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Tristana

Tristana, acknowledged as Buñuel's 'most Spanish' work, was inspired by a novel of the same name by one of Spain's greatest nineteenth-century writers, Benito Prez Galds. Buñuel had wanted to adapt it for the screen for many years. Although he claimed that neither his film nor Galds's novel dealt with women's liberation, both are profound meditations on freedom, control and power.

In 1930s Toledo, newly orphaned beauty Tristana (Catherine Deneuve) is left in the care of ageing atheist and fallen aristocrat Don Lope (Fernando Rey). The dutiful and innocent girl is seduced by Lope and she duly becomes his mistress. However, when she meets a young painter, the handsome but uninspiring Horacio (Franco Nero), power changes hands and Tristana becomes increasingly embittered when fate plays a nasty trick on her. She falls seriously ill and returns to Don Lope, resuming her tormented relationship with him but finally taking revenge on the man who destroyed her innocence.

A classic, perfectly cast and beautifully photographed film, Tristana is a twisted, haunting study of sexual politics and the concept of freedom. Tristana and Don Lope are both passionate about freedom of choice but they both find their choices regulated by unconscious desire - a recurring Buuel theme that finds its perfect embodiment in these two fascinating characters whom we see changing before our very eyes.

Extras:

- Two versions of the film, Spanish and French, both with English subtitles
- Booklet that includes notes by Isabel Santaolalla who teaches at Roehampton University, London. She is the co-editor of Luis Buñuel: New Readings (London: BFI, 2004) and Buñuel, siglo XXI (Zaragoza: Prensas Universitarias, 2004).

bunuelian wrote:Has anyone seen the Tristana disc? I wonder if this is worth getting, since CC will never, ever release another Bunuel. Ever. (i'm succumbing to despair, here)

It's not out for a while yet.

peerpee wrote:

bunuelian wrote:Has anyone seen the Tristana disc? I wonder if this is worth getting, since CC will never, ever release another Bunuel. Ever. (i'm succumbing to despair, here)

It's not out for a while yet.

Ah ok sorry. I saw it listed as a January release on MoC. Should've done my homework . . .

They've removed it now. They must read this forum!

bunuelian wrote:Ah ok sorry. I saw it listed as a January release on MoC. Should've done my homework . . .

Tristana was originally scheduled for January but i think the BFI recently pushed it back to april.

So, I take it that Tristana is going to be bare-bones, then? It does contain the French track and the Spanish track, though and both have Eng-subs.

So, I take it that Tristana is going to be bare-bones, then? It does contain the French track and the Spanish track, though and both have Eng-subs.

According to the BFI site, two versions of the film -

This DVD contains two versions of the film, Spanish and French, both with English subtitles and a booklet that includes notes by Isabel Santaolalla who teaches at Roehampton University, London.

I was holding off picking this up, hoping for a Criterion release, but now I'm not sure. Any major difference between the two versions, apart from language?

Am I mistaken, or did the BFI not start encoding their 1.66:1 transfers in anamorphic? I have Le Doulos and it is listed on the back as 1.66:1/16x9 and is indeed anamorphic and well-framed. Yet, Tristana is not anamorphic - why? Strange.

Does anyone have any opinions on the different language tracks? Is the Spanish 'more faithful' to the source novel, or was the film shot in Spanish and then dubbed in French or are both versions dubbed?!

I felt guilty registering so much complaint over Tristana (in the DVDbeaver comparison thread) that I wanted to balance it out with *much* praise for People on Sunday. What a wonderful film! I'm sure it will eventually rank among my most treasured films on DVD (though I have to say you're better off avoiding the soundtrack, it's terribly overblown and far too dramatic for the film... very small quibble). I can't wait to watch it again. Does anyone else have similar feelings about this movie?

Well, I have to second that; "Tristana" looks pretty bad (but is still acceptable) and sounds horrible (the Spanish soundtrack, at least). What a great film, and it definitely deserves more than a barebones release that looks and sounds like this (and isn't anamorphic). It's not terrible overall, but it comes nowhere even close to the Criterion releases of Buñuel's stuff. It is far from unwatchable; I was just hoping for more from this disc, though.

In case anyone was wondering, this has gone out of print.

It's since been re-released by Optimum as part of their Bunuel boxed-set. It lacks the Spanish soundtrack option, but still has optional subs, anamorphic transfer and a 20-minute featurette not featured on the old BFI disc.

To be honest, it's been sat in my kevyip for over a year so was simply going by the info on the back of the sleeve - but I'll check when I get chance and get back to you.

david hare wrote: Are you sure about this?

Optimum box is an English-friendly version of Bunuel sets issued earlier in France. Tristana is included in a French version ONLY. But I beleive it's coming sooner or later from CC (check the appropriate thread), so why bother...

So, what about this?? I'd love the BFI to remaster this one.

Isn't it Studio Canal? All of their other titles to be released by the BFI, as far as I'm aware, i.e. the Melvilles, have all been reissued since by Optimum and the old BFI discs deleted. So I'm guessing it would be out of their hands...

Yes, I think Studio Canal has gone the way of Warner Bros - the exclusive deal with Optimum shuts out all other UK distributors. (In Warners' case, they simply don't allow anyone other than Warner UK to handle their stuff).

The biggest difference between them is that Studio Canal makes a decent effort to release everything, while Warner churns their back catalogue on overpriced DVDR.

nolanoe wrote:So, what about this?? I'd love the BFI to remaster this one.

So this out of the question?

Kauno wrote:

nolanoe wrote:So, what about this?? I'd love the BFI to remaster this one.

So this out of the question?

Yes, for reasons discussed in some detail a few posts above. The only thing that's changed since that conversation is that Optimum has been taken over directly by StudioCanal, so effectively StudioCanal is now distributing its own titles in the UK.

According to Dave Kehr in the Times, Cohen is putting this out on Blu-ray in March. I'm not sure how that's possible, but still happy to hear the news.

March 12, to be exact. Cohen Film Collection thread

Could BFI perhaps license the new restored Tristana (out on Blu from Cohen Media) and combine it with both the French and Spanish soundtracks?

Stefan Andersson wrote:Could BFI perhaps license the new restored Tristana (out on Blu from Cohen Media) and combine it with both the French and Spanish soundtracks?

Probably not, because the UK rights are owned by Studio Canal - so they're the most likely bet.