Description

In Dream of Light, the celebrated director of The Spirit of the Beehive, Victor Erice, achieves the miraculous: a direct look into how an artist creates. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

slow down poetry see deep soul (or how to lose your marble)
if the artist this film follows wasn't my favorite living artist i am not sure i would be as enamored by it

perhaps not, but then i loved Erice's "spirit of the beehive" as well

and the way this thing floats into poetic revery is completely compelling

my friends fell asleep, but

i've seen it numerous times and it keeps growing

Charming and Haunting Portrait of the Artist
It is very difficult to capture on film what a painting is about. You cannot really show what goes through a painters mind while he paints all you can really show is the physical act itself and so movies about painters at work are largely unsatisfying. What makes this film watchable is a couple of very simple things: the painter Antonio Lopez Garcia's personality, and Victor Erice's camera which finds poetry in every thing it looks at. Antonio Garcia Lopez comes across as a master craftsman, an utter perfectionist who would like to paint a Quince tree in his backyard but its not just the tree itself that fascinates him but rather the way the light hits it at a certain time of early afternoon. He begins painting in October and the weather quickly turns foul and the light that he so desires to capture vanishes with the seasons before he can finish so after weeks of work he abandons the idea of capturing that elusive light. He then begins again this time concentrating not on the light which is too unreliable but the tree which he draws with a pencil in painstaking detail going so far as to have a painter friend hold single leaves in place while he draws them. It is interesting to see Antonio Lopez Garcia work but what really gives the film a charm is the various people who stop by and the casual chat we hear between painter and friend, between painter and admirers, between painter and family. Also as he works on the painting a group of remodelers are doing some work on the interior of the house and Erice follows their progress as well. The films charms are modest really but there is something magical that builds and by films end you cannot take your eyes away from it. One particularly striking scene calls attention to the fact that this film is a work of art about a work of art: at night we see the shadow of a movie camera on its tripod against a wall as it films some Quinces that have fallen to the earth and begun rotting. The painter has attempted to capture the tree at its most beautiful and failed and yet Erice finds his beauty and poetry in the solitary and perhaps futile attempt to capture or preserve anything from the inevitable decay of time. I think the painter and the film maker have very different kinds of sensibilities and yet that is what gives the film its interest. It is not a mere documentary recording of a painter at work but a film maker commenting in his own signature way about artistic and natural processes(and all of his signature touches are here, Spirit of the Beehive fans will recognize this as the same haunting sensibilty that made that great film). So there is charm and there is depth here. One of the most memorable scenes has the painter lying down and holding a favorite object, a crystal, which he turns and marvels at as it catches the light, that most elusive and magical of all things to a painter, in different ways. He is lying down so that his wife, also a painter, can paint him. Antonio Lopez Garcia comments that perhaps after so much time working on this painting she should start again even though the painting looks nearly finished. His own frustrations and feelings of futility perhaps surfacing. After a while he falls asleep and the crystal drops from his hand and rolls over to his wife at her easel. He seems to exist in his own world, so too his wife in hers. They are each equally meticulous and equally immersed in their own work. Each life Erice seems to silently say with his camera is a separate entity and narrative immersed in its own mystery.

masterful portrait of a master artist
To put this simply, this is the best video portrait of an artist either contemporary or past. The film follows the great contempoary Spanish painter Antonio Lopez-Garcia as he paints a Quince tree in his studio backyard. No frills, no acting. This film is absolutely absorbing. The director has wisely done away with background music and other distracting frills - only the distant city sounds of Madrid in the background. The film explores Lopez-Garcia's legendary intricate working methods as well as his conversations with family, friends and admirers. Required viewing for any painter, especially. Very highly recommended. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Following the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro's trusted comrade Ernesto Che Guevara found himself becoming a bureaucrat. Seeking a return to action, Che eventually traveled in secret to Bolivia in 1966, hoping to foment a revolution on the South American mainland that would spread throughout all of Latin America. This documentary, which relies greatly on a journal Che kept during his time in Bolivia, as well as interviews with contemporaries who fought in the hills with him, provides an insightful look at his thoughts during the last year of his life. Che's apparent intent in Bolivia was, of course, to copy the success of the Cuban Revolution, but the words of his journal, as read in the documentary, betray his increasing hopelessness. His band of guerrillas was tiny and hungry, often more concerned with killing birds for food than with any principles of global revolution. According to those who appear on camera tospeak of Guevara's final days, it seems the peasants were terrified of gettinginvolved. Tracking Guevara's movements through the Bolivian mountains, thedocumentary proceeds at a leisurely pace, but it also provides a great deal ofinformation about Guevara's final days, leading up to his execution by Boliviantroops acting, some say, under the direction of the CIA. --Robert J.McNamara ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great footage of Che's final journey
Following the Bolivian trails where Che fought his last battles is quite moving. This documentary wore me out both emotionally, and in some strange way, physically.

Included in this film are photos of Che's original diary. Also included were interviews with people who met him during the Bolivian struggle. The most impressive interview was with a village schoolteacher who had a conversation with him moments before his execution.

Not the best book around
Che Guevara's legacy goes way deeper that what the book makes it to be. The book is obviously written by a westerner who does not respect this figure of history a whole bunch. Try other books written by more serious writer to find out the real story of Che. Long live Che.

Ernesto Che Guevara, The Bolivian Diary
Excellent. This one cut deep. Not only the facts about Che, but the people interviewed were extremely interesting. Hint: read the english subtitles fast. Some subtitles obscured by the film color but not too bad. I recommend this film to anyone interested in Che. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

More than documentary, a must for any film buff
Deafness merely happens to be the subject of this extraordinary documentary. Sensitive and unobstrusive, good camera work, wonderful rhythm, great story telling, sense of humor, no axe to grind and thus all the more moving. All the same adjectives apply to Philibert's "La Moindre des choses" about patients at a clinic outside Paris rehearsing for a play.

An interesting look into the Deaf culture.
I am a student of American Sign Language, and saw this movie in my class. I was surprised at my reaction to forcing the children to learn to speak. According to my instructor, who herself is deaf, this is very true to life. I recommend this movie to parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing before making any decision about forcing a child to speak just so that they can be "normal". ... Read more

Reviews (5)

One of Fellini's Best
This is my personal favorite Fellini film. His exercises in cinematic self-reflexivity and artistic subjectivity are wholly successful here, and the film is filled with sequences that never fail to inspire curiosity, amusement, and fascination. While there's no shortage of the grotesque, eerily dream-like images that have come to be regarded as "Felliniesque", there is also a great deal of warmth that's impossible to dislike. If you like this film, you should also watch "Roma", which similiarly parodies the pretensions of documentary films within a relatively non-linear framework.

A true classic!

Uneven, sentimental, but with breath-taking sequences
Originally made for TV, this film has some real dry patches (the scripted pseudo-documentary sections of Fellini & his film crew are particularly arch), but it's all worth it for the moments of absolutely heart-stopping wonder it contains. When this film was first released theatrically in the U.S., I returned to see it repeatedly just to watch the AUDIENCE at the moment when the "dead" clown, visibly harnessed, lifts off the neck of the giant champagne bottle and begins swinging around the soundstage as millions of streamers shoot down. Ya gotta be there. Probably far more effective on the large screen, as a communal audience experience, but don't let that stop you from viewing it on video.

puts a smile on your face
This light-hearted movie always makes me bit happier even when I'm blue. Federico Fellini is a great director and captures the clowns true nature at a great angle

Overly sentimental view of old, embittered clown actors
Unless you are a student of clowns then skip this one. It is centered on interviewing old, out of fashion, European clown stars. Most are creepy old men that are not amusing and, to be kind, drunks. It's long, it's boring. Not a happy film which was perhaps his intent to show a counterpoint to a clown's usual image. He belabours his point. If you love the Circus try it.

Very colorful
I am looking forwaard to the DVD versio ... Read more

Reviews (21)

The film that started it all...
Without the Luis Bunuel/Salvador Dali collaboration UN CHIEN ANDALOU, there might well have been no PINK FLAMINGOS, no ERASERHEAD, no Pasolini or Godard or Polanski etc. etc. etc., at least not the way we know and love them. Bunuel was once called the "Alfred Hitchcock of the Avant-Garde". Although most of what critics say makes as much sense to me as stereo instructions might to a Mayan tribesman, I have to say that that's pretty accurate; no one delved so deeply into the subconscious on-camera so successfully and so gleefully. And this is the film that started it all. Infamous eyeball-slicing aside (if such a notion is plausible), there is alot to be marvelled and shocked by. Of course, this isn't going to cause a riot (as it most assuredly did when it premiered in Paris in 1928... everyone, I'm sure, knows the story about Bunuel presiding over the record player that would supply the film's soundtrack at the film's premiere, his pockets filled with rocks), but it still packs a surprising nihilistic wallop after more than 70 years. I'm not going to reveal any of what you will see. It should suffice though, to tell you, that after these 20 or so minutes are over, you'll realize you've seen probably the closest cinematic approximation to a dream EVER produced. EVER. Viva Bunuel!...

2 Must See Films
In "Un Chien Andalou", Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali create a surreal film that undoubtedly influenced and led to other films and even comercials that we've all seen. I was particularly reminded of the images Pink Floyd would later use for their covers and concerts. The use of music (and the music itself) is fantastic, adding to the humor, melacholy and drama of the scenes and actors, who themselves are excellent, even without a single spoken word. One might think that's easy, but then one would only need to see Jean Cocteau's "Blood of a Poet" to see that it's not. "Land Without Bread" is equally surreal, but earie as well since it's actually a documenatry and what you see is real. The obscene poverty of a small spanish town is a fitting subject for Buñuels first and only documentary. Filmed in the early 30's, one is suddenly struck with the uncomfertable realization of what one is viewing; some scenes being downright grotesque, all the more so since they are not staged; yet in the hands of a master like Buñuel.

surrealism at the expense of...
un chien andalou is a brilliant surreal piece of work by bunuel and the great dali. the part i have a problem with however is the second film on this tape, "land without bread". i don't buy into the idea that bunuel actually gave a rip about these people in spain but merely used and exploited them in probably the most warped faux documentary i have ever seen. if his supposed genius was in some way going to make me say, "wow, that was a brilliant piece of surreal work and caught in a documentary style that made me feel empathy for these poor destitude people". that isn't what i got out of it. complete trash. and for those of you that look at "land without bread" as a masterpiece of cinematic surrealism, go get your 8mm video cam and take a trip to some third world country and film them in all their poverty and disease and come back tell me that was a moving and artistic moment for you. no redeeming social value what so ever... death to bourgeoisie!

'Land Without Bread' might be Bunuel's masterpiece
'Un chien andalou' (1928) is the best-known film on this video and is a fascinating work in its own right, but the real masterpiece here is undoubtedly 'Land Without Bread' ('Las Hurdes'). As great as most of Bunuel's subsequent films would be, this 27-minute 1932 work arguably towers above them all. Calling it a documentary would not do justice to its unrivaled breadth: among other things, this film asks the questions 'what is a documentary?' and 'what is the role of the documentarist?', and this prevents us from using definitive, short-circuiting labels. In fact, no label could conceivably express this film's power. The controversy surrounding this work has three main sources: 1) some of the sequences have apparently been staged by Bunuel; 2) the impersonal narration seems in direct contrast to the pain and tragedy that unfolds on the screen; 3) so is Bunuel's choice of using Brahms's Fourth symphony as background music. For these reasons, cinephiles have been disagreeing for over 70 years about Bunuel's treatment of human and animal misery in this film. For me, his audacious technique creates a space - a window - between the viewer and the plight of the Hurdanos; it is this space that somehow transfigures their misery, rather than merely exploit it (as some have suggested). The film becomes a true initiation for the viewer: it provides a difficult, troubling but potentially life-changing experience. In the end, Bunuel's intentions do not matter as much as the impact his film can have on those who see it; and for this viewer, he has carved a moving, mysterious and ineffable work.

At one time
I find these films interesting for their period statements. At one time Un Chien Andalou was a statement about nothing. It is now, however, an exploration into metaphor that we never could never leave undiscovered. People may think they remain the same but their symbols are reused with new interpretations. This movie is like lost love rediscovered, forgetting the reason for the loss.

Land Without Bread is such a racist, bigoted statement that it boggles the mind. Imagine a time when some human existence could be so distant that it was judged only appropriate for a carny sideshow. This movie is like a right wing view to a kill, totally without sensitivity or compassion.

How we have changed. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Jorge Zanada's documentary on the Argentinian Tango
"Tango: Our Dance" refers to the people of Buenos Aires for whom the Tango is much more than a dance. It is a ritual imbued with great sensuality and style. Director Jorge Zanada is not offering up an extended music video, because this documentary looks at how the Tango fits uniquely into the culture of Argentina focusing on the elements of passion and machismo contained within the dance. Robert Duvall makes a "special appearance" in this film which is in English with Spanish subtitles. "Tango Bayle nuestro" won the Golden Precolumbian Circle Best Documentary Award at the 1989 Bogota Film Festival. Ultimately, this film is more about culture than it is about dance per se.

docu with real tango
Finaly a documentry with real danced Argentine tango with normal people, realy improvising on the music. Not everything I like in this video, there is a part with Ballroom tango and a choreographed dance (orgenised by an american program for latino's) that misses the point, but I like realy the end, a ballet , but it is beatifully danced in real Tango stile, that means heavy, down to the ground.

Real Tango
Somewhat overwrought in its politics, but this film does put tango in its cultural context. This film shows ordinary people dancing the tango and talking about the dance they love. It contrast the real tango in Buenos Aires and the acrobatic tango you see in shows. This film is insightful and passionate and beautiful and sad, much like the tango itself.

Marvelous Docu-commentary on "real" Milonga style Tango.
I was bemused by another review of this film which asserted "an inebriated Robert Duvall portrays an aging gigelo, pandering to old ladies."

Duvall's portion, a very small portion, merely relates his reasons for visiting Argentina, to learn Tango at it's cradle of inception. The interview is obviously in a hotel room, where he speaks compactly about his love and interest in Tango. He "plays" no part. He does not dance.

This video is no more than an amazing documentary and cultural commentary on the "Milonga" style of Tango; it's past, it's future and simply dazzling performances of now aging non-professional stars of Tango, who are passing the torch of this cultural heritage of Buenos Aires on to another generation. There is an inate sadness in the interviews of the older "Asfalto" Milongueros, the dancers, who see this dance form slipping into disuse, in favor of the European and American style; something that the, the old timers, cannot relate to. Backed by excellent music and stunning exhibitions by "Portenos", this film is a "keeper", to be played over and over again, for it's dance, it's music, it's form and the shear enjoyment of Tango.

One of Duvall's greatest films.
As a tango instructor at an Arthur Murray studio in East Islip, New Jersey, Duvall commands the viewer's attention with his cynical, jaded, bored, and slightly inebriated portrayal. Ripping off infatuated elderly ladies who only want to be young again so they can dance with him, Duvall's conscience never begins to get the better of him. Then a new instructor is hired - a younger, more attractive Mason Williams. Watch the fireworks and fancy footwork as these two gigolos compete ruthlessly for the attentions of their elderly clientele. You must see this one! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

hustlers in prague
this documet about hustlers in prague in 1994 is well done. in some parts, u woldn't believe how stupid can teenagers be. but if you have to choose between angels but not angels or body without soul, take the second one. it goes deeper into the problem. i also recomend movie mandragora, which is based on these two documents and real story about two hustlers in prague.

The Other Side of Prague
I've been visiting Prague on a regular basis now and have found it to be a very extra-ordinary place.... quite magical I would say. Like any developing country, prostitution is a part of life. It's a choice and no but's..... like the casts of this movie, all of them had a choice but they choose to make money the "easy" way. Although I like this movie, this is no different from other movies made with the same theme. It always try to depict the "prostitute" as the victim. I'm not saying that they're not but no one forced them to this "profession" and this movie would actually prove me right. It's sad, in a way, but that is life!

Good insight to the seedy underbelly of Prague
For those of you who have never been to Prague or those who like to learn about eastern europe this is a good insight. i've been there several times and have witnessed first hand what this picture is about. it is a documentary that describes in detail the horrific and dreary lives of those less fortunate in post-communist czech republic. the things that young boys have to do to survive in the big city, having come from small villages outside Prague--this is not a documentary for children. This is a documentary for those who like to learn about all facets of life around the world. Picture quality is not as bad as previous reviews would lead you to believe. I think if you buy it and don't like it you could donate it to a local university's socialogy department.

Adequate Treatment, Not Great
Grodecki's "Not Angels But Angels" is fair treatment of the overwhelming issue adolescent male prostitution in Prague. Although I think his fictionalized treatment in "Mandragora" is better, this is a good first look into these young boys world. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

a very moving collection of home videos of WWII
This is a documentary film comprising home videos shot by six German soldiers at the Russian front during World War II, combined with their present day reflections on the war and the experience of shooting the war. There is a lot of rather disjointed footage from the past, which, together with the current interviews with the soldiers, is skillfully edited into a very unified piece.

For me, what is most compelling about this film is not the war footage itself, but rather the soldiers talking about their footage as we watch it. Interspersed with scenes of the war are close-ups of these men as they continue speaking of their experience.....the expressions on their faces, which often belie their words, give an extremely accurate account on the effects of war on its survivors--effects which last a lifetime.

Thus, this is not just documentary of interest to World War II buffs. This film should interest anyone interested in the effects of war on people, and by extension, society.

Mein Kreig
I was deeply impressed with the directors' ability to connect images of film shot by German soldiers in the 1941 Russian campaign with their present-day recollections fifty years after the war. Moving back and forth between vintage footage (some of it in beautiful, vintage color) and interviews, the movie uniquely illuminates the war with the veterans' understanding and interpretation of century-old events. Time changes many young men's views of war, and most of the interviewed veterans seemed to come to sobering and disturbing conclusions of the purpose of the Russian campaign and their participation in the Nazi military effort. Seeing images of Germany and Russia in color also has a profound effect as we are so used to seeing only black and white images of that period that it was almost like viewing the past through some magical history-lens. Anyone with interest in modern European history or World War II will find this film magical, illuminating and haunting. The film does include footage of combat and discussion of atrocities and is probably not appropriate for children.

Mein Kreig, go for it
This DVD is not for people with a closed mind, it is an example of journalism not a war story. It is the simple story of German cameramen in WWII, what they saw, what happened them and how they felt. Is is refreshing to see footage of WWII that isn't written from an action or moral stance. It is a fly on the fall that runs from the start of the war when these men moved forward with their nations troops right up to the time that they arrived home after defeat and what awaited when they got "home". There are no big battle sceens and their certainlt is no happy ending. Buy it and use it as educational material.

Also recommemded is Das Boat.
God bless the memory of all people killed in war.

Landsers narrate their own war
I was a bit disappointed by this DVD, but it is still worth having. It provides some very penetrating insight onto bits of everyday life for the German landser on the Eastern front -- the footage is mostly of barracks, hospitals, rear-areas, roads, and only rarely the front -- but its short length (90 minutes) and the unavoidable messiness brought about by editing the amateur footage of six different men into one narrative gave it a ragged, uneven feel. It also seemed like the documentarians' questions were fairly loaded, as if they were trying to force the ex-landsers into admitting guilt for their participation in the war (which it was obvious only one or two of them really felt) rather than simply letting their words speak for themselves. The air of judgementalism, whether or not it is justified, has no place in a neutral format such as this. In any case, there are many fine moments in the footage. The striking (color) image of the ragged swastika flag flying over the barracks and the Nazi-style monuments is jarring because it looks so recent. One rarely gets such a sense of connection the historical past with B&W film. Similarly the color shots of the soldiers make them look alive and real in a way B&W film does not. One gets a sense that indeed, all of this did really happen. Seeing bombed-out ruins of Polish and Russian cities in black-and-white is one thing, but in color it is striking. There was not as much color as I had hoped, but the other scenes of the AA gun shooting down the Russian plane, the night tank scrap, the retreat in the mud sea and the unexpected arrival of Field Marshal von Manstein for dinner in the field are all very interesting, as is much of the narrative. To see men talking about the experiences they filmed themselves, fifty years later, is often moving. I just wish there was more of it.

Soldaten speak
What is gripping is the combination of pride and defensiveness in the retired landsers. You get the impression some are unwilling to reveal explicitly what they really think because these thoughts became unacceptable in May 1945. If I am right, the film is a real achievement. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Werner Herzog's documentary on the Wodaabe Tribe
German director Werner Herzog is known for setting his feature films such as "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" and "Fitzcarraldo" in remote places inhabited by primitive people, so it is not all that surprising that this documentary studies the Wodaabe, a tribe of Saharan nomads whose life has not progressed much beyond the Stone Age. Herzog, an interesting anthropologist to be sure, is captivated by the mating rituals of the tribe, in which the men make themselves beautiful so that the women can select their husbands. An interesting film, but do not expect it to be comparable to Herzog's dramatic work. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Deadly Currents
This was a phenomenal movie! I would very highly recommend it for anyone wanting a honest and unbiased explanation of the Israeli-Palestinian issues. It examines both sides of the conflict throughly, and immerses the watcher in the reality and the pain of the situation. Everybody should watch this ......

you gatta know that kind of world!!
I just watched this film at my school. I was so shocked and surprised because that was for the first time I saw that kind of film. I liked the film because of their ways of expresions of anger. however, I didn't know about thier history and english is not my first languages so I could not understand the whole story. does anyone can tell me more about this film? ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Outstanding! A real eye opener!
Martin Sheen does an outstanding job of narrating the journey through Burma, Cambodia, and Vietnam. He takes us where we can not go on our own. This documentary is a total eye opener to cultures that we learn little about in the mainstream press. It makes one appreciate what advanced civilizations once existed in this part of the world, and how the people now manage their lives despite oppressive governments. This video is a must see. It will make the viewer want to experience the Burmese and Khmer cultures first hand. Outstanding footage of Angkor Wat is shown.

VIETNAM, CAMBODIA AND BURMA - TOTALLY EXOTIC!
This video, narrated by Martin Sheen, takes us into closed, hidden Burma to see what the government there doesn't want us to see - a repressed society, and then shows us golden temples, Inle Lake, Pagan, Mandalay, Rangoon - then to Cambodia, just awakening after decades of struggle, then on to Vietnam - opening its doors to commerce. Rick Ray, the director has done a superb job, in National Geographic style - of documenting this journey. Better than the Video Visits or Lonely Planet series - he traveled with only a backpack and shot an intimate portrait of these places and people. It is fascinating - I'll watch it over and over. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Triumph of the Will is one of the most important films ever made.Not because it documents evil--more watchable examples are being made today. And not as a historical example of blind propaganda--those (much shorter) movies are merely laughable now. No, Riefenstahl's masterpiece--and it is a masterpiece, politics aside--combines the strengths of documentary and propaganda into a single, overwhelmingly powerful visual force.

Riefenstahl was hired by the Reich to create an eternal record of the 1934 rally at Nuremberg, and that's exactly what she does. You might not become a Nazi after watching her film, but you will understand too clearly how Germany fell under Hitler's spell. The early crowd scenes remind one of nothing so much as Beatles concert footage (if only their fans were so well behaved!).

Like the fascists it monumentalizes, Triumph of the Will overlooks its own weaknesses--at nearly two hours, the speeches tend to drone on, and the repeated visual motifs are a little over-hypnotic, especially for modern viewers. But the occasional iconic vista (banners lining the streets of Nuremberg, Hitler parting a sea of 200,000 party members standing at attention) will electrify anyone into wakefulness. --Grant Balfour ... Read more

Reviews (89)

Great Historical Film
...He is correct in saying the film is great for history buffs and that is what I am (BA-Hist). This film depicts history. It is an inside look at Nazi Germany. Turn off the lights when you watch it and you will think you have a front row seat at a Nuremburg rally. It may have been produced as propaganda but what it is now is nothing short of historical documentation, regardless of how the images were woven together.

It has great footage and shows all of the regular Nazi Nuts and ones you have never seen or heard before. I loved being able to listen to them in German with subtitles instead of having a narrator. You can have that too. I bought the Special Edition DVD. The quality of this black and white film is the best I have ever seen. Special features include English subtitles and voice-over narration (all optional).

Leni did not hire Industrial Light and Magic to insert millions of regimented Nazi followers. They are the real thing. The Nazi movement clearly stirred nationalistic fervor. You cannot deny the images. They speak for themselves. The German people were caught up in a movement of incredible proportions and this movie shows you what it was like in the early years of the Third Reich. Germans killed millions and millions of Germans died in WW II. This movie will give you a very good idea of what the Allied forces were fighting against.

A most valuable historical record
It's easy to see how this now famous (or infamous) 1934 film by Leni Riefenstal could have helped reinforce Hitler's already dizzying domination of the German psyche. For our own time, it helps reveal the human complexity of the Nazi phenomenon - so much more than just a march of crazed fanatics, as it's often stereotyped today. Triumph of the Will is particularly relevant to current politics - the Austrian controversy, as well as the continued importance of various dictators who still garner so much of the media spotlight.

Sadly, the near-sightedness of the Nazi mentality and its contradictory nature were already glaringly apparent at the time the movie was shot. Hitler's frenzied admonitions to value "peace" but at the same time to cultivate "courage", bristle with contradiction and hypocrisy. Brief allusions to racial purity and clear-cut moral rectitude are darkly ominous, as are the reiterated pledges of allegiance to Hitler , the man. It's instructive to compare Nazi rhetoric with much of today's political hype. Though, as many others have pointed out, nobody else has done it with quite the same elan. Sad to think that had they watched their own film with a more discerning eye, they might have seen what we see.

From an artistic standpoint, I can appreciate why it's cited as one of the most accomplished of all propagandist vehicles. Nazi shortcomings notwithstanding, the film is stunning. Riefenstahl's contribution is self-evident - even if she didn't direct the action herself, she captured and organized it admirably. But for all that, it is still the action which is most spellbinding. The gripping facial expressions, the charismatic speeches, the thundering shouts of allegiance, the enormous scale and choreography - all of this actually took place! Combine that with historical perspective - knowing what all of it would lead to - and the movie acquires a distincively haunting quality.

I not only recommend this film to others, I strongly advise it. It captures the very essence of social fanaticism. Many will instinctively feel its primitive appeal, and then, after putting it into perspective, recognize its inherent madness. Watching this movie, appreciating the feelings it evokes and reflecting on what it all means, will make the viewer a better person.

This Special Edition is good as it gets.
The Synapse DVD Special Edition surpassed all expectations. I had Triumph of the Will on video prior to obtaining this DVD and the video's visual and audio quality was poor. By contrast, this DVD is visually very crisp and sharp and the audio quality is fine The DVD appears to be produced from an excellent original film print. I've seen another DVD of TOTW produced by different company, and its quality was the same as the video version :substandard. Make sure you get the Synapse version. This Special Edition is good as it gets.

A GREAT LOOK AT WHAT MODERN USA HAS BECOME
THIS FILM GIVES A GREAT INSIDE LOOK AT HOW THE NOW MODERN USA OPERATES IN ITS POLITICS UNDER GEORGE W BUSH. WHO IS ALOMOST A CLONE OF HITLER. I RECCOMEND THIS FILM TO ANY BUSH SUPPORTER JUST FOR THEM TO SEE HOW ALIKE BUSH AND HITLER REALLY ARE.

An Influential Masterpiece of Cinematic Propaganda
Riefenstahl's documentary made for Adolf Hitler and the NAZI party in the early 1930's. The documentary primarily covers the Nuremburg rallies and the activities that surrounded these events. Again, this is a propaganda film and was designed to stir popular sentiment and political empathy for the infamous political party.

If one understands the socio-political climate of Germany in the late 1920s and early 1930s, one can clearly see what sentiments the film seeks to evoke and hence recognize its significance and brilliant execution. For example, Germany was in a state of shambles because of the global economic depression and many Germans feared an inevitable collapse to anarchy or Bolshevism. The opening scene starts with a Wagnerian piece and shows Hitler in a plane peering down from high above the clouds as he arrives for the rally. The scene sought to reassure a worried public that The Fuhrer was omnipotent, omniscient, and was coming down from the heavens to save a troubled nation in a godlike fashion. When he arrives at the stadium, Hitler is shown walking with his SA escort out of the crowd and towards the podium instead from behind the podium to look down at the crowd; this was to instill the notion that Hitler wasn't just another Berlin bureaucrat from the old failed Weimar Republic coming to talk down to a broken people; it was done to evoke the sense that he was a man of the people for the peole: selflessly arising out of a worried crowd of fellow Germans to lead them to a better and safer future. This particular scene was so influential in film that George Lucas adapted it (and many other scenes) for the closing scene to the original Star Wars when Luke, Han, and Chewy are decorated by Lea. Other scenes of happy German blonde and blue-eyed youths or common laborers performing paramilitary/social tasks were intended to evoke a proud sense of unity, purpose, and safety amongst all true German "volk" in these troubled times. In the background, the narrative voice recites how all German women should should bear many children for the Fatherland; how men should unite for the Fatherland and not Godless Bolshevism; how youths should work to better their nation; etc., etc.

The mass communication techniques of Riefenstahl and Goebbels are still used today by virtually every modern government and media firm. This film is important not only as a histiorical tool in understanding the rise of Nazism and the dynamics of facism, it is a very important landmark in the development of film, mass entertainment and mass communication in general. I strongly believe that every person who seeks to better understand their world and media see this film at least once and study it. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Brilliant!
I met Carlos Drummond de Andrade one year before he passed away. The documentary on O Amor Natural is the best approach anyone could have on his work. Although he did not want the poems to be published while he was alive, the fact they did get published, is something that makes our universe more rich; If Drummond de Andrade was alive, he would be proud of the book as well as the approach taken on the documentary video. A must.

The difference between indecent and erotic is art.
This funny, charming and beautiful little film shares with you the lovely words of Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade and the passionate people of his country. Drummond was a respected poet before his death, but his works of erotic poetry, which we published posthumously per his request, cast him in a whole new light and won him many new fans. This film shows older Brazilians reading selections of his work and sharing their own tales of sexual exploits - with humor and surprising honesty. It at once offers a glimpse of the Brazil everyone knows (the sensual, passionate, Carnaval-loving Brazil) and the human, sensitive side that most people never see. O Amor Natural celebrates the power of love, sex and language. I suggest watching it with someone you love.

a favorite brazilian film
After his death in the 1987, the Brazilian poet Carlos Drummondde Andrade was discovered to have left an unpublished body of eroticpoetry. Heddy Honigmann seized on the brilliant idea to have citizens of Rio Janeiro read the recently available poems out loud in front of the camera. These people are very open and insightful; I don't know how Honigmann found them. Perhaps this is just how Brazilians are.

Honigmann is, I believe, the woman whose voice we hear off camera throughout the documentary, a Dutch woman with excellent Portuguese. She comes on camera in the final sequence to read a peom. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Disappointed
This is a one hour long documentary that friviously combines homosexuality with totalitarian propaganda. Cannot be compared to "Strawberries and chocolate"

Fascinating true-life story of tolerance and acceptance
A fascinating true-life story of how a determined troupe of drag performers in a "model socialist town" in macho Cuba not only made a name and a business for themselves while operating a nightclub cantina and providing locals with great entertainment, but became accepted as a part of the fabric of daily life in modern Cuba. A compelling insight into a Cuba most Americans don't know exists, with a Spanish music soundtrack to die for.

An insight into a rarely seen aspect of life in Cuba.
I've been to Cuba a number of times, and I find this documentary informative and exciting because, like "Strawberries and Chocolate," it shows a side of Cuban society the ordinary visitor is unlikely to see. Here, in a large-scale housing development for construction workers and their families just outside of Havana, a popular Saturday night form of entertainment is a variety show put on by a group of amateur performers -- in drag! Their costumes are colorful and sexy, and their lip-syncing and movements convey an intensity and variety of emotional interpretation that create a moving rapport with their audiences. What makes the film especially affecting, though, is the interweaving of interviews with the performers, who in "real" life engage in a variety of occupations, and with family members who have struggled to understand and accept this aspect of the lives of a son, a brother, even a father. It is a revelation to see this occurring openly in a country that only recently frowned on any manifestations of homosexuality.

A little something for each of many interests.
This documentary is a treat! It has something about the internal politics of Cuba. It has something about being poor in an urban setting. It has something about the lives of drag queens. It has something about Latin American culture and mores. And it is all tied together in a neat and charming package that is moving, funny, sad, and thought provoking. I loved it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Poor edition of a decent film
Pasolini's Love Meetings is an interesting and humorous look at sexual ideas and taboos in early 1960's Italy. Through a series of interviews with members of the general public in various cities in Italy, Pasolini creates a pastiche (and gets a wide variety of responses) about such topics as divorce, homosexuality, prostitution, and equality. It's fairly interesting and entertaining, until the very end when Pasolini makes his "conclusion," essentially stating his own political beliefs, some of which are opposed to the information he's gathered in his film.

My major complaints about the disc are the transfer and the subtitles. The subtitles are all-white and are burned in (not optional). The subtitles might not have been such a problem if the film hadn't been in black-and-white and very washed out, making it impossible to read them in various places in the film. The print itself is scratched, but watchable.

I'd recommend this film for Pasolini completists and people studying the history of the documentary - it serves as an interesting precursor to I Am Curious - Yellow. As it's unlikely that Love Meetings will get a better edition any time soon, (at least in Region 1), if you're interested, check it out. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Poor edition of a decent film
Pasolini's Love Meetings is an interesting and humorous look at sexual ideas and taboos in early 1960's Italy. Through a series of interviews with members of the general public in various cities in Italy, Pasolini creates a pastiche (and gets a wide variety of responses) about such topics as divorce, homosexuality, prostitution, and equality. It's fairly interesting and entertaining, until the very end when Pasolini makes his "conclusion," essentially stating his own political beliefs, some of which are opposed to the information he's gathered in his film.

My major complaints about the disc are the transfer and the subtitles. The subtitles are all-white and are burned in (not optional). The subtitles might not have been such a problem if the film hadn't been in black-and-white and very washed out, making it impossible to read them in various places in the film. The print itself is scratched, but watchable.

I'd recommend this film for Pasolini completists and people studying the history of the documentary - it serves as an interesting precursor to I Am Curious - Yellow. As it's unlikely that Love Meetings will get a better edition any time soon, (at least in Region 1), if you're interested, check it out. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Comic, Fascinating, Filled With Brilliance.
There probably could never be anybody capable of making a documentary about Klaus Kinski other than Werner Herzog. After all, as the title emplies, Kinski was Herzog's best fiend. This is an endlessly fascinating portrait of an actor who was a genius, a madman and a tender soul. Herzog creates a rich film here that never bores. He doesn't turn it into a mournful memory where he might just sit in a chair and talk to a camera, no, he takes us to the locations where he and Kinski filmed, travels to visit crew members and friends and shows us unique behind the scenes footage. The beginning is shocking but intuitive, as Kinski gets into heated arguments with audience members during a performance as Jesus Christ. And if you look at it, shouldn't this be the way hecklers should be handled anyway? Kinski remains a fascinating figure through-out, a brilliant actor who could perfectly become a character and take over the screen. Herzog is a mad genius too and so his portrait of his best friend is really filled with depth and even touching at times. We see them filming in the harsh conditions they went up against to make the masterpieces "Aguirre, The Wrath Of God" and "Fitzcarraldo." We see Kinski and his famous tantrums as he chews out crew members and Herzog in truly violent-mouthed ways.... It is always interesting to hear Herzog talk about the making of the movies and there stunning vistas, like the amazon and Andes where the two mentioned films were made (we see the stunning sequence from the beginning of "Aguirre" where we see hundreds of Spanish conquistadors look like ants as they walk down an Andean slope). One thing the movie should be valued for is that Herzog does not only show the dark, crazy side of Kinski, he also shows the nice side. The last shot is truly memorable where Kinski is gently playing with a butterfly and we see his gentle, tender side. The movie is also comic, especially when we see two brilliant artists battle it out. It's funny to see that Kinski and Herzog loved and loathed each-other equally. "My Best Fiend" is a must for movie buffs, fans of Herzog or Kinski, and for anybody who is fascinated by films that explore unique minds. It is a fascinating, memorable piece of work.

My Best Fiend
"I was not excellent! I was not extraordinary! I was monumental! I was epochal!" Klaus Kinski, in response to a compliment from a theatre critic.

From the moment the film "My Best Fiend" begins, you are shocked and mezmerized by the sight of Klaus Kinski in a live performance piece, where he assumes the guise of an iconoclastic Jesus Christ, who proceeds to berate, denounce and even physically challange members of the audience. From that moment on, it is clear that Kinski is either completely mad, or teetering at the very edge of insanity. What director Werner Herzog has done, is to reveal their fascinating working relationship, by which he had to manipulate and channel Kinski's madness, so that his intensity could be captured by the camera, and used in his movies. Their collaboration resulted in such great movies as "Aguirre, The Wrath of God," and "Fitzcarraldo." The series of catastrophes that occured during both of these movie shoots on the Amazon, coupled with the stars' total instability, brought out the best and worst in Kinski, demonstrating that great art can sometimes be the result of two artists at war with each other. The location scenes along the Amazon are hauntingly beautiful, wild and frightening. It is the perfect backdrop and metaphor for Klaus Kinski's performances in these movies. The DVD offers the option of hearing Werner Herzog's narration in German or English.

Conflict is good
The title's play on words pretty much sums up the sentiment of the film. Herzog's depiction of his relationship with Kinski is painfully honest, but it is not hard to see the affection mingled with the frustration. Kinski was a mad man and nearly impossible to work with. And yet Herzog chose to work with him again and again, and with great results. This film is a tribute to their contentious and productive relationship.

There are some really funny stories here, including one where Herzog actually threatened to kill Kinski. Some may have heard of this spat, but it is still interesting to hear Herzog's dead-pan account.

Very honest, very informative, very entertaining documentary about a very complex relationship. It goes beyond friendship. It just had to be, whether either of them wanted it or not.

Character assassination
While providing an interesting behind-the-scenes glimpse at Herzog's truly stupendous films, this amounts to little more than a sustained attack on Kinski. Perhaps Kinski deserves it, but Herzog constantly pushes anyone who says anything nice about Kinksi (which is most of those interviewed) to say something negative about him, usually trying to remind them of some horriffic episode or another. This gets trying in a hurry. Perhaps the greatest display of pathology here are Herzog's transparent attempts to smear someone held in affectionate regard by people he worked with.

How not to Manage Conflict
I first recommend that a viewer rent Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes and Fitzcarraldo before viewing this documentary. To undestand the importance of this collaboration it is necessary to first see the films that it produced.

Herzog revisits the locations near Macchu Pichu where artistic passions blossomed into homicidal rage in the crucible of the Peruvian rainforest.

Herzog is fascinated by notions of human madness, obsession, and conciousness. This theme is the focus of most of his films. In Fitzcarraldo, the madness leads to incredible triumph and success, in Aguirre it leads to revolt, death, and utter chaos. What is most important to note is that in both instances is that the madness of the dominant individual, whether Fitz or Aguirre, is an intoxicating charisma that conforms a following to the individual's will. This is Kinski's obsession even when the cameras aren't rolling, and it is this passion that attracts Herzog's interest, an interest perhaps tied to his childhood in post-Third Reich Germany. Perhaps Herzog underestimated Kinski's persuasive rage that nearly turned Herzog's jungle endeavors into Pizzarro's folly. ... Read more