Search - El Manantial on DVD

Bitterness lingering from a tormentful past

Rob Ez | Chicago | 10/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had not seen a telenovela since 1997..and honestly the only reason why I bought this DVD was for one reason...the incomparable and talented DANIELA ROMO played Doña Margarita Ramirez, the bitter and evil woman in "El Manantial".

The story follows 2 rivaling families who continually bicker about the piece of land they own. As both their children grow up and eventually fall in love a'la "Romeo and Juliet"..they soon discover that their love can't be, as gradually hidden drama surfaces. Lots of suspense and never a dull moment on this soap opera. Adela Noriega plays, yet again, a sweet girl who is tormented by another individual and suffers. I guess we can't expect anything else from Adela, as she's been playing the same character for years. Mauricio Islas was not very convincing as the hunk male lead, but luckily the story rarely revolves around him.

The storyline that stole the novela, in my opinion, are that of the Ramirez (Mauricio's character's parents) estate. Justo Ramirez (Alejandro Tomassi) and Margarita Ramirez (Daniela Romo) own a big estate in their town and possess alot of control over it. Justo's incredibly cold and heartless to everyone, including his own wife, who for unknown reasons secretly hates him, and as the story unfolds we'll realize why. Margarita's character, played AMAZINGLY WELL by Daniela Romo, is the most layered of all characters. She's calculating but at the same time compassionate. She knows how to get what she wants but at the same time still feels for Adela's character, whom her son is in love with. Towards the end of the movie, Margarita suddenly shifts from villain to heroine.

I have read complainnts about this DVD being too short. I for one can guarantee that I never felt that it was short. If anything, it's a good thing that this DVD has been edited to only 7 hours, as they have cut out all the filler scene. Anyone who has seen telenovelas can tell you this, they prolonge story lines and dialogue to stretch out the telenovela's run and to have more room for advertisments. That's the nature of the business and I am glad that this DVD has NO FILLER, ALL KILLER scenes. You shan't be discouraged. And yes, they have taken out the Luis Miguel theme song "Amor Amor Amor" as they didn't get permission from WEA Mexico. It's OK, we can do without it.

Buy this DVD, you won't regret it. I found it hard to stop watching after a while. I hope they release more entertaining and trashy soap operas with consequential drama like "El Manantial". BRING ON "CUNA DE LOBOS"!

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El Manantial DVD worth it!

M. Scanlon | Tampa, FL | 03/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was one of the really good novelas shown on TV. The producer, Carla Estrada, is known for her great productions, including her more recent 'Amor Real' (the very best!). I recommend this DVD. I just wish it were longer. I'd be willing to pay more for, say, a set of 3 or 4 DVD's to get more of the story."

El Manatial

Yescica Livesey | uk | 08/31/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"La historia de la novela es muy buena pero la ediccion muy mala no se porque porque edditan las novelas hasta el punto que uno pierde el trayecto de la historia, en realidad esta muy corta.
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Manantial dvd

K Rivera | San Jose, CA USA | 04/04/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Having never seen the TV version I found this novela to be entertaining. It's a nice companion to the Amor Real dvd because of the main actors Adela Noriega and Mauricio Islas. They are cute together as a pair in Manantial. Not exactly passionate but very sweet have patience with it- the ending is good. Yes the dvd is rushed but you get all the important stuff. I recommend it to any novela fans."