Maria Candelaria (1944)

The story of a girl who is looked down on due to her mothers past. This is her struggle to get the man she wants and to set her life straight.System Requirements:Running Time: 102 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: LATIN/DRAMA UPC: 878224000522 Manufacturer No: GNI-00052 Product Description

AN ALMOST UNWATCHABLE DVD VERSION

I've been eager to acquire this film on DVD because it is one of the great films of the golden age of Mexican cinema, with outstanding cinematography and a marvelous story. That said, I am embarrassed for the distributor that has released this particular version on DVD because a) they apparently don't know how historically important it is and have spewed out a disgraceful version; or b) they lacked the funding or proper materials to restore it (or clean it); or c) they may have felt that it wasn't worth the investment to restore for x reasons, i.e., limited market appeal; or d) all of the above. I'm only speculating, but this is my opinion as a consumer who paid good money for this product. I bought it in good faith, saw it, was extremely disappointed, but didn't return it because it's the only version of this masterpiece that I've been able to find, and it's almost tolerable on a small screen, like a laptop. (Forget about it seeing it on a hi def TV!) My memory of this film--and I saw it on television years ago as a child--is much sharper and pristine than this unfortunate version. This B-movie treatment reflects several things in my book, mainly a complete lack of respect not only for great Mexican cinema, but for the pocket and intelligence of the consumer! We are, after all, living in the XXI century. I've seen public domain titles in better condition than this. This movie won the Grand Prix in Cannes in 1946! It deserves much, much better than what I paid for. October 22, 2007

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