9.01.2002

Mexican Films in the UGA Media Department

       

Mexican Films in the UGA Media Department compiled by Laura D. Shedenhelm

El ángel exterminador = The Exterminating Angel. Producciones Gustavo Alatriste, 1962. 95 mins., in black and white. Directed by Luis Buñel. Starring: Silvia Pinal, Jacqueline Andere, José Baviera, Augusto Benedicio. After a lavish dinner party, the guests find themselves mysteriously unable to leave the room... and over the next few days all the elaborate pretenses and facades that they've built up by virtue of their position in society collapse completely as they become reduced to living like animals.

In Spanish with English subtitles.
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 444.1.
Not rated.

Cabeza de Vaca. Producciones Iguana in co-production with Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografia, 1990. 110 mins. Directed by Nicolás Echevarría. Starring: Juan Diego, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Roberto Sosa, Carlos Castañón, Gerardo Villarreal. Account of the Spanish explorer's capture, escape, and journey from Texas to Mexico City (1527-1537). Includes tales of El Dorado. Inspired by the book Naufragios by Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca. Originally produced for television.

In Spanish with English subtitles.
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 2937.1.
Rated R.

De acá, de este lado = From Here, From This Side. Women Make Movies, 1988. 24 mins. Directed by Gloria Ribé. Narrator, Federico Engels. A portrait of contemporary México emphasizing the overwhelming influence and effects of the U.S., capitalism, and world politics since the second World War.

In English.
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 2975.1.
Not rated.

Doña Bárbara. Clasa Films Mundiales, 1943. 2 hours, 18 mins., in black and white. Directed by Miguel M. Delgado and Fernando de Fuentes. Starring: Maria Félix, Julián Soler, Maria Elena Marqués, Andres Soler, Charles Rooner. In order to take charge of his property in Altamira, Santos Luzardo, a lawyer, arrives in Caracas, in the solitary lands dominated by the feared Doña Bárbara, noted for her witchcraft. Doña Bárbara disputes with Santos over a piece of land, yet both she and her daughter fall in love with the lawyer. Based on the novel by Rómulo Gallegos.

In Spanish with English subtitles. (Series: Colección literaria)
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 3113.1.
Not rated.

Ensayo de un crimen = The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz. Alianza Cinematográfica Mexicana, 1955. 91 mins., in black and white. Directed by Luis Buñuel. Starring: Andrea Palma, Rodolfo Landa, José Maria Linares Rivas, Leonór Llausás, Eva Calvo. Archibaldo's criminal life began on the eve of the Mexican Revolution when he wished his nanny dead. A bullet blasted through the window and killed her. Thus begins his life of murder, alleged murder and insanity. Based on the novel Ensayo de un crimen by Rodolfo Usigli.

In Spanish with English subtitles.
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 2709.1.
Not rated.

Eréndira. Austra, 1983. 103 mins. Directed by Ruy Guerra. Starring: Irene Papas, Cláudia Ohana. While Erendira, a beautiful teenage girl, has a surreal mystical vision, her grandmother's house catches on fire and burns to the ground. Her grandmother holds Erendira responsible and, in order to extract restitution from the girl, forces her into prostitution. Erendira's surreal mystical experiences continue while her grandmother grows rich from exploiting her. Based on the 1978 novella by Gabriel García Márquez The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Eréndira and her Heartless Grandmother.

In Spanish with English subtitles. (Series: Cinematheque Collection)
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 433.1.
Not rated.

Frida, naturaleza viva. Clasa Films Mundiales, 1984. 108 mins. Directed by Paul Leduc. Starring: Ofelia Medina, Juan José Gurrola, Max Kerlow, Salvador Sánchez. This film is a chronicle of painter Frida Kahlo, and her encounter with the personalities of her time. Despite being confied to a wheelchair as a result of pollo, operations and amputations, she faces and traces some of the most colorful and controversial aspects of Mexican history, during the dominant time of Mexican muralism.

In Spanish with English subtitles. (Series: Connoisseur Video Collection)
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 496.1.
Not rated.

El gallo de oro = The Golden Cockerel. Clasa Films Mundiales, 1964. 105 mins. Directed by Roberto Gavaldón. Starring: Ignacio López Tarso, Lucha Villa, Narcisco Busquets. A poor, but very lucky man in the cock fighting, is hired by a rich man, but both are in love with the same woman.

In Spanish with English subtitles. (Series: Coleción literaria)
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 538.1.
Not rated.

El gran calavera = The Great Madcap. IFEX Films, 1949. 90 mins., in black and white. Directed by Luis Buñuel. Starring: Fernando Soler, Rosario Granados, Andrés Soler, Rubén Rojo, Gustavo Rojo. Satirical film exploring the themes of transexual humor, sexuality in advertising, the working class' comical exploitation of the ruling classes, and the link between Christian evangelism and hard-sell advertising.

In Spanish with English subtitles.
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 2716.1.
Not rated.

Macario. Clasa Films Mundiales, 1960. 91 mins., in black and white. Directed by Roberto Gavaldón. Starring: Ignacio López Tarso, Pina Pellicer, Enrique Lucero. Poor, hungry peasant Macario longs for just one good meal on the Day of the Dead. After his wife cooks a turkey for him, he meets three apparitions, the Devil, God, and Death. Each asks him to share his turkey, but he refuses all except Death. In return, Death gives him a bottle of water which will heal any illness. Soon, Macario is more wealthy than the village doctor, which draws the attention of the feared Inquisition.

In Spanish with English subtitles. (Series: The CinemaDisc Collection)
UGA Libraries Media Department: LASER 297.1.
Not rated.

Nazarín. Producciones Barbachano Ponce, 1958. 94 mins., in black and white. Directed by Luis Buñuel. Starring: Francisco Rabal, Marga López, Rita Macedo. Nazarin is a priest, attempting to living a pure and honest life strictly according to Christian principles - but others only show him distrust and hatred, apart from the local prostitute.

In Spanish with English subtitles. (Series: The CinemaDisc Collection)
UGA Libraries Media Department: LASER 559.1.
Not rated.

Los olividados = The Young and the Damned. Ultramar Films, 1950. 85 mins., in black and white. Directed by Luis Buñuel. Starring: Alfonso Mejía, Estela Inda, Miguel Inclán, Roberto Cobo. A group of juvenile delinquents live a violent and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City, and the morals of young Pedro are gradually corrupted and destroyed by the others.

In Spanish with English subtitles.
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 955.1 and VHS 3420.1.
Not rated.

Reed, México insurgente = Reed, Insurgent Mexico. Ollin y Asociados, 1973. 104 mins., in black and white. Directed by Paul Leduc. Starring: Claudio Obregon, Eduardo López Rojas, Eraclio Zepeda, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Juan Angel Martinez. A dramatization of John Reed's accounts of the Mexican Revolution; the young journalist's adventures with Pancho Villa's army in 1913-1914 are depicted.

In Spanish with English subtitles.
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 3257.1.
Not rated.

Subida al cielo = Mexican Bus Ride. Producciones Isla S.A., 1952. 85 mins., in black and white. Directed by Luis Buñuel. Starring: Luis Aceves Castañeda, Silvia Castro, Roberto Cobo, Manuel Dondé. A young man and woman's honeymoon is cut short when the man learns that his mother has fallen ill back at home. The newlywed couple rush there to discover the other sons neglecting their mom in order to plot their squandering of the inheritance. The newlywed son takes quite an adventurous bus-ride to a distant city to get his mother's will notarized to the contrary, and is faced with multiple temptations along the way.

In Spanish with English subtitles.
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 864.1.
Not rated.

Susana= The Devil and the Flesh. Internacional Cinematográfica, 1950. 87 mins., in black and white. Directed by Luis Buñuel. Starring: Fernando Soler, Rosita Quintana, Víctor Manuel Mendoza. An unstable young woman escapes from a reformatory for very, very wayward girls and deceptively finds shelter in the kind home of a frighteningly nice and decent family. Little by little, she causes unrest and discord among the members of the household, until they are virtually fighting with each other.

In Spanish with English subtitles. (Series: Cinematheque Collection)
UGA Libraries Media Department: VHS 1308.1.
Not rated.


Please cite this work as:
Shedenhelm, Laura D. Mexican Films in the UGA Media Department. (August 2002) <http://www.libs.uga.edu/media/events/hhm/hhm2002/mexican.html> [Date viewed]

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