Marina Saura Movies
Christopher Newley (Lee Curreri) is the bubble boy and aspiring songwriter who falls in love with rock star Alley Daniels (Tawny Kitaen) in this maudlin drama. He is visited by both Alley and the oily personal manager and show-business sleaze Jean-Claude (Simon Andreu) after his letters to the star are answered. Lloyd Bochner and May Heatherly play Christopher's concerned parents. The boy risks everything when he vows to escape the prison of his controlled environment. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Curreri, Tawny Kitaen, (more)
- 1986
José Maria Gil Ramos (Patrick Newell) is a noted attorney who agrees to defend a minor government official accused of stealing 4,000 tons of oil. As Ramos investigates, the trail leads to possible wrongdoing orchestrated by the brother of military dictator Franco. High government officials try to impede the investigation and derail the defense of Ramos' client. This intricate investigative drama is based on a 1972 incident which was investigated by the famous Spanish liberal Gil Robles. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Newell, Carlos Velat, (more)
- 1986
Juan Gallardo (Tony Isbert) becomes the legendary robber known as Pasos Largos (Long Strider), the last of the celebrated Andalusian bandits. Poaching puts him at odds with the head of the hated local Civil Guard and the livid landowner. Though the film attempts to elevate Pasos Largos to hero status, the heartless bandit exhibits no redeeming qualities whatsoever -- he even shoots his faithful dog and any other animal that moves. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Isbert, Marina Saura, (more)
When an attempted political coup in Northern Italy fails, most of the mercenaries hired by the coup leaders disperse. Not so Martin (Rutger Hauer), who intends to rob his duplicitous former employer Arnolfini (Fernando Hillbeck). Martin is able to raise his own army by using a stolen religious artifact as a talisman. He later kidnaps Arnolfini's prospective daughter-in-law Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh),who saves herself from gang rape by feigning eternal devotion to her captor. Weeks of plunder and destruction follow, with a deadly plague thrown into the stew. Flesh and Blood has also been released under the title The Rose and the Sword. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, (more)
- 1984
In his second successful starring role in 1983, Agustín Gonzalez is a father who runs a wine shop in Madrid, a city under a three-year siege (1936-1939) because the Nationalists forces of Francisco Franco need to take Madrid before the fascist dictator can be installed in power. The siege has left the Madrileños with very little food, living under the threat of bombs, and worrying about the prospects of defeat. It is the sense of impending disaster, of hunger and deprivation that is oddly missing from this cinematic interpretation of the play by Fernando Fernán Gómez. The daughter in the family (Victoria Abril) enters into a love affair with a soldier and ends up having a baby, the son (Gabino Diego) is coming of age with the maid - and life seems to go on with all its proverbial ups and downs. But without the sharp dialogue of the play itself, this film is not as tautly strung, or as convincingly real as the stage production. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amparo Soler Leal, Agustin Gonzalez, (more)
