Reviews (1)

best escenes of the any film
escenes lesbians with victoria abri ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A MUST SEE FILM!!
LOVERS IS A FILM THAT NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU'VE SEEN IT,
YOU JUST DON'T GET ENOUGH OF IT!

What a stunner!
This is one of the most beautifully-crafted films I have ever seen, and definitely one of the most originally ROMANTIC, without the cheesy cliches and infantile corny-ness one usually associates with the word "romance." Worth repeated viewings.

It shows love not as some kitschy fairy-tale but as a totally random, irrational and unstoppable force of nature, an affliction both self-absorbed and self-transcendent, both gorgeous and monstrous. Flawless cast and dialogue, there isn't a false moment during the entire film. All the more powerful in that it's supposed to be based on a true story---very Spanish!

don't miss this one !
Based on a true story set in Spain during the mid 50's, This is one of the very best films I've ever seen. It has everything: It's magnificently directed by Vicente Aranda, has a fabulous score (Jose Nieto) and cinematography (Jose Luis Alcaine), suspense, drama, obsession, a tasty bit of eroticism, a gorgeous cast (Victoria Abril & Jorge Sanz), great acting, and best of all, it's totally unpredictable. There's no way of guessing where it's leading you so I won't drop any clues.

Let this stupendous work of art surprise you. Film just doesn't get much better than this.

deceptively fascinating
This is the type of film that starts off cute and cozy, but then makes you want to put your head between your legs and hurl in disgust and anger. But if you watch it through, you definately obtain just a little bit more insight into human nature. (By the way, if you like this emotional roller-coaster approach to cinema, check out the Chinese film "Xiu-Xiu")

Never Get Involved With Your Landlady.....
.....especially if she's a highly strung beautiful young widow with lots of sexual experience.

Poor Paco. What on earth is he to do when his young fiancee Trini refuses to have sex with him until they are married? Well, put up with it and hope the wedding day is rushed forward it seems. But then the poor lad goes and accepts a room from the very foxy Luisa who falls in love with him and is well-prepared to relieve him of his pent-up tension. Does he let himself be seduced? Why, of course he does but things get a far more complicated when he in turn falls in love with her.

This is certainly brimming over wth passion and tension and Victoria Abril is very good as the manipulative and ruthless Luisa as is Maribel Verdu as Paco's chaste intended but this, to be quite frank, has such a slow pace and, in places, awkward dialogue that it does need some patience to sit through it all. Also, there is not enough sympathy created for you to care enough about the characters when things start getting very nasty indeed. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

A Filmmakers Dream Project
In 1885, the Lumiere Brothers perfected a hand-cranked movie camera that moved the world. This 100th year anniversary takes forty filmmakers to task with the same camera to produce a film less than a minute. It's not as interesting in its results as one might have hoped. It was a huge challenge and few really completed something of interest. Of those, David Lynch, Patrice Leconte and Alaine Corneau are the most intriguing, while well known directors like Spike Lee and Liv Ullmann are less so. However, this is subjective. Many of the directors are asked simple questions with the hopes of profound answers. "Why do you film" and "Is cinema immortal" get answers as mundane as 'climbing a mountain because it is there'. Film students will, however, be fascinated with this project and historians will marvel that an invention so old can still be of artistic use. For the average viewer, this 88 minute documentary might seem boring, but at the very least, it is historic.

Cinemaphiles will love this film
As a tribute to the spirit of motion pictures, Lumiere & Company is a tremendous achievement and a sublime experience for true cineastes who are fortunate to find a copy on DVD. Produced in celebration of the centennial of what is considered to be the first motion picture camera, invented by the Lumiere Brothers of France, the approach is similar to asking the most accomplished electric guitar player to go acoustic.

The producers asked a collection of international film directors to create a 52-second piece each using the same technology as the Lumieres did more than one hundred years ago, 52 seconds being the amount of time it takes for one spool of film to run through their camera. Therefore, each of the segments is done in one take. All the directors are well respected, but among the more well-known participants are David Lynch, Wim Wenders, John Boorman, Spike Lee, James Ivory, Zhang Yimou and Liv Ullman.

Each segment is intriguing. While the results are understandably uneven, the pleasure of watching this film is in discovering the remarkable diversity in the working minds of motion picture's prominent practitioners. The DVD allows for free roaming and alternative selection of each short film. Given the nearly limitless possibilities available in the modern film industry, it's worth noting how the directors make use of their limited time and yet still reveal their own styles.

The subject matter ranges from miniature narratives to political statements and social documents. The locations are as varied as the directors themselves, from Bedford-Stuyvesant to Hiroshima. Although this film may seem a bit obscure and tedious to the non-enthusiast, historians and die-hard cinema fans will marvel not only at how limitations forcibly create ingenious ideas to spring forth, but also at how well the Lumiere camera still functions.

The DVD release also offers production notes, a trailer, French language, and English subtitles.

GOOD GOOD VERY GOOD
THIS IS GREAT WORK,GOOD GOOD GOOD VERY GOOD,YOU MUST TO SEE

A gem.
Lumiere and Company (Sarah Moon, 1995)

No, Lumiere and Company is not some sort of obscure sequel to Disney's Beauty and the Beast. (And where I got that idea, which I had for years, is completely beyond me.) Instead, it's Sarah Moon's third film, and a kind of global version of her second, Contriere l'oubli. Moon took the original camera manufactured by the Lumiere brothers, set some ground rules, and asked forty world-famous directors to shoot a fifty-two second scene with it. She then made a documentary incorporating behind-the-scenes footage with the short pieces themselves.

The result is a wonderful look into the mind of the filmmaker as he goes about the filmmaker's art. Each of the filmmakers does something completely different, and each answers the five questions put to him by Moon so disparately that the overall effect is one of a sort of comprehensive feeling about how films get made; one that no one director would subscribe to, but all embrace.

The short films themselves are directed by such luminaries as Costa-Gavras, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Liv Ullmann, Lasse Hallstrom, and many others who are easily recognizable; the trick was to get Moon, the relative neophyte, to create a wrapper that is the equal of the movies therein. And she did so, admirably. The is a fine little gem of a film, and well worth seeing. **** ½

Less Is More
What an intriguing idea. Take several well known directors used to working with today's state of the art equipment and see what they can do with the first practical motion picture camera. And to make it more of a challenge, give them less than a minute to work with. The results are naturally uneven. How could they not be? I won't name names but even the weakest entries have something to offer while the best lend credence to the old adage "less is more". The viewer will ultimately have to decide for him or herself which is which. As a longtime admirer of silent films I found the voiceovers during the segments rather distracting in the manner of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. One of the rules should have called for no comments made during filming to be allowed on the soundtrack. Let us supply our own voices to what we see. All in all an interesting concept that is well executed and worth seeing for any serious student of film. The DVD format is ideal for this type of omnibus film as you can easily select the segments that you want to see again and again. You should also check out the LUMIERE BROTHERS FIRST FILMS on DVD to see what was originally done with this remarkable piece of equipment. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Spanish cinema veteran Vicente Aranda, best known for such art-housefare as The Lovers and Libertarias, first hit the international scene in 1972 with this sexy vampire thriller. Simon Andreu is a young and inexperienced new bride whose violent nightmares are invaded by a mysterious woman in white. Her husband (Dean Selmier), who at first appears sensitive and consoling, has a tendency for rough lovemaking, and his practical jokes show a strange, sadistic streak. Andreu discovers a vandalized portrait of her husband's ancestor, Mircalla Karnstein, a young bride found a century ago lying next to her dead husband in a blood-soaked wedding dress. Mircalla's mysterious phantom soon emerges from Andreu's dreams and enters her world. This twist on Sheridan Le Fanu's story "Carmilla" (which also inspired Carl Dreyer's Vampyr and a host of erotic horrorfilms in the 1970s) suggests that this vampire is less an agent of evil out tocorrupt the innocent maiden than a physical manifestation of the maiden's own subconscious sexual fears and fantasies. The mysterious blood-spattered bride rises from her grave like an avenging devil. Her "official" entrance, buried naked on an empty beach and breathing through a snorkel, is one of the most memorable images in modern horror cinema. It seduces Andreu, too, unleashing her repressed psychosis in a bloody homicidal frenzy. Aranda'sstyle is earthier than French or British vampire films, less a dream world than a world invaded by nightmares. It's handsome and accomplished--spooky, edgy, sexy, and startlingly violent. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Spanish Gothic
"The Blood Spattered Bride" is a pretty decent specimen of the European Gothic cinema. The story develops a bit slowly, but is handsomely mounted and photographed. The "female rage" theme is explicit and disturbing. The actresses playing Carmilla and Susan are quite attractive. The film handles their lesbian relationship with a restraint that is rare in Euro-horror items.

This is some fine Spanish horror.
Aside from tombs of the Blind Dead/Return of the Blind Dead, there isn't much to choose from when it comes to horror from Spain. Blood Spattered Bride is one of the finest exports of the genre from Spain. It is a movie about revenge and pre-emptive revenge driven by the engines of rage, paranoia, male domination and female escape. Most of this movie achieves a dream-like sequence, and at times, stupor. There are never any boring moments, except for the love trysts in the first fifteen minutes of the film or so. My two favorite scenes are of Miralla's first appearance in our young bride, Andreu's, dream, and then of Mircalla's first corporeal manifestation . . . on a beach . . . naked . . . buried-and breathing through a snorkel! Aranda has succeeded in telling a very unsettling story about vampirism. By the end of the film, you will be so unsettled by the characters of Mircalla and Andreu that you really won't care whether there were vampires in the film in the first place, because you will have discovered far worse.

brilliance
yeah well, i wanted to watch it because of the genre and boy was I pleased!yeah it was good, didn't really get much of the plot, or anything else for that matter, kept my eye out for a bit of the..you know...action

A sexy vampire, it is boring.
This is a one of Vampire film, which is not a brilliant and cruel horror work. However, it has a stable script and well-organized screen. Actually, it was not interesting, but it is a well-made horror film. I have no idea about the director of this film, I have never heard before, but it is worth to see. It has some specific scenes, which are erotic and sexy. If you like an erotic horror film, this film is good. Generally, it is nothing special, just using sexy vampire and pretty bride with lesbianism.

Probably For EuroHorror Fans Only
This is a subtle and atmospheric version of Sheridan LeFanu's Carmilla, in which the director is far more interested in detailing the failing marriage of his two principles than in using it as an excuse to string together the usual exploitation elements so beloved of EuroHorror fans. Director Aranda takes his time over telling the story of a marriage beginning to crumble almost before it has begun. Appearing almost in the first scene, Alexandra Bastedo's seductress is always in the background, orchestrating the transformation of love and affection into alienation and hatred. Far more profound than the film of Jean Rollin, this nevertheless delivers the requisite gory murders and naked ladies lying in coffins that fans of that director will probably enjoy.
An amusing 'Combo' trailer included on this disc pairs the above with the somewhat less than subtle 'I Dismember Mama' - and its worth two minutes of anyone's time. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

a many splendored thing
Juana De Loca, or Mad Love, is one of those movies that you end up watching and become released into and willingly lost in. this is how powerfull movies all are. this movie has so much passion in it i could not help but come to BECOME TOUCHED myself, brought to passions mighty edge. this movie is very captivating its too easy to fall in love with the look of the characters alone, let alone the beautifull sets, and scenery. this is to say nothing about the Acting, because it was flawless! every character worked perfect, you forget your watching a movie. you know those movies where the actors cannot carry the part or even worse arent right for a part and cannot even act? this is not one of those movies!

it was majestic, inspiring and brimming with beauty.

so much passion, if i could use one word to describe it, would have to be passionate.. but then i would go on and change my mind again later,then back again driven, just as this film has the ability to move the viewer backwards and forwards towards all its parts of perfection in every detail - never to be forgotten. 5 stars PERIOD

gorgeous actress, dull movie
Pilar de Ayala is the main saving grace of this movie, namely her huge expressive eyes and flawless naked body of which we get a couple of deliciously lingering glimpses.

Otherwise this film is hard to sit through. It reminded me of another vomit-inducer, "Breaking the Waves:" after about the first 15 minutes it's painfully obvious that this poor girl's all-too-pure/passionate/devoted heart is going to be torn to pieces over a hopeless, undeserving scoundrel of a husband. Namely: she's madly, obsessively in love (and lust) with him but he can't reciprocate with the same...probably because he can't stop boinking other luscious young women left and right. In many ways a very Catholic movie: we are supposed to be deeply moved and edified by watching a hapless twit of a lamb get crucified on the altar of her sacred heart's insatiable LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!

That's it. Have fun watching Jesus bleed to death on her cross for about 2 hours. All the beautiful costumes and scenery can't save this one.

Instead I'd strongly recommend one of Vincente Aranda's first movies, "Lovers," which also touches on this theme but is far more complex, original and unpredictable. It was beautifully existential; in contrast "Mad Love" is basically a one-dimensional "For Dummies" version.

Juana la Loca
It is a pity that this movie has lost its essential title of "Juana la Loca" for "Mad Love"... it definitely detracts from the appeal of picking it up off the shelf. I saw the movie when it was released in Granada, Spain in Fall 2001. I have never forgotten it. It is an incredible, sweeping film and fascinating to watch. I'm not sure if it's subtitled or not, but regardless, it is a gorgeous and sexy film.

There seems to be so little on Juana's life in terms of English material, that this film provides an interesting glimpse into her life. Very, very good movie.

Brilliant Drama
RECOMMENDED for anyone who enjoys a well-directed, historical film. Aranda fills this film with accurate details and with an interesting contemporary and feminist twist. His interest in forlorn love is at its best here, utilizing one of the lesser-known, but significant personages (among those in the U.S.,) as a tour-de-force vehicle into the narrow-minded, fickle, and antiquated Spanish 15-th century concept of women.
Though Aranda is notorious for explicit sexual portrayals, the ones in this film are not excessive nor senseless. Everything seems to have its place, and is quite believeable. FIVE STARS!!!

Mad Lovechild
A costume drama masquerading as an art-house sexual intrigue, MAD LOVE is far more about the trials of the human heart than it is about the temptations of the human flesh.

Queen Isabella of Spain arranges the marriage of her daughter, Joan, to Philip -- a romance novel covermodel complete with the long hair and bulging biceps if there ever was one -- a wealthy nobleman. Sexually awakened by Philip's hunger, Joan finds emotional contentment in loving her husband, bearing his children, and birthing heirs to her inevitable kingdom. However, after Philip's wandering eye is discovered, Joan edges further and further into acts of desperation to prove that the love she so long believed in was more than a facade.

Wonderfully photographed and evenly paced, LOVE moves briskly toward its inevitably grim climax, one perhaps not tidy enough for viewers all too sensitived to filmdom's increasing fascination with "alternate endings" and "living happily ever after." Arguably, fiction would've postulated a far more dramatic resolution to such an expansive tale of betrayal, but history teaches that perhaps the facts of the matter -- that perhaps the queen never finds happiness and that, perhaps, there are no answers in death -- are still the best representation.

As the ever slipping into obsession Queen Joan, Pilar Lopez De Ayala is a remarkable discovery. She tiptoes deftly between every notch on the emotional scale -- ecstacy, frenzy, compulsion, bitterness -- with accomplished ease.

However, the film's packaging and advertising would lead one to the conclusion that MAD LOVE is a bodice ripper of Academy Award proportions, and this is entirely misleading. While the film does boast several sexual encounters, they are -- with one notable exception -- relatively brief. That is not to say, however, that they are unimportant to the story; in fact, they are perhaps central to understanding Joan, Philip, and Beatriz's motivations and behaviors at a time when kings took consorts while queens were relegated to longing passions of the heart.

The official Spain entry for the Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film, MAD LOVE is quite the discovery. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Word thriller is stretched
This is a psychological thriller that lacks that tingling, excited, edge of your seat feeling because it goes on too long and there is not enough tension. A little physical tension might have helped. Veteran Spanish director Vicente Aranda, tells a tale of jealousy and places the male character Antonio as the focal point. He is nuts, insanely jealous, to the point of obsession. He seeks information about a photograph that has his lady, the lovely Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, who is Carmen, pictured with a group of friends with another man with his arm around her. Oh my God! She had a life before she met him, shame on her! For that she will become part of his obsession as Antonio seeks the mystery man and consequently finding out about her past. Antonio is a truck driver who delivers the oranges from the factory from which Carmen works. It seems that Antonio just has to give a nod of his head when he arrives and she can get relieved from her work on the conveyer belt to get together. Antonio spends alot of time on the road asking everyone about the mystery man. He does enough detective work, including the information gained from a prostitute to track the mystery man down. He eventually finds out what he doesn't really want to know and the ordeal brings Antonio and Carmen closer together for a drawn out climax. The cast is small but another woman's performance is worth watching. Maria Botto Cacho, who is the peg legged Cinta is great. Her performance won her a Goya(Spanish Oscar) and she is super as she tantalizes and teases men and complicates the plot. Not the best nor worst of thrillers, this movie experience is neither heaven nor hell, it is like being in purgatory, not hopeless but left somewhat dissapointed. It is an interesting portrait of a man over the edge, possessed by thoughts and ideas that are usually damaging to all parties involved. It reveals the insanity jealousy can create and ends with a twist of fate.

Pure melodrama, but excellently done and entertaining
A little more of some semblance of a subtext than Amantes de Arandas, but, obviously, less serious than the ultimately harrowing Libertarias. Aitana Sanchez-Gijon (apologies for being lazy and not turning on the proper alphabet) is quite beautiful and a good actress, if not as brilliant as the divine Victoria. Which, inevitably, leads to this review's complaint about absent DVDs. This time, you get two, both with Abril. Libertarias as noted above and, somebody get a grip please, Padre Nuestro. Sorry, back to Celos. Might take 'em a bit of time to get it, and it appears the English market version "Jealousy" (same movie) doesn't even exist, but it IS good and it is worth the wait. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Word thriller is stretched
This is a psychological thriller that lacks that tingling, excited, edge of your seat feeling because it goes on too long and there is not enough tension. A little physical tension might have helped. Veteran Spanish director Vicente Aranda, tells a tale of jealousy and places the male character Antonio as the focal point. He is nuts, insanely jealous, to the point of obsession. He seeks information about a photograph that has his lady, the lovely Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, who is Carmen, pictured with a group of friends with another man with his arm around her. Oh my God! She had a life before she met him, shame on her! For that she will become part of his obsession as Antonio seeks the mystery man and consequently finding out about her past. Antonio is a truck driver who delivers the oranges from the factory from which Carmen works. It seems that Antonio just has to give a nod of his head when he arrives and she can get relieved from her work on the conveyer belt to get together. Antonio spends alot of time on the road asking everyone about the mystery man. He does enough detective work, including the information gained from a prostitute to track the mystery man down. He eventually finds out what he doesn't really want to know and the ordeal brings Antonio and Carmen closer together for a drawn out climax. The cast is small but another woman's performance is worth watching. Maria Botto Cacho, who is the peg legged Cinta is great. Her performance won her a Goya(Spanish Oscar) and she is super as she tantalizes and teases men and complicates the plot. Not the best nor worst of thrillers, this movie experience is neither heaven nor hell, it is like being in purgatory, not hopeless but left somewhat dissapointed. It is an interesting portrait of a man over the edge, possessed by thoughts and ideas that are usually damaging to all parties involved. It reveals the insanity jealousy can create and ends with a twist of fate.

Pure melodrama, but excellently done and entertaining
A little more of some semblance of a subtext than Amantes de Arandas, but, obviously, less serious than the ultimately harrowing Libertarias. Aitana Sanchez-Gijon (apologies for being lazy and not turning on the proper alphabet) is quite beautiful and a good actress, if not as brilliant as the divine Victoria. Which, inevitably, leads to this review's complaint about absent DVDs. This time, you get two, both with Abril. Libertarias as noted above and, somebody get a grip please, Padre Nuestro. Sorry, back to Celos. Might take 'em a bit of time to get it, and it appears the English market version "Jealousy" (same movie) doesn't even exist, but it IS good and it is worth the wait. ... Read more