Licensor Information
Video Mercury
Directed by: Luis García Berlanga
This masterpiece of black humor, beloved in Spain but too little seen elsewhere, threads a scathing critique of Franco-era values through a macabre farce about an undertaker who marries an executioner’s daughter and reluctantly takes over her father’s job so the family can keep their government-allotted apartment. As caustic today as it was in 1963, this early collaboration between Luis García Berlanga and his longtime screenwriter Rafael Azcona is an unerring depiction of what Berlanga called “the invisible traps that society sets up for us.” A furiously funny personal attack on capital punishment, The Executioner escaped the state censors who sought to suppress it, and today is regarded as one of the greatest Spanish films of all time.
Streaming Options
Rent
Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Format:
DVD
Discs:
DVD-9 (2 Discs)
Total: 2 Discs
Regions:
1 (DVD)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66:1
Audio Options:
Spanish Dolby Digital Mono 1.0
Resolution:
480p/29.97
Subtitles:
English
Supplements
Types of Supplements Included: Interview, Documentary, Television Program, Theatrical Trailer
- New interview with filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar
- New program on director Luis García Berlanga, featuring interviews with his son José Luis Berlanga; film critic Carlos F. Heredero; writers Fernando R. Lafuente and Bernardo Sánchez Salas; and director of the Berlanga Film Museum Rafael Maluenda
-
Spanish television program from 2012 on
The Executioner, featuring archival interviews with Luis García Berlanga - Trailer
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Film
Picture
Audio
Supplements
Artwork
Release Credits
Producer: Kate Elmore
Artwork: Brian Stauffer
Release Notes on Restoration
The Executioner
The Executioner is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Black bars at the top and bottom of the screen are normal for this format. This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI Film’s, while Digital Vision’s Phoenix was used for jitter, flicker, small dirt, grain, and noise management.
The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm optical soundtrack negative. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.
The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm optical soundtrack negative. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.

