Miguel Contreras Torres Movies
- 1964
In the northeastern region of Brazil, local farmers are unable to grow sufficient crops on their arid land. When a holy man arrives and claims that his "sacred" ox will bring them rain if they follow where it leads, the naive peasants believe him. They follow the mystical creature to a nearby village where soldiers are posted to guard the mayor's store of provisions. Here, the tension culminates in a clash between the starving peasants and the armed guards, and needless deaths occur. Os Fuzis/The Guns illustrates characteristics of the South American Cinema Novo movement with its expressive blend of aesthetic composition and powerful socio-political subject matter. Screenwriter/director Ruy Guerra released this feature only three years after his successful and controversial debut, Os Cafajestes/Unscrupulous (1962). In 1972, Guerra would appear onscreen as Don Pedro de Ursua in Werner Herzog's Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes/ Aguirre, the Wrath of God. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nelson Xavier, Maria Gladys, (more)
- 1961
When Carlos Thompson begins killing miners following the murder of his wife by a miner, Charles
Fawcett and his Texas Rangers halt the killing spree. ~ All Movie Guide
Fawcett and his Texas Rangers halt the killing spree. ~ All Movie Guide
This typical Mexican melodrama is set in a coastal fishing village where a wealthy fisherman (Pedro Armendariz) lives with his wife (Maria Felix) and young son (Juanito Musquiz). Their lives are turned upside down when an American of dubious morality (Jack Palance) comes into town. The American and the fisherman's wife had been lovers years and years ago -- and now the fisherman begins to suspect that the son he always thought was his, is really the offspring of this foreign intruder. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, Maria Felix, (more)
- 1950
Fifth-generation Californian Leo Carrillo returns to the homeland of his ancestors in the Mexican Pancho Villa Returns. Though pushing 70, Carrillo is convincing as the relatively youthful rebel chieftain Pancho Villa. Made a general in the Mexican army by Presidente Madera, Villa is forced into a life of banditry when Madera is assassinated in 1913. Flying in the face of historical facts, Pancho Villa is depicted as a paragon of virtue, albeit one who has no qualms about executing those who've betrayed his cause. Pancho Villa Returns was written and directed by Miguel Contrera Torres, one of Mexico's most successful (and longest-lasting) filmmakers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Carrillo, Esther Fernandez, (more)
- 1940
In this melodramatic historical drama, the lives of Mexico's Maximilian and Carlotta are chronicled. The story follows their brief reign as figureheads for Napoleon III. The two doomed rulers were terribly naive and had no idea that they were universally despised by the native population. Upon her return to Europe, Carlotta goes mad with grief when she realizes that her beleaguered husband, trapped by a rebel uprising in Mexico City, will receive no aid from their backers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Atwill, Conrad Nagel, (more)
