Luis Bunuel's Robinson Crusoe

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The most surreal aspect of this adaptation of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe is how faithful Surrealist director Luis Bunuel is to the original book! Which is not to say it's sluggish or literary--Bunuel recreates the story with lush scenery and vivid images, as if he himself were discovering the tropical island along with the Englishman shipwrecked in 1659. Crusoe (Daniel O'Herlihy, later to appear in RoboCop) spends 28 years building a home and struggling to maintain his sanity; only a friendship formed with a former cannibal whom he dubs Friday (Jaime Fernandez) breaks his isolation. Bunuel (Un Chien Andalou, Belle De Jour, That Obscure Object of Desire) hews scrupulously to even the most colonial aspects of the original material. Crusoe's original expedition set out to trade slaves, and when Crusoe first meets Friday, he introduces himself as "Master" and comments, "How pleasant it was once more to have a servant." But moments of puckish humor--such as a theological debate in which Friday questions the emotional stability of God--reveal that Bunuel was hardly blind to these issues. Bunuel's sharp eye results in a straightforward but superb version of the classic adventure story. The dvd has a small handful of extras, including an extensive audio interview with O'Herlihy (who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance), in which he reminisces about Orson Welles and reveals that though the movie is in English, Bunuel never spoke it and O'Herlihy had to learn Spanish so he could take direction. --Bret Fetzer

Description

VCI is very proud to present this adventure classic from acclaimed director Luis BuÃ±uel, one of the most acclaimed directors in the history of film, in a new special edition. Virtually unseen in any medium for decades and even thought lost by some, VCI's release has been fully restored to its original glory in time for the 50th Anniversary of its U.S. theatrical release. The year is 1659. There is a shipwreck and the sole survivor Robinson Crusoe is washed ashore on a deserted tropical island. Suddenly faced with a hostile and unknown wilderness, he carves out a life for himself with his bare hands. And remarkably, he learns how to survive the maddening absence of human companionship and intense loneliness. Based on Daniel Defoe's immortal classic it is a story about the human spirit's ability to endure what seem insurmountable challenges. Bonus Features: Scene Selection|English & Spanish languages|English Subtitles Optional|Audio Interview with Dan O'Herlihy by Film Critic David Del Valle|Before & After Restoration Video|Excerpt Reproduction of Original Press Book|Short Biographies & Selected Filmographies|Photo Gallery. Specs: DVD9; Dolby Digital Mono; 90 minutes; Color; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1952; SRP - $14.99.

Customer Reviews:

The other Bunuel.......2005-05-07

I'm not sure why this DVD has received lackluster reviews, but I suspect it's due to disappointment from fans of Bunuel's more surreal masterpieces at the two ends of his career (his collaborations with Dali c. 1930, and the last 9 or 10 films of his old age). Still, people shouldn't dismiss Robinson Crusoe. It has much in common stylistically with other movies of his Mexican period, notably Los Olvidados (1950) and Nazarin (1959) but especially his adaptation of Wuthering Heights made just before Robinson Crusoe. There's a directness and simplicity to these films that is deceiving -- and, like I said, disappointing to fans of Bunuel's more flamboyant stuff. I wouldn't call Robinson Crusoe a masterpiece along the lines of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie or Belle de Jour, but it's interesting and entertaining. (For several interesting reviews, check out the ones on IMDb. On this page, I think "Laughing Gravy" and M. Lucas have hit the nail on the head.)

If you're not a Bunuel fan, then the movie stands on its own pretty well -- mainly because of its surprising faithfulness to Defoe's novel. Huge chunks of Defoe's prose are preserved intact as narration, which I never found annoying. This DVD would make a wonderful teaching aid for high school English classes. (In fact, Bunuel would probably have found it amusing that one of his films can be found in the Family Entertainment section of many video stores.) And O'Herlihy, who has to carry the movie single-handedly for about half the running time, is quite good. His Oscar nomination was well-deserved.

As others have said, VCI's presentation is very nice. There are several minor instances of "ghosting" (mild blurriness caused by the transfer to DVD). Considering that the original negative no longer exists and that Pathe Color was a cheap alternative to Technicolor, I'd say they've done as good a job on the restoration as they could. The long audio interview with the late Dan O'Herlihy is a solid extra.

In summation, I'd say that, if you're interested in this title, it's worth a purchase, especially at it's reasonable listing price. (Even if you end up hating it, you can always donate your copy to a school.) O'Herlihy's performance and the script's faithfulness to the source make this movie respectable entertainment; the presence of Bunuel as director adds an extra layer for viewers searching for "more." And VCI serves everything up with class.

Surprisingly disappointing .......2005-04-06

Sadly, disappointment is the only word for Bunuel's lifeless and seemingly endless 'Robinson Crusoe,' which is less minimalist than it is totally disinterested, for the most part a radio reading of the novel with accompanying and not very impressive pictures. Most of the film tells you what the castaway has done rather than shows you until Friday and the cannibals arrive. It briefly perks up here, dealing well with Crusoe's patronising relationship with Friday and their initial distrust, but it's still just skirting the moderately interesting rather than the genuinely engaging. Daniel O'Herlihy's one note performance is a liability too - there's not much to this Crusoe, and certainly not enough to spend 90 minutes with him.

True, the film was made under immensely difficult conditions, but my problem was that only the limitations were visible - in the restored 90-minute version I saw there was precious little imagination or ability either, which I found particularly surprising from Bunuel: a flat and lifeless b-movie programmer was the last thing I would have expected from him. This felt more like one of Louis Heyward's worst efforts, only without the sporadic entertainment value. Only the fate of Crusoe's dog and the sound of its bark as he left the island really resonated.

Aside from a surprisingly inept dream sequence and a brief theological discussion, there's little to show that this is a Bunuel film (at times its perilously close to Ed Wood's print the first take approach, being shot almost entirely in bland tight medium shots), marking it as a failure as a Bunuel film, a literary adaptation and an adventure. A shame.

The VCi R1 DVD is an impressive package, offering both Spanish and English language tracks and a long audio interview with O'Herlihy.

Surprisingly Faithful Adaptation, highly recommended.......2004-10-18

Luis Buñuel (1900-1983) is celebrated today as "the father of cinematic Surrealism" for creating subversive classics from the beginning of his career, L' Âge d'or (1930), until the end, That Obscure Object of Desire (1977). What a shock to discover, then, that his only English-language film, the once all-but-lost Robinson Crusoe (1954), is a straightforward adventure tale with all of the fun and social comment of the timeless Daniel Defoe novel but with nary a sliced eyeball to be found.

I'm certain ya'll know the story, and the film is faithful: Rob is shipwrecked on a tropical island, saves what he can from the ship before it goes down, and spends most of the rest of the 17th century dodging wild animals, cannibals, and pirates before hooking up with his man Friday.

In the early sequences, we see that Crusoe is all but helpless, not even able to build a fire with no servants to help him. Over the years, he not only perseveres, but triumphs over his environment, building a quite satisfactory fortress of solitude. The loneliness gets to him, though, particularly once his dog dies - "I learned to master everything on my island - except myself!" he ruminates. In a masterful scene, he dreams of his father, who chides him for going off to sea; in another, he feeds some small ants to some big ones, which means something, but don't ask me what. Once he rescues Friday from the cannibals, he gains - not a friend, but a servant, and when his suspicions of Friday get the best of him, Crusoe clamps him in leg irons he rescued from the wreck (he was on a slaving mission, although why he'd want to carry heavy chains from the sinking ship is anybody's guess). Eventually, he comes to recognize Friday as an equal, albeit a lesser one, which leads to a delightful argument about God and the devil between Crusoe and Friday, and if Hitchcock made Psycho just so he could film the shower scene, I can see Buñuel (product of a strict religious upbringing) making Crusoe just for this scene.

A major feather in the proverbial cap for VCI Entertainment, Robinson Crusoe is treated to a brilliant restoration and even includes a few worthwhile extras: the trailer, a poster gallery, an audio interview with Crusoe star Dan O'Herlihy (an Oscar nominee in the role; he lost to Brando in On The Waterfront), and an insert copy of the pressbook. There's also a "before and after" restoration featurette, so you can appreciate how much work went into the digitally remastered edition. Highly recommended.

Tongue-in-cheek stab at adventure film.......2004-10-08

First, VCI deserves a lot of credit for restoring and releasing this obscure work from the Spanish master. This appears to be a tape transfer with a pretty decent restoration. Largely considered lost by many, and filmed on a cheap film stock to begin with, this is about the best anyone could have hoped for. Colors are a bright but muddy, and shift at odd times -- some times with deep blues, then with a murky greens. Whatever the case, a pretty nice film to look at, and the audio is pretty good.

The film itself is pretty bizarre. Its a bit odd that Bunuel would attempt a straight adaptation of Defoe's famous adventure novel into a clean genre film. The great fun of this film is that its a very cheeky bit of self-mockery. The whole style of the film is a deliberate aping of the illustrations found in children's books, and contrasting this puerile and silly style is Bunuel subtle, often hilarious, jabs at the doubtful morality of Crusoe and his story.

I read it as a bit of an anti-colonialist satire. Bunuel's adventure begins with Crusoe defying his strict father and setting out "...bound to Africa to find slaves." From the very get-go, Bunuel's concern is the paternal master/slave relationship. Early in the film, Crusoe has a haunting and perverse dream about his tyrannical Puritan father refusing him water, which is by far the most "Bunuelesque" scene of the film. Crusoe eventually does adapt to his situation on the island, after discovering the Bible and finding a new father figure, God. He piously devotes his attentions to honoring God, yelling scriptures on the hilltops and noting the Sabbath by notching it on a wood plank. With the help of his new master, Crusoe restores order to his chaotic new life.

But Bunuel continues to stab at Crusoe -- when making a scarecrow, he dresses up a wooden cross in a woman's dress. Bunuel holds on Crusoe as, sinning in his heart, he looks back amorously at the dressed-up cross. Later, when Crusoe finds an uncivilized barbarian, "Friday," he Anglicizes him by finicking over Friday's physical appearance: cutting his hair, giving him a gold necklace, etc. However, when Friday puts on a woman's dress, his "Master" Crusoe is immediately uncomfortable, and become inexplicably angry. The point is hard to miss.

Not to be overlooked, also, is the humanity of the film. When it's not being so cruel, it does provide a little bit of the familiar Defoe pathos. Crusoe is, after all, a lonely and confused man trying to make sense of an alien environment. Its difficult to tell how much of this existential angst is Bunuel, and how much of it is Defoe, but it is present.

If you catch on to the humor, then this film will be very amusing for any Bunuel fan. And, without a doubt, Bunuel's hand is all over this film. Shots of bugs, irreverent and dry humor, unflattering portraits of warped characters -- it may not be the Discreet Charm, but this "lost" Opus should delight any fan. For those who don't know who Bunuel is, it'll just be a fun B-grade adaption of Defoe. Everyone wins.

Robinson Crusoe.......2004-10-03

The long awaited "Adventures of Robinson Crusoe" has finally arrived on home video on DVD by VCI. This DVD entitled "Robinson Crusoe" purports to be a "restoration." The original film had two things going for it - a fine performance by Dan O'Herlihy and vivid color. VCI got one out of two. The so-called restoration's color is sub-par, although they managed to get a lot of dirt and scratches out, the color is not close to being vivid. It didn't help that it was filmed in bargain basement Pathecolor. The sound track has on and off thumping noises that are most annoying. Only if you are a fan of this film is it worth seeing or even buying. This restoration looks like it was one of those digital jobs. VCI should leave the restorations to Criterion and Robert A. Harris. I was really looking forward to this DVD but ended up being badly disappointed.

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