about this disc
Added 8/8/2009
Presumably if you are on this page, then you know what the film is and want to know about the disc. This is a Chineese release (NTSC Region 0) that will work fine in US players and unlike other Chineese releases there is not 20 minutes of worthless stuff before the menue. This disc was obviously set up to be sold in the English market (no Chineese text anywhere).
The actual movie itself is the un-cut version but runs 120m or so due to uncorrected Pal speed up (I would presume?). Nothing's missing I actually did scene by scene comparisons with the questionable parts and everything's there.
The film is anamorphic widescreen and looks infinately better than the old VHS tapes. The sound is fine with a stereo 2.0 track and a 5.1 track but unfortunately doesn't contain the commentery from the region 2 Anchor Bay Relese. A minor annoyance is that there are only 6 chapter breaks for a film so long.
The second disc contains:Louis Mouchet's Documentary "La Constellation Jodorowsky"; A Filmed On Stage Interview with Jodorowsky; Deleted Scene With Commentary; "Echek" A Short Film Directed by Adan Jodorowsky (son of Alejandro and one of the stars of Santa Sangre.
I'm not sure if this is a legitimate relese or not but untill some one makes a proper region 1 disc, I'd reccommend this cheaper priced version. Unless you are obsessed with Jodorowsky "spill everything over-analytical" commenteries.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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I'm not going to write a long review. "Puzzle Box" wrote an excellent one, read that for a thorough appreciation of this film. I just want to warn you that though I recognize it as a great film, it is certainly not for everyone. I found it to be one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen. To this day I'm pretty haunted by the film, and honestly, I really, really wish I had never seen it. I think I'd be a happier person.
If you are at all sensitive to having your fears and imagination agitated by bizarre, grisly, and terrifying material, seriously, think twice before you watch this. I wouldn't show this to at least half the people I know--I value their friendship, and their mental stability, too much.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Great film from Jodorowsky
Added 7/1/2009
Finding this film on Region one DVD was great. It's an excellent surreal horror film from Alejandro Jodorowsky. If you got the boxed set with El Topo and Holy Mountain, you have to get this also
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Bless This Movie 'Holy Movie'
Added 6/12/2009
This movie is in my top 10 of all time. It is a beautiful combination of horror, drama, brutality, humor, unforgettable imagery, and the absurd. The acting can be flat at times, but this masterpiece makes up for it in it's epic mind boggling journey. This movie contains my second most favorite movie murder. My first being the brutally stabbed and hung girl or first victim in Dario Argento's 'Susperia'. Filmed in mexico to my knowledge, sleazy under belly of the culture as well as morbid latin american catholicism are used beautifully as a back drop to this bizarre story of Fenix. Fenix was raised in his younger years in show business under a circus tent, by his turbulent parents. His mother is a dominant mother with extreme religion who worships a saint the catholic church refuses to recognize. This unconventional saint is that of a young girl, clad in girl school uniform, who's images and statues represent her with no arms. There is quite a story behind that. Fenix's father is the ring master of the circus and is the big and burly mexican alpha male. He is macho, he drinks and womanizes. All three, mother, father and son are performers in the show. In a way Fenix's real family, when his parents are lost in their dysfunctional dramas, are the circus clowns who seem to always be there to offer unconditional nurturing love. This part of the story ends in tragedy, but the story really begins years later as we find Fenix all grown up and in an insane asylum. I won't say more because I dare wouldn't want to spoil any of the weird and absurd surprises, except to expect alot of murder, bizarre tonal changes, humor, and even a little romance. The music score is remarkable. It sets the tone all the way. From sad accordion circus music to dramatic samba and horns the later which work perfectly during the most violent and serious parts of the film. If you like cinema that is a little more of the odd, you will love Santa Sangre.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Best Film I have Ever Seen EVER (period).
Added 3/7/2008
I saw Sante Sangre back in the early 90s in Tucson Arizona and walked out of the theater with my jaw dragging on the ground. The visuals of this film rival Fellini and the best visual artists. The depth of the material rivals the work of the worlds greatest symbolic psychologists, ala C. G. Jung. What this film is about is essentially the mental experiences of its main character, an insane circus performer who is traumatized by violence in his youth. He becomes a quietly obsesses serial killer who is possessed by his mother. Or so it seems. As with anything that is examining the unconscious impulses of a disturbed individual, nothing is clear or definite. Is he older now when the action takes place? Is he committed to an institution or free and wandering the world, killing his mother's enemies? Is he digging in a graveyard or just hallucinating it?
The beauty of this film is in the not knowing but the wondering. Even though nothing is clear, the visuals are beautiful and it is clear how such powerful images are inspiring this character to take strong action.
Most of my favorite films deal with archetypal images and universal symbols, so you might love this film if you like the work of Terry Gilliam, Thomas Harris (the Hannibal Lector series), Fellini, Salvidore Dali, and Carl Jung. You will enjoy this film. It is deep and wide and pushes you to expand your scope of mind.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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about this disc
Added 8/8/2009
Presumably if you are on this page, then you know what the film is and want to know about the disc. This is a Chineese release (NTSC Region 0) that will work fine in US players and unlike other Chineese releases there is not 20 minutes of worthless stuff before the menue. This disc was obviously set up to be sold in the English market (no Chineese text anywhere).
The actual movie itself is the un-cut version but runs 120m or so due to uncorrected Pal speed up (I would presume?). Nothing's missing I actually did scene by scene comparisons with the questionable parts and everything's there.
The film is anamorphic widescreen and looks infinately better than the old VHS tapes. The sound is fine with a stereo 2.0 track and a 5.1 track but unfortunately doesn't contain the commentery from the region 2 Anchor Bay Relese. A minor annoyance is that there are only 6 chapter breaks for a film so long.
The second disc contains:Louis Mouchet's Documentary "La Constellation Jodorowsky"; A Filmed On Stage Interview with Jodorowsky; Deleted Scene With Commentary; "Echek" A Short Film Directed by Adan Jodorowsky (son of Alejandro and one of the stars of Santa Sangre.
I'm not sure if this is a legitimate relese or not but untill some one makes a proper region 1 disc, I'd reccommend this cheaper priced version. Unless you are obsessed with Jodorowsky "spill everything over-analytical" commenteries.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
|
I'm not going to write a long review. "Puzzle Box" wrote an excellent one, read that for a thorough appreciation of this film. I just want to warn you that though I recognize it as a great film, it is certainly not for everyone. I found it to be one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen. To this day I'm pretty haunted by the film, and honestly, I really, really wish I had never seen it. I think I'd be a happier person.
If you are at all sensitive to having your fears and imagination agitated by bizarre, grisly, and terrifying material, seriously, think twice before you watch this. I wouldn't show this to at least half the people I know--I value their friendship, and their mental stability, too much.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Great film from Jodorowsky
Added 7/1/2009
Finding this film on Region one DVD was great. It's an excellent surreal horror film from Alejandro Jodorowsky. If you got the boxed set with El Topo and Holy Mountain, you have to get this also
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
