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With: Arturo de Córdova, Delia Garcés, Aurora Walker, Carlos Martínez Baena, Rafael Banquells, Fernando Casanova, Manuel Dondé
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Written by: Luis Buñuel, Luis Alcoriza, based on a novel by Mercedes Pinto
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Directed by: Luis Buñuel
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MPAA Rating: NR
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Language: Spanish, with English subtitles
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Running Time: 92
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Date: 07/09/1953
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Jealous Guy
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
From the middle of Luis Buñuel's Mexican period — made with the great cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa — this brutal soap opera is a tough watch. It's well-made, but probably not one of the director's best. During a foot-washing ceremony in church (a most Buñuelian way to open a movie), Francisco (Arturo de Córdova) spies the beautiful Gloria (Delia Garcés) and begins pursuing her until she finally relents. They marry, and his insane jealousy begins to come out, making her life a living hell. She tries to tell people about what's happening to her, including her mother, but everyone believes Francisco to be a benevolent and admirable citizen. The film has a few of Buñuel's surrealist touches, notably a scene in which Francisco imagines a church full of people laughing at him. The famous final shot has Francisco, now living in a monastery, walking away from us in a crooked line. In America, it was originally released as This Strange Passion.
The Criterion Collection's 2025 Blu-ray/4K release, mastered from a 35mm dupe positive and supervised by Figueroa's son, is mostly excellent, marred only by a few flutters and flaws. The audio track is uncompressed monaural. Bonuses include a revealing interview with Guillermo Del Toro (29:51), a new visual essay, "From 'E' to 'L'," by scholar Jordi Xifra (22:35), a panel discussion, "Film in Black and White" (1:00:08), "A Small Filmed Confession by Luis Bunuel," an interview from 1981 conducted by screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière (30:24), and a trailer (1:26).
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