Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! [Criterion Collection]

Overview

"I'll never love you . . . ever!" the sexy and attractive Marina (Victoria Abril) states emphatically to the love-struck Ricky (Antonio Banderas). You know she means what she says because when she makes this statement she is handcuffed and lashed to a bed, not exactly the proper way to warm anyone up for romance. Yet in Pedro Almodovar's Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! the way to a woman's heart is depicted as being held in captivity until the Stockholm Syndrome kicks in. The film concerns the plight of Marina, a "B"-movie diva trying to adjust to her recent success after years of porno films and drug addiction. But then into her life comes Ricky, a part-time handyman and full-time mental patient, who, during one of his past escapes from the mental ward, had spent the night with Marina -- who gave in to him during one of her less-discerning moments. Since then, Ricky has been thinking of her constantly. Determined to win her affections, he kidnaps Marina, holding her captive in her own apartment and trying everything to convince her to love him -- then they could marry and have a big family. All Ricky's attempts to woo Marina fail. Finally, after taking a severe beating from some street thugs, he strikes a chord in Marina's nurturing heart so that when her sister Lola (Loles Leon) finally discovers her plight, Marina no longer wants to be rescued.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/30/2014
UPC:	0715515123914
Original Release:	1990
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:42:00
Sales rank:	14,377

Special Features

New 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Pedro Almodóvar and executive producer Agustín Almodóvar; New documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with Pedro Almodóvar; Agustín Almodóvar; actors Antonio Banderas, Victoria Abril, Loles León, and Rossy de Palma; production manager Esther García; and cinematographer José Luis Alcaine; New interview with Almodóvar collaborator and Sony Pictures Classics copresident Michael Barker; Conversation from 2003 between Pedro Almodóvar and Banderas; Footage from the film's 1990 premiere party in Madrid; New English subtitle translation; PLUS: a 1990 piece about the film by Pedro Almodóvar and a conversation between critic Kent Jones and filmmaker Wes Anderson

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Victoria Abril	Marina Osorio
Antonio Banderas	Ricky
Loles León	Lola
Francisco Rabal	Máximo Espejo,Actor
Julieta Serrano	Alma
María Barranco	Doctor
Rossy de Palma	Camel in Vespa
Lola Cardona	Directora Psiquiatrico
Montse G. Romeu	Periodista
Emiliano Redondo	Decorador
Alberto Fernández	Actor
José María Tasso	Actor
Angelina Llongueras	Montadora
Loles Leon	Lola
Francisca Caballero	la mère de Marina
Carlos Garcia Cambero	Hermano de Lola
Miguel García	Gitano Viejo
Rodolfo Montero	Guarda Jurado
Agustín Almodóvar	Farmaceutico
Manuel Bandera	Bailarin Tango
Ennio Morricone	Composer

Technical Credits

Pedro Almodóvar

Yuyi Beringola

Pedro Almodóvar	Director,Screenwriter,Executive Producer,Producer
Enrique Posner	Producer
Yuyi Beringola	Screenwriter
Michael A. Carter	Sound Effects
Ray Gillon	Sound Effects
Graham V. Hartstone	Sound Effects
Reyes Abades	Special Effects
Alejandro Cobo	Stunts

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
1. The Heart in the Window [8:25]
2. Barajas Studios [9:11]
3. "That's a Wrap!" [6:54]
4. Don't Scream [7:43]
5. "Canción Del Alma" [5:30]
6. Marina's Doctor [7:15]
7. The Square [8:32]
8. Nothing to Lose [12:22]
9. Playing House [8:32]
10. "I Remember You" [5:17]
11. The Line From Granadilla to Marina [8:22]
12. The End of the Line [8:46]
13. "Resistiré" [4:58]
1. Color Bars [:20]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
   Play the Movie
   Chapters
   Supplements
      United
         Play
      Pedro and Antonio
         Play
      Michael Barker
         Play
      "Resistiré"
         Play
      Trailer
   Subtitles
      Subtitles: On
      Subtitles: Off

Editorial Reviews

Pedro Almodóvar takes an warmly unorthodox look at relationships in Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, a romantic comedy with a plot similar to William Wyler's thriller The Collector. Despite the tawdriness indicated in the title, this is not just a steamy tale of kinky sex practices, but rather a dark comedy with a compelling relationship at its center, both characters literally struggling for power and desperate for love. Rather than populate the film with tons of zany, colorful characters like in his previous films, Almodóvar chooses to let the camera focus on the two attractive leads, each possessing a strong screen presence. Antonio Banderas broods with boyish passion as dull-witted mental patient Ricky, showing enough vulnerability to make him adorable. His behavior is shown as a result of his overwrought lovesickness, coupled with a complete lack of subtlety. Veteran actress Victoria Abril brings enough strength to the character of Marina to make it faulty to dismiss her as just a victim. Keeping the action confined to Marina's bedroom in long close-up shots with a swelling musical score from Ennio Morricone, the film feels more like a '50s romantic drama than the shocker its critics claimed it to be. Though it received a public outcry and an NC-17 rating upon release, this love story of a kidnapper and victim is surprisingly told with compassion.

All Movie Guide - Andrea LeVasseur