Buena Vista Social Club [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Overview

Wim Wenders' documentary Buena Vista Social Club is about the adventures of Ry Cooder in Cuba. Cooder, best remembered by film fans for the wailing slide guitar theme of Wenders' Paris, Texas, went to Cuba in 1996 to meet with some legendary 'soneros' musicians of the '30s, '40s and '50s. The result was the album Buena Vista Social Club, recorded with such colorful characters as the 90-year-old singer/guitarist Compay Segundo, guitarist Eliades Ochoa, baritone Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo, "the Cuban Edith Piaf." The album won a Grammy, and in this refreshing documentary, Wim Wenders shows these exceptional musicians in their hometown, following them into their usual hang-outs -- the cafes, clubs and even living rooms -- as well as to concerts in Amsterdam and New York's Carnegie Hall, capturing their incredible vitality. "In Cuba, music flows like a river," according to Ry Cooder, who adds "Music is like a treasure hunt; you dig and dig and sometimes find something." Pursuing this metaphor, Wenders wanted to make a film that would "just float on this river ... not interfering with it, just drifting along." The result is a film full of vitality and positive energy, which is also an absolute delight to musical ears.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/18/2017
UPC:	0715515195713
Original Release:	1999
Rating:	G
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:45:00
Sales rank:	9,834

Special Features

Audio commentary from 1999 featuring director Wim Wenders; New interview with Wenders; Interview from 1998 with musician Compay Segundo on his career and the world of Cuban music; Radio interviews from 2000 featuring musicians Ibrahim Ferrer, Rubén González, Eliades Ochoa, Omara Portuondo, and others; Additional scenes; Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Luis Barzaga	Performer
Joachim Cooder	Performer,Performer
Julio Alberto Fernandez	Performer
Ibrahim Ferrer	Performer
Carlos Gonzalez	Performer,Performer,Actor
Compay Segundo	Performer
Elíades Ochoa	Performer
Omara Portuondo	Performer
Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal	Performer
Orlando Lopez "Cachaito"	Performer
Barbarito Torres	Performer
Manuel "Puntillita" Licea	Performer
Raul Planes	Performer
Felix Valoy	Performer
Ricahrd Eques	Performer
Maceo Rodriguez	Performer
Joaquim Cooder	Performer
Pio Leyva	Performer
Buena Vista Social Club	Composer

Technical Credits

Wim Wenders

Wim Wenders	Director,Director,Screenwriter
Ry Cooper	Producer
Ulrich Felsberg	Executive Producer,Producer
Nick Gold	Executive Producer
Martin Muller	Sound/Sound Designer
Deepak Nayar	Executive Producer,Producer
Ry Cooder	Producer
Walter Mueller	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

In the skillful hands of visionary director Wim Wenders (WINGS OF DESIRE), this touching documentary about the Cuban musical phenomenon known as the Buena Vista Social Club becomes a moving meditation on the passage of time. Wenders brings an impressive restraint to his telling of this rags-to-riches story, a simple tale enhanced by the gorgeously muted scenery of Havana's romantic ruin and its glorious music. Two events frame the Buena Vista Social Club's rise from obscurity to senior-citizen superstardom -- club master of ceremonies Ry Cooder's return to Havana in 1998 to record vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer's solo album and the gang's heart-stopping performance at Carnegie Hall. We see the physical decay of the men and their city as we hear, through lively interviews with nearly every member of the large ensemble, about the glory of Cuba and her musicians of a half century before, when mambo and son filled hotel salons and casino ballrooms. But when these aged masters burst into song -- Compay Segundo's baritone ringing out, Rúben González's rich piano soloing, Omara Portuondo's tearful dueting with Ferrer on "Dos Gardenias" -- music erases the ravages of time, old men become animated as children, and a forgotten world lives again, glowing around the edges like a dream.

Barnes & Noble - Mark Schwartz

One of the most critically acclaimed and commercially popular documentaries of its time, Buena Vista Social Club is a loving tribute by filmmaker Wim Wenders and musician Ry Cooder to the surviving members of a forgotten golden age of Cuban music. Shot on digital video and presented in a straightforward manner, the movie beautifully interweaves profiles of the principal musicians with footage of them playing at recording sessions and at 1998 concerts in Amsterdam (Le Carre) and New York City (Carnegie Hall). The music is fantastic, and, for those unfamiliar with this musical genre, a revelation. Each of the principals is given a chance to show off, with memorable sequences devoted to singer Ibrahim Ferrer, pianist Ruben Gonzalez, laud player Barbarito Torres, and nonagenarian guitarist Compay Segundo. But it is just as interesting to see these old-timers taking the filmmakers -- and audience -- on a tour through the streets of Havana, telling their stories and looking back on their lives. Buena Vista Social Club probably would have been just as successful had it been merely a filmed record of the various performances, but the interviews give the film an extra character, revealing layers to the artists that a simple concert picture never could. Also evident throughout is the respect that Wenders and Cooder hold for their subject, and Wenders provides a revealing peak into contemporary Cuban life. The ecstatic response to Buena Vista Social Clubmay have been a bit overenthusiastic -- this is not groundbreaking documentary filmmaking -- but the subject matter is so compelling and the music so enduring that it is easy to see why it seduced audiences around the world.

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