Luis Buñuel 2-disc Collector's Edition
Gran Casino (1947) The Young One (1960)
Product Description: GRAN CASINO: Set in the early 1900's, Bunuel's surprisingly mainstream and riveting romantic melodrama is the powerful tale of two escaped convicts, Gerardo (JORGE NEGRETE) and Demetrio (JULIO VILLARREAL), who convince an Argentinian oil magnate to let them work on his rig. When he suddenly disappears, his sister (LIBERTAD LAMARQUE) immediately suspects the two workers of foul play, but her attraction to Gerardo soon leads her to secretly team up with him to conduct their own murder investigation. Intricate and riveting, Bunuel's powerful melodrama combines murder, suspense and romance. Bunuel's riveting Mexican melodrama about an escaped convict's shocking relationship with his murdered boss's sister. THE YOUNG ONE: One of only two films shot by Bunuel in English, this provocative film is a mesmerizing story of power, deception and manipulatio set on a remote island off the Carolina coast. Falsely accused of a crime and on the run, an African/American musician (BERNIE HAMILTON) crosses paths with the island's game warden, a prejudiced man (ZACHARY SCOTT) determined to win the love of a naive teenage girl who instead shows affection for the fugitive. This fascinating melodrama shot by Bunuel in English intertwines power, deception and manipulation. Shot in English, Bunuel's mesmerizing melodrama creates a combustible mix of manipulation, deception and power.
(aka 'En el viejo Tampico ')
Mexico 1947
Set in the early 1900's, Bunuel's surprisingly mainstream and riveting romantic melodrama is the powerful tale of two escaped convicts, Gerardo (Jorge Negrete) and Demetrio (Julio Villarreal), who convince an Argentinian oil magnate to let them work on his rig. When he suddenly disappears, his sister (Libertad Lamarque) immediately suspects the two workers of foul play, but her attraction to Gerardo soon leads her to secretly team up with him to conduct their own murder investigation. Intricate and riveting, Bunuel's powerful melodrama combines murder, suspense and romance. Bunuel's riveting Mexican melodrama about an escaped convict's shocking relationship with his murdered boss's sister.
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Theatrical Release: June 12th, 1947
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DVD Review: Lionsgate (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC
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| Distribution | Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC | |
| Runtime | 1:35:36 | |
| Video | 1.33:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.48 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0) | |
| Subtitles | English, None | |
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Release Information: Edition Details: • Commentary
by Philip Kemp |
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NOTE: Lionsgate has sloppily mislabeled the two discs - the one imprinted as Gran Casino is actually The Young One and vice-versa. A single-layered DVD transfer but progressive and quite clean. Contrast is fairly good and detail very acceptable and actually considering the age - exceptionally strong. Good news again that I don't see excessive manipulation. It looks probably close to how it did 60 years ago. The Spanish mono track is supported with optional English subtitles. Like The Young One it appears to have come from Studio Canal as the print source.
Interesting to see this clandestine, and less than premuim, Buñuel effort and Phil Kemp gives a super commentary that is worth the price of the package alone. I'm very happy that Lionsgate took the trouble to include commentaries for both films in this boxset. It escalated the value immensely. |
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(aka 'Island of Shame' or 'La Joven' or 'White Trash')
Mexico/USA 19
Luis Buñuel's two English-language films, this picture and the 1952 The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, are among the most neglected of his middle-period Mexican films--made between his early surrealist masterpieces (Un chien andalou, L'age d'or, Land Without Bread) and the late European features (Viridiana, That Obscure Object of Desire) that revived his world reputation. The Young One is a taut comedy-thriller from 1961, set on a game-preserve island off the Carolina coast, though shot, surprisingly, in Mexico. A northern black jazz musician (Bernie Hamilton), fleeing a trumped-up rape charge involving a white woman, arrives on the island and is briefly befriended by a young teenage orphan (Key Meersman), the granddaughter of a handyman who's just died. An unfriendly game warden (Zachary Scott) who's taken a shine to the girl tries to kill the musician; eventually a local preacher (Claudio Brook) and the game warden's boatman (Crahan Denton) also turn up. A satiric look at both racism and sexual hypocrisy that refuses to take sides, this dark, sensual comedy of manners, adapted quite freely from a Peter Matthiessen story by the gifted blacklisted screenwriter Hugo Butler (under a pseudonym) along with Buñuel, is full of poetic asides and unexpected developments, revealing Buñuel's dark, philosophical wit at its most personal.
Excerpt from Jonathan Rosenbaum's capsule at The Chicago Reader located HERE
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Theatrical Release: May 1960 - Cannes Film Festival
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DVD Review: Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC
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| Distribution | Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC | |
| Runtime | 1:35:39 | |
| Video | 1.78:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.44 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
| Subtitles | English, Spanish, None | |
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Release Information: Studio: Lionsgate Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
Edition Details: • Commentary
by Peter Evans and Isabel Santaolalla |
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| Comments: |
NOTE: Lionsgate has sloppily mislabeled the two discs - the one imprinted as Gran Casino is actually The Young One and vice-versa. Another single-layered DVD transfer from Lionsgate but progressive and free of dirt and marks. Contrast is fairly good and detail very acceptable. Anamorphic from the original 1.85 ratio (we believe) and the English audio track is clear and is supported with optional English or Spanish subtitles.
The only extra is a top rated, full, commentary by Peter Evans and Isabel Santaolalla (authors of the book Luis Buñuel- New Readings). I loved Buñuel film commentaries as there is always so much under the surface to discuss and learn about. Evans and Santaolalla (beautiful accent) cover some good ground and fans of Buñuel will greatly enjoy. The DVD represents a great price for what is included and we definitely recommend! |
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CLICK to order from:
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| Distribution | Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC | |
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Gary Tooze
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Thank You!
