offstage Henrique is a seaman with an adverturous life, and de Dieu is the play's director. This idiosyncratic film serves up an eccentric entree of philosophical concepts with some comedic entremets. The"J.W." of the film's title is John Wayne, a reference to Henrique's fascination with Wayne's swagger. 128 min. Non-US (PAL) format DVD. DVD 5169
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Branca de Neve (Snow White) (Portugal, 2000)Directed by João César Monteiro. Cast: Diogo Doria, Ana Brandao, Maria do Carmo, Reginaldo da Cruz, Luis Miguel Cintra. This dark fable picks up the story of Snow White where Grimm left off, but the characters are given a free rein, even to the extent of poking fun at the tale. 75 min. Non-US (PAL) format DVD. DVD 5194
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
A Caixa (Blind Man's Bluff) (Portugal, 1994)Directed by Manoel de Oliveira. Cast: Luis Miguel Cintra, Glicinia Quartin, Ruy de Carvalho, Beatriz Batarda, Diogo Dria. Everyday an old blind man sits in a doorway begging for money, while his daughter spends her days ironing and complaining. Their neighborhood is not wealthy, and many a passerby is envious of the old beggar's box of accumulating coins. It has been stolen before so the man and the daughter's boyfriend keep an eye on it, but eventually tragedy ensues when the box disappears again. 92 min. Non-US (PAL) format DVD. DVD 5277
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
A Canção de Lisboa (Portugal, 1933)Directed by José Cottinelli Telmo. Cast: Vasco Santana, Beatriz Costa, Antonio Silva. Vasco Leitã:o's aunts support him while he lives and attends school in the capital. But Vasco is more enthusiastic about women (especially young Alice) and other non-academic activities than about attending school. On the same day Vasco fails an important exam he also receives notice of his aunts' planned visit to Lisbon. 116 min. Non-US (PAL) format DVD. DVD 5192
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
A Carta (The Letter; La Lettre) (Portugal, 1999)Directed by Manoel de Oliveira.
Cast: Chiara Mastroianni, Pedro Abrunhosa, Antoine Chappey, Leonor Silveira, Francoise Fabian. Mademoiselle de Chartres is a rebellious woman who has no choice but to follow her passions no matter where they may lead her. She experiences her first heartbreak when a youth who believes in free love abandons her. Her mother's friend Mrs. Silva introduces her to Jacques de Cleves, a |
