Search - Cria Cuervos (Criterion Collection) on DVD

CRIA CUERVOS... Y TE SACARÁN LOS OJOS

Bartolome Mesa Gil | Malaga, SPAIN | 08/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally, it appears, Criterion is getting around to releasing some of the many great Spanish films of the past decades. High time they noticed there have been some astounding Spanish films and directors beyond Luis Buñuel, undoubtedly the great master. But Saura, Berlanga, Bardem, Borau, Erice, Bigas Luna, and quite a few more I could name, have directed some masterpieces that also deserve the special Criterion teatment. After the recent and excellent release of El Espíritu de la Colmena (Spirit of the Beehive), now comes Cría Cuervos, a fascinating parable, somewhere between fantasy and reality, that beyond the too obvious symbolism of a country finally liberating itself from a long dictatorship, it is an intelligent exploration of the scary world of troubled childhood. And Ana Torrent (the same girl of Spirit of the Beehive) speaks volumes just with those incredible dark eyes. My copy is in its way, but I don't doubt Criterion transfer and worthy extras will deserve a 5-star rating.

UPDATING: Having just received my copy, I can say I am very pleased with the excellent transfer of the movie. It looks great. But I am even more impressed by the extras on the second disc:. Mainly, a wonderfully insightful portrait of Carlos Saura (more than one hour long), produced by TVE (state-run Spanish tv) in 2004 -unfortunately in a non-anamorphic widescreen transfer-, which I found as interesting as the film itself. Also a 20-minute incredibly candid and perceptive interview in English with Geraldine Chaplin (done for Criterion in 2007 susprisingly not in widescreen). I had the pleasure of interviewing the actress some years back for a Spanish publication and I knew how good and revealing she was in conversation with the press, unlike most film actors. But I was surprised by some of her intimate revelations in this one. Another 8-minute conversation with Ana Torrent shot for the Criterion Collection as well (this one in anamorphic widescreen!) is also welcomed, but should have been conducted in Spanish, as the actress is no so fluent with her English."

How can Amazon sell this?

C. I. Teixeira | United Kingdom | 12/05/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I was astonished Amazon is selling this item. As the previous review says this DVD is simply unwatchable; it was probably recorded off a very poor quality VHS tape. I stopped watching after a couple of minutes when I realised this quality was the same throughout the DVD. The irony is that you can only get a partial refund on DVDs that have been opened.
This doesn't deserve even 1 star, stay away from this unwatchable DVD at all costs."

Unwatchable quality

A. Sevi | 07/22/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"It doesn't dererve even 1 star. Unwatchable quality, worse than a worn out old VHS. The English subtitles are unreadable in large portions of the film (white on white)."

Available elsewhere as a licensed DVD

Jim Quist | Richland Center, WI USA | 12/14/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"A Region 2/PAL DVD with removable English subtitles, and excellent picture quality, is available from many sellers in Europe under the Spanish title "Cría Cuervos". DVDGO is one such seller, find them via your favorite search engine. Don't settle for a terrible quality bootleg."