Viridiana

Introduction

Inexplicably, Fascist Spanish dictator General Franco commissioned Luis Buñuel, a man renowned for mercilessly attacking religion and the middle classes in his films to make a make a film celebrating Spanish culture. Buñuel did what cinema-goers might have expected but Franco didn`t and made a film that attacked the Catholic church and modern life. The finished film which was edited outside Spain, `Viridiana`, premiered at Cannes, where it won the Palme D`Or and was immediately banned by Franco and censured by the Vatican.

Video

A lovely crisp black and white 1.85:1 (within a 4:3 frame) transfer is beautifully presented but has a few scratches left over from the original negative that were surprisingly not removed in a `remastering` process prior to release. The subtitles are well defined, easy to read and I only noticed one spelling mistake where `chafe` had been written as `chaff`.

Audio

The only soundtrack available is a clear mono soundtrack in the original Spanish which does an excellent job of presenting the dialogue without any hisses or other flaws.

Features

None

Conclusion

Any film that has been banned by a government (or two) upon its release and was described by the Vatican as "an insult to Christianity" is one that is likely to please me, given the similar treatment metered out to `The Exorcist` and `Rosemary`s Baby`. Viridiana, with its complex and allegorical nature, did not disappoint and is a terrific and intelligent film.

Fernando Rey, best known for playing a French drug dealer in The French Connection, is thoroughly convincing as Viridiana`s uncle and Silvia Pinal is superb as the novice who is abandoned by the church following her uncle`s suicide and has her misery compounded by those she sets out to help, who take advantage of her generosity with such behaviour as the infamous `Last Supper` scene.

If you want something light to watch on a Saturday evening with a bowl of popcorn, I`d steer well away from this but, on the other hand, if you want a film you can really get your teeth into and discuss and analyse with friends and family for a while afterwards, `Viridiana` is perfect.