Francisco Reiguera Movies

Over the course of his lifetime, the legendary director Orson Welles (1915-1985) was forced to leave many of his grander movie-making projects unfinished, generally for want of sustained financial backing. Each successive unfinished effort generated buzz throughout the worshipful film community that only served to brighten the luster of his legend. Thus it was only a matter of time before one of his many admirers bought the rights to the fairly extensive footage he shot for his film Don Quixote (begun in 1955) and attempted to edit it into some semblance of a finished film, based on research into Welles' stated intentions and notes. A fuzzy, out-of-focus print of the resulting film was shown at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, and it was immediately deemed as a hashed-up job, a travesty bordering on the sacrilegious, by the assembled deeply interested and knowledgeable viewers. Their criticism focused mainly on issues that ordinary viewers would deem excessively technical, but the gist of it was that this was a very un-Wellesian use of Welles' footage. However, the film does offer viewers a unique opportunity to see some of the master's mature story ideas onscreen. In addition to footage from the film, the movie is also a kind of semi-documentary homage to Welles, showing footage of the famed director at work. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this Spanish drama, a lifelong friendship falls apart when the buddies fall in love with the same girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Sam Peckinpah's 1965 feature Major Dundee was recut and rescored for re-release theatrically in 2005, 40 years after its original release. The "Extended Version," as it is known officially, tells essentially the same story as the original but with clearer motivations for the characters (which often seemed vague or obscure in the 1965 edition) and much greater effectiveness. Major Amos Charles Dundee (Charlton Heston) is a West Point graduate who somehow -- it's not clear -- exceeded his orders while serving in the Battle of Gettysburg and, as punishment, has been taken out of combat and put in charge of a Union prison in New Mexico. He then gets word that marauding Apaches under Sierra Charriba (Michael Pate) have raided an American settlement, slaughtering the troops who were pursuing them and kidnapping three young boys, whom they've taken to their lair south of the Rio Grande (and if this sounds a lot like the plot of John Ford's Rio Grande, it's because they used the same story as inspiration). Dundee assumes responsibility for capturing or destroying the raiders and rescuing the captives, but because he has far too few men, he's forced to recruit prisoners, including his one-time friend, Confederate Captain Benjamin Tyreen (Richard Harris), and other "gentlemen of the South," to fill out his ranks. Tyreen and his men despise Dundee, but agree to serve on this mission in exchange for the chance for possible pardon of commutation of sentence (Tyreen and some of his men are facing the rope, for killing a guard in an escape attempt).

The mission takes them deep into Mexico, where they free the children but now find themselves being stalked by the very Apaches that they were hunting, as well as having to fight off the French troops stationed there. And as they quickly see, the French troops, though white and supposedly "civilized" like themselves, treat the native Mexicans in ways that make the Apaches look almost saintly. In the end, this ragtag group of soldiers, malcontents, deserters, traitors, and criminals finds a larger cause in their quest -- bigger even than their own survival -- as they discover something uniquely fine and honorable in being an American, and in American ideals. It takes the sacrifice and deaths of many to get to that point, but the movie -- in this version -- gets us there convincingly, if in decidedly grim and bittersweet fashion. Though based on fiction and shot under incredibly (indeed, legendarily) chaotic conditions, the movie ultimately proves to be a rousingly disturbing examination of what it means to be an American, and the meaning of American ideals. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Cantinflas, known the world around for his Jerry Lewis-style antics, seems more like Peter Sellers in this hilarious Mexican comedy. Short on plot but long on laughs, the innocent comedian falls victim to excellently contrived cliches as a special delivery man caught in the middle of intrigue and spies. Cantinflas also expands into singing and dancing opportunities. The film also features a spectacular Latin dance sequence by Rafael de Cordoba. ~ Lucinda Ramsey, Rovi

Enchanted Island bears only the faintest traces of its source material, the Herman Melville novel, Typee. 19th century-whalers Abner Dana Andrews and Tom Don Dubbins jump ship, finding refuge on a tropical island inhabited by cannibals. When Tom disappears, Abner jumps to the logical conclusion and vows not to end up in the pot himself. Returning to his ship, Abner is drawn back to the island by Fayaway (a miscast Jane Powell), the tribal chief's daughter, with whom he has fallen in love. The film's "official" synopsis suggests that the story is unresolved at the end; in fact, the film comes to a satisfying if not altogether believable conclusion. Produced in Mexico by Benedict Bogeaus, Enchanted Island was to have been released by RKO Radio, but the collapse of that studio forced Bogeaus to distribute the film through Warner Bros. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mel Ferrer and Anthony Quinn are perfectly cast in The Brave Bulls. Ferrer plays a star matador who is the idol of the crowds, an image carefully cultivated by Quinn, his manager. The matador is unbeatable until the woman he loves (Miroslava) perishes in an auto accident. Wracked by guilt and self-doubt, Ferrer is gored in his next battle. The rest of the film traces Ferrer's slow and torturous regaining of his courage. Based on the novel by Tom Lea, The Brave Bulls manages to convey the euphoria and blood-lust of the aficionados without offending the sensibilities of the Hollywood censors. The film's greatest asset is the gut-wrenching camera work by James Wong Howe and Floyd Crosby. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi