EL SUR - BLU-RAY

El Sur (DVD + Blu-ray)
A film by Victor Erice

Recalling her youth in 1950s northern Spain, Estrella revisits her relationship with her beloved father Agustin, raised in the south, and realises how little she knew of him and his secrets.

Victor Erice's delicate and mysterious film reveals his abiding fascination with memory and loss, missed opportunities and the links between private dreams and political realities. The performances, like the meticulously lit compositions and evocative soundtrack, are superb; Omero Antonutti is a charismatic Agustin, while Sonsoles Aranguren and Icíar Bollaín shine as, respectively, the young and teenaged Estrella. Exquisitely beautiful, profoundly moving.

Special features:

• Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
• Haunted Memory: The Cinema of Victor Erice (Adrian Martin, Cristina, Álvarez López, 2016, 13 mins): a video essay celebrating the great Spanish director
• Victor Erice interviewed by Geoff Andrew (2003, 83 mins, audio only)
• Theatrical re-release trailer
• Fully illustrated booklet featuring essays by Geoff Andrew and Mar Diestro-Dópido and full film credits

Spain | 1983 | colour | Spanish language, with English subtitles | 95 mins | Original aspect ratio 1.66:1 | Cert PG (scene of implied suicide) | BD25: 1080p, 24fps, PCM mono audio (49kHz/24-bit) Region B Blu-ray | DVD9: PAL, 25fps, Dolby Digital mono audio (192kbps) | Region 2 DVD

Review

Perfection ***** --David Jenkins, Little White Lies

...96 minutes of emotions so intense that you're left breathless. I cry every time I watch it. --Pedro Almodovar