Montenegro

Starring:Susan Anspach, Erland Josephson, Marianna Jacobi, James Marsh (II), John Zacharias, Per Oscarsson, Marina Lindahl, Bora Todorovic, Lisbeth Zachrisson, Svetozar Cvetkovic, Patricia GÃ©lin, Dragan Ilic (II), Nikola Janic, Mile Petrovic, John Parkinson (II), Jan Nygren, Lasse Ã…berg, Kaarina Harvistola, Ewa Gisslen, Elsie Hohn
Director: Dusan Makavejev
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The landscape looks like the surface of the moon. Set in Brazil's Maranhão desert, House of Sand follows three generations of women, from 1910 to 1969, as they eke out a living from this hostile environment. Oafish Vasco (director Ruy Guerra) brings pregnant wife Áurea (Fernanda Torres) and her mother, Dona Maria (Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station), from the city to make a new start. Shortly after they arrive, fate takes him out of the picture. Mother and daughter muddle through with the help of slave descendents. Wary at first, Massu (Seu Jorge, City of God) takes a particular shine to the duo. The story then skips ahead to 1919, when an escape route materializes. There will be two more shifts in time. By 1942, Áurea's daughter, Maria (Torres), has grown into impetuous womanhood, while Áurea (Montenegro) and Massu (Luiz Melodia) have settled into middle age. In the final section, set during the year of the first lunar landing, Áurea (Montenegro) is around the same age as her mother at the start of the film. With the exception of Camilla Facundes as nine-year-old Maria, Torres and her real-life mother assume every female role. What does it all mean? Andrucha Waddington (Me You Them) doesn't burden his enigmatic epic with a singular message, but those who appreciate dust-swept dramas like Woman in the Dunes and Walkabout aren't likely to hold it against him. The point seems to be that the human--especially the female--capacity for survival knows no bounds. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Stills from House of Sand (click for larger image)

Sony

Filmed entirely on the magnificent, sandy coast of northern Brazil, Áurea's saga begins in 1910, in Maranhão, where her fanatical husband has relocated his family to start a farm. Desperate and pregnant, Áurea (Fernanda Torres) longs to return to the city, but cannot traverse the dunes with her aging mother, Maria (Fernanda Montenegro) in tow. When calamity strikes, the two women find themselves stranded. Eventually, they settle among the shifting sands and Áurea finds peace. But her passionate daughter, Maria, longs to explore the world beyond the dunes. This profound portrait of passing generations has established Andrucha Waddington as one of the most exciting directors in Brazil today.

Customer Reviews:

My Áurea's New World.......2007-05-13

Before I say even a word about the film as a whole, I have to acknowledge HOUSE OF SAND's sound mix as the most impressive use of Dolby 5.1 I have ever heard. For audiophiles, that may be reason enough to own this movie. I'll return to that in a minute.

As a film, HOUSE OF SAND is both strikingly original and oddly familiar. To encapsulate it would be impossible without resorting to fanciful analogy: if novelist Willa Cather were to meet up with John Ford and Terence Malick in an opium den, the three of them might dream up something like this. The hardscrabble lives of Cather's plains settlers try, as with the dwellers of Ford's Monument Valley, to populate locations more iconic than inhabitable--and all of this is somehow translated into indelible visual and aural poetry.

The pregnant Áurea and her mother, Dona Maria, follow Áurea's husband to a remote and undefined plot of--well, sand, to which the husband has some kind of deed. It is 1910. There, among the dunes, is a shallow lagoon, constantly changing shape as the wind forms and reforms the sand around it. They trade with escaped slaves and procure the materials to build a primitive home, which promptly collapses on top of the husband and kills him. The rest of the movie follows Áurea, D. Maria, and Maria (Áurea's daughter) as they alternately try to escape and accept their situation.

If you want plot, go elsewhere. It isn't that HOUSE OF SAND is all style, but rather that the style and locations manage completely to isolate the ups and downs of a few human lives, to the exclusion of everything else. In the abstract, these ups and downs will be familiar to anyone alive, but here we are allowed to view them in a manner almost completely removed from context. There is no messing with time transitions or exposition. From the outset, we are abruptly made observers of these characters without knowing anything about who they are or how they arrived in the middle of nowhere. It just so happens that the place where that information emerges organically is at 43 minutes into the movie--it really wouldn't have mattered if we never knew. Time transitions occur with a single cut, and we are challenged to keep up as we jump from 1910, to 1919, to 1939, and finally to 1970. To add to the challenge, Fernanda Torres plays both Áurea and later, her daughter, Maria; Fernanda Montenegro plays, at various times, D. Maria, Áurea, and Maria. The clothes and settings don't change with the times, and I had at least one "Hey, I thought she was dead" moment.

And again, the sound. Natural sounds are meticulously arranged as a composer would arrange a musical score. There is one moment of choral score, but it is so low down in the mix as to be almost subliminal. After many years of Dolby 5.1 being available to filmmakers, this is the film to point the way to how it should be used. My satellite speakers have never had such a workout, and none of the changing directionality of the sounds is gratuitous. Even my cat, as a rule completely blasé about what comes out of my speakers, spent almost two hours rotating her head to follow the sounds of wind, birds, creaking wheels, and trudging feet. Five stars from the cat.

Negative Reviews Might Save You Time & Money.......2007-05-03

I watched 75% of "The House of Sand" until I could bear it no more. I then used fast-forward as an insurance policy to determine if perhaps there was some kind of grand redemption near the end. There was not. This is the only 1-star negative review I have posted at Amazon, but it is well-deserved. Let me be quick to add that I can sit through hours of very slow moving movies such as "Not One Less" (also with subtitles) and come away moved and praising the excellent film. Not so with "The House of Sand".

You are taken on an agonizingly long journey in time throughout a bleak desert and fed a disjointed and intended-to-be-sad story of desperation related to being disconnected from life and love. Believe me, I got the point early on. I suppose the high (low?) point was supposed to be the lonely woman's aggressive sexual approach to two different men. Perhaps this is what those who praised this movie at the film festival found so enlightening and artistic. Personally, I was emabarrassed at the suggestion that a quickie fling after decades in the desert was what a sane and/or moral woman would desperately want. A romp in the hay (sand) has seldom been presented with less class than this.

I honestly could not recommend this movie to anyone, and I would hope that I could spare one person having to sit through what I did. I am completely baffled by the positive reviews, and more than curious why a well-written negative review had been voted as non-helpful. Not all negative reviews should be automatically dismissed. You know, there are bad movies out there that most of us would like to avoid. It's your money and time though.

Whereever you go, there you are.......2007-04-20

House of sand (or Casa de Areia) is a broad sweeping movie that feels longer than it's 2 hour run time, but not in a bad way. This is a film that manages to cover 3 generations of women and their lives in a barren Brazilian desert.

In the beginning, a semi-crazed man named Vasco leads a group of servants, along with his wife and her mother, to a remote desert location for unknown reasons. When they are approached by a pack of former slaves, all of Vasco's paid workers grow frightened and leave. Then Vasco dies in an accident. This leaves Aurea and her mother Maria abandoned and alone in a desolate location.

This is combined with the fact that Aurea is pregnant and cannot easily travel any great distance. Aurea and Maria stay in the desert and during an unshown time-lapse of around ten years, Aurea's daughter Maria is born, while her mother Maria passes away. Aurea is still searching for a way back to the city that she longs for.

Events transpire, however, that lead her to want to stay. Time lapse again and young Maria has grown up, while Aurea is now an older woman. And now the young Maria longs to be away from this desert home.

The interesting part of the film is that the same two actresses (Fernanda Montenegro and Fernanda Torres) are used for the various generations of women. This makes for an interesting visual story, although it can be a bit confusing since the time lapses aren't explicitly explained.

By the end, the theme of the movie is clear, and although the message may not be entirely new, it is presented in a subtle, moving way.

The broad, sweeping shots of the landscape are incredible, and their beauty and simplicity add so much to the movie the cinematographer deserves much commendation. It's a visually stimulating film with great acting and a great story, what else can you ask for in a film?

powerful.......2007-04-10

This is one of those few movies worth buying, owning. Montenegro and her daughter are just overwhelming... I have always held Montenegro for one of the best american actresses, American in the broad and true sense of the word.

No Form of Escape.......2007-02-11

With a pacing that only Tsai Ming-liang could love and deliberate scenery shots that you are forced to enjoy "House of Sand" steps into the genre best described as the Foreign Doldrums. Moving as fast as thick molasses never wins any points in my book and considering that that seems to be the main goal of this film we didn't get along too well. The entirety of the movie takes place in the Brazilian desert, a place that we movie fans rarely get to see. However, as you may have guessed, not a lot happens out there. There isn't even a weeping camel out there to keep us company. We watch as a crazy old guy moves his family out into the middle of nowhere (no explanation given) and then dies, stranding everybody else there for three generations. I know, how can I criticize a plot for not having any developments (other than the startling revelation that somewhere out yonder sells salt!) when in reality nothing would ever happen to these characters. And to that I would say that this was not the best yarn to commit to film.

Pretty much everything goes as would be expected. People walk around bored, some of them die off, there are some minor romances, and everything looks beautiful. About ten years in a group of soldiers shows up and Aurea, the crazy man's wife, desperate for anything that moves, strikes up a love affair with one of them. He promises to take her out of the desert, but unforeseen problems prevent that from happening. Throughout more soldiers will arrive, and the females will always view them as tickets out of town, there to be seduced and exploited. Do I believe that these fellow travelers are the only way these women could escape their destiny? Maybe, maybe not. In the end the point is made that living in the Brazilian desert is just about the same as living on the moon, to which I would have to think that moving your family into the middle of the desert and then croaking might to be too smart.

Another minor complaint I would like to air is the usage of the same actors to play different roles. It would be fine, in a "Three Times" kind of way, had they bothered to label the passage of time. Instead I was left playing catch up thinking that somehow the grandma had risen from the grave. There is a fairly graphic sex scene somewhere in the middle that might shock you out of your slumber, but really the only use it has is spicing up this overtly bland stew. You have to be in a certain kind of mood to watch a movie like this, and even then it is nearly impossible for the director to pull off. "Rain" and "Elephant" leap to mind as masterpieces of this technique. These characters really may have been marooned out in no man's land, but unfortunately for the filmmakers the exit of the theater is just a few short steps away. I wasn't lucky enough to have seen this in theaters, but I would have been mighty interested to see how many people took a walk. Awe-inspiring cinematography does not make a movie. . .and here is my proof. **1/4

Average customer rating:

lovely
Perhaps one of the finest woman's role ever written or acted!!!
Truly authentic
In a nutshell, recommended...
An essential film in your collection!

Central Station
Starring: Fernanda Montenegro , Marília Pêra , Vinícius de Oliveira , Soia Lira , and Othon Bastos
Director: Walter Salles
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00000F5KH
Release Date: 1999-07-13

Amazon.com

In the opening scenes of Central Station, colorful crowds of Brazilians stream into and out of a Rio de Janeiro train, pushing through doors and windows. You're immediately pulled into the brutal vitality of a nation in motion, setting the tone for a picturesque road movie that charts Brazil's renaissance in a little boy's search for his father and an old woman's emotional reawakening. When we first meet Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), this frozen-hearted, sour-faced woman is the epitome of immobility: day after day, she sits in the train station selling her letter-writing skills to all comers, but often doesn't bother to mail these precious messages. When a woman who's paid Dora to write a pleading note to her son's long-missing dad gets run over by a bus, the child, Josue (Vinicius de Oliveira), is up for grabs. (The summary execution of a thieving street kid--in longshot--underscores the seriousness of this waif's plight.) After an abortive attempt to sell Josue for a new TV, the aspiring couch potato finds herself reluctantly propelled into an occasionally Fellini-esque odyssey through the hinterlands of Brazil's sertäo, where Dora and her sidekick find unexpected faith and family. Former documentary filmmaker Walter Salles (Foreign Land) mixes magic with realism in his appreciation of striking faces and places, but Central Station is primarily fueled by the tough/tender performances of Montenegro, Brazil's Judy Dench, and de Oliveira, an airport shoeshine boy Salles cast over 1,500 other hopefuls. (Montenegro was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, and Central Station was in the running for Best Foreign Language Film.) No cloyingly cute child-star, de Oliveira plays Josue as a bracingly idiosyncratic brat. And watching Dora's face and soul slowly, unwillingly unclench as she gets back in motion--and emotion--is potent pleasure, even if Salles's trip does dead-end in soap opera as his Brazilian pilgrim's progress winds down. --Kathleen Murphy

Customer Reviews:

lovely.......2007-03-22

People have been recommending that I see this movie for years, but somehow I didn't get around to it until this week. What a lovely film. I enjoyed it very much, particularly the performances of the two leads, Fernanda Montenegro and Vinicius de Oliveira.

I'm wondering, has anyone else been struck by the similarities between this film and John Cassavetes' "Gloria" starring Gena Rowlands? Both films are about women, definitely not the motherly kind, being thrown into a custodial relationship with a young boy under difficult and extreme circumstances. Although the films have many differences and ambitions, one is a road trip movie and the other is a mob movie, that key relationship between the boy and his reluctant protector develops in a very similar way. Both boys even engage in some similar prepubescent sexual braggadocio.

Both films are recommended, but beware, there was an unfortunate remake of "Gloria" with Sharon Stone which should be avoided.

Perhaps one of the finest woman's role ever written or acted!!!.......2007-02-17

What is so unique about CENTRAL STATION is that rarely,if ever,is a woman actress called upon in a leading role as a Dickensesque Fagin-like character,hustling the public,shoplifting,child-selling and running from the law.To see Fernanda Montenegro pull this off IS WORTH THE ENTIRE FILM!!!Some performances just simply are 100% spot-on.Such is the case here.As no one else could ever be Meryl Streep's Sophie in SOPHIE'S CHOICE,so no one else could ever be Montenegro's Dora.It just simply does not get better than this.Her performance is simply arresting.You'll love Dora and you will hate Dora,but one thing's for sure-you will see Dora totally and memorably brought to life by a true actress among actresses.

Truly authentic.......2007-01-12

As an adoptive father, I have helped my children seek their adoptive parents, and so know the joys, and sorrows, of such searches. This is an incrediblely well acted, but even more wonderfully believable. Emotional, of course, but not overly. The action is fast and the subtitles that are on the screen for seconds may be a challenge for some, but even so its truly authentic.

In a nutshell, recommended..........2006-04-08

Just in case you are in a hurry, I will begin this review in a non-traditional way, that is by the end. So, in a nutshell, I believe that "Central Station" is an excellent Brazilian film that you are highly likely to enjoy.

The reasons for that opinion are many. Are you interested in them? Well:

1- To start with, the plot is engaging. There are two main characters. One of them is Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), a somewhat cynic retired teacher that earns money writing letters for illiterate people in Rio de Janeiro?s Central Station. The other main character is Josue (Vinicius de Oliveira), a young boy who meets Dora when his mother pays her to write a letter to Josue?s long lost father, someone that Josue longs to meet but that lives far away. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Josue ends up under Dora?s wing. The question is, will Dora help him to pursue his dream of meeting his father?

2- Secondly, this film is directed by Walter Salles. If you have already watched another of his films, no further explanations are needed. If you haven?t, it is hight time you did. I specially recommend you to start with "Behind the sun" (= "Abril despeda?ado") and "The Motorcycle Diaries" :)

3- Finally, "Central Station" has a talented cast that lightens the screen, and that makes justice to a story that we wouldn?t appreciate so much if the film had actors not capable of expressing so well the nuances of what their characters are feeling.

All in all, recommended :)

Belen Alcat

An essential film in your collection!.......2005-12-28

The initial sequence o the film is loaded of tragic grandiloquence; woman `s job in a railroad station consists in writing letters to beloved familiars or dear friends dictated by analphabet people. She is somehow a miracle worker, who transmits, livings, illusions and hopes from non future people to enrich and enlighten their painful lives.

But soon her biggest task will come for her. A lonely boy, wishes to make a journey for meting his father, and she will undertake her undeniable energy and spirit 's strength to feed the illusions and make those dreams come true for that love 's orphan human being.

This long Odyssey will carry us to lost horizons, to forgotten names of cities that hardly will figure in the map. A surrealistic but real world of sand, kaleidoscopic misery, severe economic restrictions, and above all moral poverty, where the time seems to have stopped for ever, because nothing happens.

After watching this movie, something inside voice must be claming that the Neo Realism Italian has reappeared. And that the only difference between the stolen bicycle and the vanished father is simply a few inches in the map of the world and sixty years of delay.

Average customer rating:

Disappointed
Romantic movie for the people over 35
A little romance.
Cards, Fish, and lots of Sophia Milos
Charming, romantic valentine of a movie

Passionada
Starring: Jason Isaacs , Sofia Milos , Emmy Rossum , Theresa Russell , and Lupe Ontiveros
Director: Dan Ireland
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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ASIN: B0001BKBP2
Release Date: 2004-04-06

Amazon.com

Unlikely romance is the subject of Passionada, an atmospheric piece just offbeat enough to be likable. Set in the flavorful Portuguese fishing community in New Bedford, the film offers two quirky lovers. The beautiful Sofia Milos plays a skeptical widow, sternly raising a teenage daughter (Emmy Rossum), who nevertheless shows her passionate side when she sings traditional Portuguese fado songs at night. Jason Isaacs, veteran of many villain roles (The Patriot, Peter Pan), is a gambler new to town, who is suitably entranced by this lady's singing (though he must hide his profession if he wants a chance with her). The story has its rocky moments, but director Dan Ireland (The Whole Wide World) lets the actors work up some winning chemistry together, and the sultry soundtrack helps; the fado singing is dubbed by Misia. This will go down easy for romance fans, and you know who you are. --Robert Horton

Description

The story of three generations of Portuguese women in the fishing community of New Bedford, MA. Young and beautiful Sally, still mourning the loss of her deceased husband, has resigned herself to work in the textile mill, care for her elderly mother, and worry about her beautiful rebellious teenage daughter, Vicky. However, when British charmer Charlie comes to town, he woos Sally until he sweeps her off her feet...That is until she finds out that Charlie is not the person he claimed to be when they met. Jason Isaacs (Black Hawk Down, The Patriot), Sophia Milos (TV's "CSI Miami").

Customer Reviews:

Disappointed.......2007-03-28

I am as big a fan of romances as the next poor sap but this one failed my expectations in too many ways: mostly direction and screen writing I suppose. Emmy Rossum always adds a happy, sweet, bright flash of enthusiasm to the movies she appears in but her character loses the thread in the plot halfway thru.

Milos is gorgeous but she's leaden in this role, much as she is in CSI Miami, mostly just walking around looking good, but uninspired. And if she can sing, it still looks like she's lip-synching.

Isaacs is pretty good until he loses all dignity and starts groveling.

But I loved New Bedford, Massachusetts!

Romantic movie for the people over 35.......2006-07-28

It's improbable but perhaps that's part of it's appeal. It's about a British gambler that has been blacklisted from every casino in the world who falls in love with a barely middle age beautiful widow.

It's a simple story but the characters are appealing. Well, the lead actor grows on you. But I found the widow and her teenage daughter likable from the beginning.

It's a love story for anyone who believes or wants to believe in second chances in life.

A little romance........2006-05-15

I will admit that I bought this movie simply because Jason Isaacs is in it. That said, I enjoyed the movie. It's a light, pleasant little romance set in a gorgeous place. In fact, New Bedford is practically a separate charcter, and a lovely and appealing one, at that.

Although the themes in this movie aren't very complex, and the story isn't all that original, the characters are attractive and likable, and I have to give everyone involved snaps for the beautiful settings and especially for the wonderfully erotic scene in which Celia (Sofia Milos) feeds Charlie (Jason Isaacs) bits of food, and he sucks on her fingers. It's very sensual, without being explicit or tawdry, and it leads to some really fantastic kissing between Jason and Sofia.

The DVD commentary from Jason, Sofia, and the director Dan Ireland is just about the most entertaining commentary I've ever heard on a movie. In fact, the commentary is more entertaining than the movie, because Jason is so clever and funny, and Dan and Sofia are both so sincere in their fondness for the setting and the wonderful fado music. The sensual scene noted above is particularly fun listening on the commentary, with Jason talking about how difficult it is to both play and to watch himself play romantic scenes, Sofia talking about how she fell a little bit in love with Jason during that scene, and Dan alternately teasing them and lavishing praise on them for the passion in the scene. It's pretty obvious that the three of them like and respect each other and really enjoyed working together on this movie. It is also interesting to hear them talk about how disappointed and a little hurt they were that the the film didn't do better at the box office.

I gave this movie a 4, although a 3 1/2 might be more appropriate. It is beautifully shot, the performances are all very fine, the music is amazing, but the story is just a little too predictable.

Cards, Fish, and lots of Sophia Milos.......2005-12-13

Charlie (Jason Isaac) is a card player of dubious luck, who lives in a cheap motel and is going nowhere until he meets and woos a conservative and beautiful Portugese seamstress/singer, Celia, played by the stunning Sofia Milos (CSI: Miami). Celia has a meddlesome teenage daughter, Vickie (Emmy Rossum) who wants to learn how to count cards by blackmailing Charlie into teaching her, but he is banned from all casinos. Vickie wants to hook her mother up with a new man but her computer dating schemes fail. In the meanwhile, Charlie's only friends, a wealthy couple, Lois (Theresa Russell) and Danny Vargas (Seymore Cassel), lend him their Jaguar XKE, sailboat, and home to impress the widow that he is a successful and wealthy entrepreneur. It sounds like a typical dating game setup except for the background settings of the Portugese fishing community, mouthwatering seafood cooking, and casino gaming that flesh out the story.

Through falling in love, fishing, and lying to make points with the mother, Charlie learns how to turn his life around the hard way through his deceptions which backfire, and Sofia tries to forget the husband whose death has left her prematurely widowed yet not completely dead from the neck down.

With the interferences of Vickie, significant amounts of fish as unlikely props, and an otherwise sappy storyline, this is an entertaining film which allows the wonderful character actor Jason Isaac (Peter Pan, The Patriot) to show another side to his already excellent acting chops. Emmy Rossum is adequately irritating in a pre-Phantom of the Opera role that suggests her growth from typical teenager to ingenue-in-training. However, it is the vibrant and seductive Sofia Milos as Celia who gives a rounded performance from cloistered widow to sensuous nightclub chanteuse that surprises and delights.

This is a small story about love in all its forms and definitions. Thoroughly enjoyable and wonderful for a date nite or simply rainy day, Passionada entertains with its story of misdirected love and casino gambling gone right.

Charming, romantic valentine of a movie.......2005-11-29

I found "Passionada" to be utterly charming--a movie about second chances and taking a chance on love when it comes your way. The movie is very well cast and the cinematography is breath-taking. You can tell the director really fell for New Bedford and did his best to re-create the Portugese-American fishing community there. Jason Isaacs did a splendid job playing the vulnerable, low-roller con man Charlie Beck and Carla Milos (who is actually Greek/Italian) did a credible job as Sofia (a widow but "the most married woman you're likely to meet" as the bartender puts it. Emily Rossum, in a pre-Phantom role, shines as Sofia's daughter, the budding gambler. This is an old-fashioned romance movie where the emphasis is on the romance rather than the sex. The DVD offers the discarded original ending (too melodramatic) and commentary by the director and the cast.

Average customer rating:

VERY SATISFIED
Pedro Navaja
The Best Latino Movie Ever Made, Pedro Navaja is an A+
PEDRO NAVAJA
Pelicula con mucha accion y drama de la vida real.

Pedro Navaja
Starring: Andrés García , Sasha Montenegro , Adalberto Martínez , Sergio Goyri , and Maribel Guardia
Manufacturer: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
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El Hijo de Pedro Navaja
Terror and Black Lace
La Banda Del Carro Rojo
Pancho el Sancho
La Mujer de Mi Hermano

ASIN: B00023BM5C
Release Date: 2004-08-17

Product Description

One of the great Mexican box office hits of all time! Based on the International hit song and brilliantly acted by Andrés García and directed by Alfonso Rosas Priego, Pedro Navaja (Peter the Knife) is the story of the coolest, street smart hustler ever to walk the streets of Mexico City. The police are after him, his rivals are after him, and all the while the most beautiful women of Mexico are in the cup of his hand. Critically acclaimed as "gritty" and "realistic" -Pedro Navaja is one of the great cinematic icons from Mexican cinema.

Customer Reviews:

VERY SATISFIED.......2005-07-20

I AM VERY HAPPY HOW QUICKLY I RECIEVED MY DVD PEDRO NAVAJA.
THE DVD IS GREAT AND IN VERY GOOD CONDITION. I WILL RECOMMEND OTHERS IN BUYING FROM AMAZON. AMAZON THANK YOU FOR YOUR GREAT SERVICE.

Pedro Navaja.......2003-07-07

An EXCELLENT movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A MUST SEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lots of action for those who like action. Even though the movie is is Spanish, it is a movie that can be enjoyed and followed by all. My wife does not spesk Spanish and she enjoyed the movie until the end and followed the stoy all the way to th finish.

The Best Latino Movie Ever Made, Pedro Navaja is an A+.......1999-10-24

Pedro Navaja is the story of one of many Pedro's that live and die in our latin world.Such kind of pimp with and old moral code that everybody respect on his underworld of crime and prostitution. On these scenes you can feel that contagious, exciting and great sensation of latin life .Not only for his story but for our story and every aspect of its characters Pedro Navaja is the greatest, most spectacular and -sensational hispanic movie ever made. With this movie Andres Garcia, also has crowned himself as the best hispanic actor of all times regardless how many movies he did or how wonderfull his career was. He is Pedro Navaja and Pedro Navaja is Andres Garcia, my respects for him and this materpiece of his great talent. To end this short commentary I just want to say : La vida te da sorpresas, sorpresas te da la vida. Digo, no?

PEDRO NAVAJA.......1999-09-10

BUENE PELICULA, ENVIEMEL

Pelicula con mucha accion y drama de la vida real........1999-06-11

Pedro navaja es una pelicula un poco fuerte de contenido. Tiene una mezcla de sexo y violencia que no es para el gusto de todos los videntes. La pelicula tiene un contenido comico y sexual simultaneamente. La recomiendo para mirar con su esposa o con quien se sienta intimo. Es una gran pelicula con uno de mis actores favoritos.

Average customer rating:

Informationally great , but claustrophobic and dull.
US installed dictatorship vears out of control...
Echoes of today
A great movie in spite of some minor inaccuracies
Sticks with you

Four Days in September
Starring: Alan Arkin , Fernanda Torres , Pedro Cardoso , Luiz Fernando Guimarães , and Cláudia Abreu
Director: Bruno Barreto
Manufacturer: Miramax
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Behind the Sun
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ASIN: B00008978J
Release Date: 2003-04-08

Amazon.com

In 1969, the democratically elected government of Brazil was toppled and a military dictatorship took its place. The junta ruled through terror and intimidation, torturing political enemies, controlling the press, and severely curtailing freedoms. A group of Che Guevara-worshipping Marxist radicals (the MR-8) plotted to kidnap an American diplomat (Alan Arkin) to force the government to meet their demands. The college radicals hooked up with two senior revolutionaries, an avuncular veteran of the Spanish Civil War and a cold, ruthlessly intense younger man who becomes their commandant. What could easily have become an overwrought drama is instead played out in understatement. The middle-class radicals falter more than once when it looks like they will indeed have to execute their captive; their counterparts in the government's secret police grapple with their consciences when it comes to torture and terror. Arkin is excellent as Charles Elbrick, the diplomat; his conversations with his abductors bring out his humanity as the deadline draws near. Overall, the film--which receieved a Best Foreign-Language Oscar nomination--has a sense of tension and claustrophobia that is as oppressive as the clammy Rio de Janeiro humidity. This is a thoughtful political drama with emotional depth, well-drawn characters, and excellent direction. (Incidentally, the radicals' commitment paid off in 1979, when Brazil's democracy was restored and all political prisoners were given amnesty.) Stuart Copeland provides the excellent score, along with '60s-period bossa nova music. --Jerry Renshaw

Description

This captivating thriller -- based on extraordinary true-life events -- was honored with an Academy Award(R) nomination! Political terrorists, in a desperate bid to focus the world's attention on their fight for freedom, kidnap an American Ambassador (Alan Arkin, AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS). Now, the diplomat's life hangs in the balance ... helplessly caught between a government unwilling to cooperate ... and his fear of the captors themselves! Directed by Bruno Barreto (A VIEW FROM THE TOP) and acclaimed by critics as one of the year's best films, FOUR DAYS IN SEPTEMBER is an explosively charged motion picture that delivers egde-of-your-seat excitement!

Customer Reviews:

Informationally great , but claustrophobic and dull........2007-06-09

FOUR DAYS IN SEPTEMBER is a very subtle and understated film concerning, most specifically, the four days in 1969 in which U.S Ambassador to Brazil Charles Burke Elbrick was held hostage by the Student Revolutionaries, the MR-8. This is not an "edge-of-your-seats Political thriller that is powerful and exciting" (all of terms that critics use). Instead, this film is told in a quasi-documentarian style that examines the emotions of all that were involved in this kidnapping. The information is excellent and is positively necessary in understanding Brazilian history, but I found the film as a whole very claustrophobic and ultimately dull.

US installed dictatorship vears out of control..........2005-09-27

In March of 1964, democratically elected Joao Goulart was kicked from office by a right wing military movement, mentored and financed in the US. President Johnson had some US Navy ships at the ready to support the Brazilian generals if necessary, all this in the context of fear of comunism taking root in South America's largest country - the old story of the dominoes theory run wild. The Brazilian junta proved so brutal that students and intelectuals started resisting and doing the unheard of, at the time: Kidnapping ambassadors and consuls of powerful nations (US, Japan, Switzerland, Germany) and exchanging them for political prisoners that were being tortured and killed by the military. Brazil would not dare show its torture chambers or even admit to the practice much less accept international inspections to its jails - as a result the junta would simply give in and release lots of priosioners that would otherwise likely perish. Some of the release are now in government: President Luiz Inacio Lula, former Chief of Staff Jose Dirceu, former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and many others. After 21 disgraceful years in power, the last general, Joao Batista Figueredo allowed indirect elections - 1985 was the year.The film does an excellent job showing the incredible conditions of those days. Alan Arkin is great!

Echoes of today.......2004-07-03

Seeing this film at this moment in history is instructive. Issues of repression, coups d'etat, torture of prisoners, radical extremists - it all rings very "current." The story of Brazil's military coup was sadly ignored in this country, and in these times, we should all be watching carefully.

It is a fine and complex film, highly recommended.

A great movie in spite of some minor inaccuracies.......2004-06-01

This movie faced a lot of criticism in Brazil for the liberties it took with history. Some criticism dates back to the publication of Fernando Gabeira's book, mainly the fact that Gabeira's importance in the kidnapping is overplayed. Other survivors from the operation claim he did not write the note to the press, as the movie shows. Also, a girl did try to get information from the Ambassador's security man, but she did not spend the night with him (and those who like to spot errors may notice the fact that he calls her by her code name, René, even though she introduced herself by a different name). And one just has to read other books about those days in Brazil to realize most torturers were sick animals, not guilt-ridden human beings like the guy in the movie.

In spite of all these flaws, the movie still works admirably as a snapshot of an era. I understand it was rather easy to sell this movie to the international market because Alan Arkin is in it and the event it is based on involved the kidnapping of an American ambassador. But it would be great if people all over the world could also see another movie titled "Pra Frente Brasil". The story is fictitious but inspired by actual facts: while the 1970 World Cup is taking place and the whole Brazilian population is glued to television sets, a guy is captured by mistake and tortured to death by the police. Brazil won that World Cup, so the whole country was in a celebratory mood while the horrors of repression were happening in the underground.

Sticks with you.......2004-05-23

I saw "Four Days in September" when in came out in U.S. theaters in 1999. It has stuck with me since then, mostly because of Alan Arkin's fabulous performance as Ambassador Charles Embrick. But, also, because of the way the film brings to light for its audience what life was like in Brazil during the miltary dictatorship of 1969 - 1979. And, because of its very understated manner of showing you how this small, underground group of anti-regimists coalesced, got its training, and put its thoughts into actions. It all feels very real. No Hollywood-ization here.

Product Description

The legend of "Peter The Knife" continues in this popular sequel to one of Mexico's all-time blockbusters. Following in his infamous father's footsteps, Peter, Jr. manages to get more than his fair share of the love of beautiful women...and the hatred of his enemies. Action and drama from New York to Acapulco.

Average customer rating:

Love Among The Ruins
A Must-See "Autumnal" Thriller/Love Story
A Quiet Little Film about the Isolation of Aging
"I know what I saw."

The Other Side of the Street
Starring: Raul Cortez , Fernanda Montenegro , Laura Cardoso , Miguel Lunardi , and Luis Percy
Director: Marcos Bernstein
Manufacturer: Strand Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000994166
Release Date: 2005-07-19

Description

Suspicious minds and autumnal romance cross paths in this Brazilian film from director Marcos Bernstein. Regina who works for the neighborhood watch in Copacabana believes she has witnessed a murder in a building across the street. She ends up getting involved with the suspect in a dangerous chain of events that will force her to take stock in her life in a way she could never have imagined.

Customer Reviews:

Love Among The Ruins.......2006-08-02

Regina (the Bette Davis of Brazil, Fernanda Montenegro) lives alone, is getting on in years, has a trusty dog and a big yen to be Miss Marple as a member of Brazil's Senior Watchdog Service: a nifty idea that keeps seniors involved and utilizes their already well developed tendencies for snooping.
Armed with her binoculars and sitting in her armchair, Regina witnesses, what she thinks is a murder across the street in another apartment...performed by the mysterious, ex-judge Carmago (Raul Cortez). So what does she do? She begins to date Carmago in order to get the lowdown. Her investigation clouds her romance or vice versa and Regina is conflicted: is Carmago her Love... Don Juan or Jack the Ripper?
Director Marcos Bernstein does a very good job at keeping the action subtle and thoughtful but the real success of "The Other Side of The Street" is its almost revolutionary central theme: seniors can have and enjoy Love and Sex...there is life and more importantly love after 60 afterall. Imagine that.

A Must-See "Autumnal" Thriller/Love Story.......2006-04-26

The Other Side of the Street starts off as a Brazilian take on "Rear Window," with Fernanda Montenegro, playing Regina, an elderly woman who has isolated herself from family and friends, using her binoculars to spy on her neighbors on the building across the street. She claims to have seen an elderly judge kill his wife, but when the police decides to drop the investigation, she takes manners in her own hands.

However, instead of a whodunit, what we get to see is an intelligently and touchingly depicted relationship between two lonely, elderly persons trying to connect with someone else while living in a big, violent, youth-oriented city. (Although there is still some suspense.) Fernanda Montenegro, of "Central Station" fame, is simply superb as Regina. As in that movie, she plays a woman who starts off being selfish and unlikable, but who thaws out and makes us care for her by the end of the film.

A Quiet Little Film about the Isolation of Aging.......2006-04-25

Writer Marcos Bernstein ('Central Station') takes a step forward as Director of yet another soulful and touching film about aging and the loneliness and isolation that surrounds our older generations. Together with Melanie Dimantas he has written a story that is not only intriguing as a suspense tale, but it is also one of the most moving love stories between older people that has graced the screen.

Regina (Fernanda Montenegro) lives alone with her devoted dog Betina, her only visits to family are with her grandson: she rarely sees her son's home as her son is still friends with her estranged husband. Regina has found a hobby to fill her days - she has become a volunteer police informant for the Copacabano police, visiting bars where drug deals are rampant and then reporting the findings to the police. Her high-rise apartment faces another like apartment across the street and she spends her idle hours watching her neighbors through binoculars, not in a snoopy way but as a manner of relieving her boredom of solitude.

One evening she observes an older man give an lethal injection to his wife, and thinking she has observed a murder she notifies the police who respond, only to discover the older man is Judge Carmago (Raul Cortez) and thus dismiss the intrusion as a false call by Regina. Regina knows what she saw and despite the abuse she receives from the policeman Alcides (Luiz Carlos Persy) she is intent on investigating the 'crime'. She stalks Carmago and eventually Carmago confronts her behavior, stating that if she has questions of him she should join him for lunch or dinner. The two lonely older people gradually get to know each other and a relationship ensues that surprises them both. Regina's shell of emotional protection is cracked and the two explore the vulnerability of feelings usually reserved for the young. How Regina's life is altered by this adventure makes for an illuminating finale to the film.

Fernanda Montenegro is luminous as Regina. She is an actress in her late seventies who is able to invoke tremendous responses from an audience, so multifaceted are her talents. Raul Cortez likewise is a veteran actor (his first film was in 1957) who has depth of character and technique that makes his role gleam. This film is a brave one, a film unafraid to address delicate issues about love among the elderly and achieve a stunning level of dignity and discretion that binds the viewer to the story. The atmosphere is enhanced by the minimal music score from Guilherme Bernstein Seixas and by the clever cinematography of Toca Seabra. This is a lovely film that should appeal to all audiences, especially those who fell in love with Fernanda Montenegro in 'Central Station'. Grady Harp, April 06

"I know what I saw.".......2006-04-16

In the Brazilian film, "The Other Side of the Street" Regina (Fernanda Montenegro) is a divorced woman who lives alone. She has a son and a grandson, but since her ex moved in her son's home, she doesn't go near the place. Instead, she spends her time with her elderly dog, Betina, and she's also a police informant. Going by the code name Snow White, she calls in tips to the police, and the informant work, while emphasizing her isolation, somehow makes her feel important and needed. One evening, she turns her binoculars on her neighbours. She spies a peculiar scene and becomes convinced that she's just seen a man murder his wife.

When the police dismiss her claim, Regina becomes involved in the case. It seems that the neighbour, a retired judge, is a respected man. Regina stubbornly refuses to give up, and she starts snooping on her suspect--Carmago (Raul Cortez).

Fernanda Montenegro (Central Station) delivers a touching performance as a woman who has built walls--initially for emotional protection--that inevitably become barriers to human contact. In one scene Regina, almost frantic for some sort of social connection, practically begs a fellow informant to have lunch with her. Even though it's obvious to the viewer that the other informant--code name Daffy Duck--doesn't want anything to do with Regina, she can't seem to take the hint. While "The Other Side of the Street" from director Marcus Bernstein begins as a mystery, it's also a social commentary on adult loneliness, self-imposed isolation, and aging. The film has its sentimental moments, nonetheless, there's a bittersweet theme that restrains the film from plunging into excess emotion. In Portuguese with English subtitles--displacedhuman

Average customer rating:

blushfully exquisite
Realistic depiction of Brazilian life
The Star

Hour of the Star
Starring: Marcelia Cartaxo , José Dumont , Tamara Taxman , Fernanda Montenegro , and Dirce Militello
Director: Suzana Amaral
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Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000A59QHS
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Customer Reviews:

blushfully exquisite.......2000-05-11

The awkwardness & fascination of this pathetically sensative character(Cartaxo) brought back memories of my own adolescence. I was glued to the screen. Her vulnerability & innocence was painful to watch, yet I was touched by the films honesty. The ending is quite sad and unexpected, but isnt that what makes notable film?

I never forgot this film, nor how it effected me. This is a film that I wish I had taped when I first saw it in 88'.

A must see for lovers of the romatically bazzaar.

Realistic depiction of Brazilian life.......2000-01-03

Having spent my "formative" years in Brazil, I have to say this movie tugs at my "coracao"(heart).I would LOVE to see more work (movies) from this talented director. I hope "Macabea" has finally attained her "felicidade" that was denied her for so long. Truely "um grande cultivar" (a great work)! Muito obrigado!

The Star.......1999-03-13

The movie is great for people who like to know about other cultures. Even though it can look and sound different there are a lot of things that touch your heart.

The Blood Island Vacation (Brides of Blood / The Mad Doctor of Blood Island / Beast of Blood / Brain of Blood)

Average customer rating:

It's a John Ashley Shag-A-Thon...

The Blood Island Vacation (Brides of Blood / The Mad Doctor of Blood Island / Beast of Blood / Brain of Blood)
Starring: Kent Taylor , Beverly Powers , John Ashley , Eva Darren , and Mario Montenegro (II)
Director: Gerardo de Leon , and Eddie Romero
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ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Release Date: 2004-03-02

Description

Ahoy, there's terror straight ahead on Blood Island! Go back to the days of drive-ins and damsels in distress with this quartet of scream-filled classics. Upon arrival, you'll be escorted by your tour guide John Ashley and the lovely Brides of Blood, who are all lined up by the island chiefs for sacrifice to a horribly mutated monster living in a jungle filled with an assortment of ghastly beasts. Then stop off for a visit with the Mad Doctor of Blood Island, whose experiments combining plant and man have resulted in green-blooded fiends bent on destruction, with only Mr. Ashley and the lovely Angelique Pettyjohn capable of stopping this blood-soaked rampage. And be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the island's resident Beast of Blood, a headless creature who swipes human noggins for its own gruesome ends. Can Ashley and beautiful Celeste Yarnall make it to the forbidden Valley of Doom before it's too late? Before you leave, feast your eyes on an evil dwarf, a lumbering monster, a basement filled with chained women, and the wicked Brain of Blood used in nightmarish transplants resulting in a whirlpool of horror. So come and stay on Blood Island for a while; it's the vacation getaway of your wildest screams!

Customer Reviews:

It's a John Ashley Shag-A-Thon..........2006-06-07

"Drinking your own blood is the paradigm of recycling." - Gary `Head Injury' Busey "I'm with Busey" (2003)

Producer/Distributor extraordinaire Sam Sherman and Image Entertainment have teamed up to present The Blood Island Vacation package, an awesoma DVD set of four Filipino produced, hemoglobin drenched, drive-in classics at one heck of a nice price...here's what you get...

Brides of Blood (1968)

Directed by Eddie Romero (Mad Doctor of Blood Island, Beast of the Yellow Night), Brides of Blood (1968) and featuring Kent Taylor (The Day Mars Invaded Earth, The Mighty Gorga, Hell's Bloody Devils), former stripper Beverly Hills aka Beverly Powers (Kissin' Cousins, Invasion of the Bee Girls), and John Ashley (Muscle Beach Party, The Eye Creatures, Beast of Blood), the film involves various, mutated creatures terrorizing natives on a place called Blood Island. Extras included are as follows; a short audio commentary track featuring distributor Sam Sherman, an interview with director Eddie Romero, an original Brides of Blood wedding ring giveaway promo, a "House of Terror" live horror show promo, a Beverly Hills pinup gallery, a Blood Island image gallery, liner notes by Jim Arena, a Brides of Blood essay by Christopher William Koenig, and a trailer for this film, along with ones for Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968), Beast of Blood (1971), Brain of Blood (1972), Blood of the Vampires (1971), The Blood Drinkers (1966), and Raiders of the Living Dead (1986).

Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968)

Produced and directed by Eddie Romero (Brides of Blood, Beast of the Yellow Night, Beast of Blood), the film stars John Ashley (High School Caesar, Beach Blanket Bingo, Beast of Blood) and Angelique Pettyjohn ("Get Smart", Clambake). Ashley plays a scientist (not the same one from Brides of Blood), who visits Blood Island and finds himself caught up in some nasty business as a deranged scientist on the island is performing hideous experiments involving green blood. Extras include a short audio commentary track featuring distributor Sam Sherman, an interview with director Eddie Romero, an original Mad Doctor of Blood Island `green blood' prologue bit, a "House of Terror" live horror show promo, a still gallery, liner notes by Jim Arena, a Mad Doctor of Blood Island essay by Christopher William Koenig, and a trailer for this film, along with ones for Brides of Blood (1968), Beast of Blood (1971), Brain of Blood (1972), Blood of the Vampires (1971), The Blood Drinkers (1966), and Raiders of the Living Dead (1986).

Beast of Blood (1972)

Produced, co-written, and directed by Eddie Romero (Mad Doctor of Blood Island, Brides of Blood, Beast of the Yellow Night), the film features John Ashley (High School Caesar, Muscle Beach Party, Hell On Wheels) and Celeste Yarnall (The Face of Eve, The Velvet Vampire). Ashley reprises his role from Mad Doctor of Blood Island returning to the island to discover the evil that had thought been destroyed is still thriving. Extras included are as follows; a short audio commentary track featuring distributor Sam Sherman, an interview with director Eddie Romero, an interview w/ Celeste Yarnell conducted by Sam Sherman, a `lost' opening sequence, a "House of Terror" live horror show promo, a still gallery, liner notes by Jim Arena, a Beast of