Paco de Lucía Movies

This beautifully photographed documentary is Spanish-filmmaker Carlos Saura's tribute to the beauty and diversity of Spain's national dance. Using only the minimalist setting of an abandoned Seville train station and the costumes of more than 300 performers, this is a veritable feast of exciting flamenco dances, songs, and guitar playing. Some of the better known artists include Paco de Lucia, Manolo Sanlucar, and Lole Manuel. The film features little dialogue, relying instead on visual pageantry, music and costumes. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Flamenco is a passionate and improvisational, but highly rigorous style of music, song and dance which originated, some say, among the gypsies of southern Spain. Whatever its origins, it captures the essence of the typically Spanish duality of intense feeling wrapped closely in proud self-discipline. In the first half of the 1980s, director Carlos Saura directed three films devoted to the art of flamenco and those who perform it. The best known of these, Carmen, shows a group of students working with a gifted teacher as they attempt to master this complex and difficult art form. In this documentary, the culmination of a lifetime of such training is displayed, as a number of elderly masters of the medium perform one of the best known flamenco dance forms, Sevillanas, in eleven separate episodes. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this offbeat crime film, Willie Parker (Terence Stamp) an English mobster turned informant, has been given a new identity and has been living in a small, isolated village in Spain for 10 years. Unfortunately for Parker, the men he has betrayed have ascertained his whereabouts and send Braddock (John Hurt), a professional hitman, and his apprentice Myron (Tim Roth) to bring Parker to Paris where his ex-associates await. After kidnapping Parker, nothing goes as planned. Now they are followed by a Spanish policeman (Fernando Rey) who seems to anticipate each of their moves, and they are burdened by Maggie (Laura del Sol), the mistress of a fellow mobster they were forced to kill. What should have been a routine hit becomes a psychological battle between all the participants as Parker, in a fight for time and for his life, plays one against the other. Set against the bleak Spanish landscape and featuring evocative and memorable theme music, the film builds to a surprising conclusion where the true nature of all the characters is revealed. Terence Stamp develops the character of Parker in a subtle but surprisingly comic performance and Laura del Sol shines as a woman who will do what is necessary to survive. Tim Roth, in his film debut, plays a brutal, but oddly endearing thug. But it is John Hurt, in a sensitive and nuanced performance, who brings a perceptive intelligence and depth to his role which adds a philosophical and psychological dimension to the film. Hurt plays his difficult role without a misstep and with a rare economy of action. Thoughtful and frequently amusing, The Hit, superbly written by Peter Prince, is both a compelling and suspenseful crime drama and also a deep and profound meditation on life, death and courage. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

This concert film captures a remarkable collaboration between three of the acknowledged greats of jazz guitar. John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, and Paco De Lucia had each became masters in their own way when they joined forces in order to tour. This program is highly recommended to any jazz or guitar enthusiast. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi