Cuba is a 1979 american technicolor neo noir adventure film directed by richard lester and starring sean connery, portraying the buildup to the 1958 cuban revolution, filmed in panavision. I am cuba is an ode to a place that never existed and yet one that continues to exist. I watched i am cuba soy cuba, in spanish directed by russian filmmaker mikhail. A 1964 sovietcuban film directed by mikhail kalatozov at mosfilm. The cuba it depicts may be an imagined one, but its one were continuing to imagine today. Kalatozov died in moscow in 1973 after his seventh heart attack. This one is purely worth watching for the choreography and cinematography, not for the silly ideology. Box 128 harrington park, new jersey 076400128 phone 201 7673117 fax 201 7673035 email. Visually absorbing and formally audacious, i am cuba soy cuba opens a long buried. This quite extraordinary film was last rereleased in the uk three years ago and then as now, i am baffled as to why it isnt in. I am cuba is an antiamerican propaganda film, made as a cubansoviet coproduction, that has been snatched from oblivion, restored, and released in the united states as a presentation of martin scorsese and francis coppola. The films four dramatic stories take place in the final days of the batista regime. A young womans fascination with the excess of an americanowned casino leads to her downfall in the eyes of her street vendor boyfriend.
A study in contrasts set in and around havana that explores cubas 1959 revolution. The film was not received well by either the russian or cuban public and was almost completely forgotten until it was rediscovered by filmmakers in the united states thirty years later. Im not sure if its a great one, but it sure is interesting. An international coproduction between the soviet union and cuba, it was not received well by either the russian or cuban public and was almost completely forgotten until it was rediscovered by filmmakers in the united states thirty years later. But i am cuba is still propaganda of the first order, a beautiful and sensually overwhelming tribute to the land and its people. I am cuba released in 1964, this film tries to show the struggles of the cuban people before and after the revolution of the late 1950s. I am cuba is a soviet propaganda film that has been rediscovered by american filmmakers due to the startling lyricism of its cinematography. Apr 23, 2014 ten things i learned about making a film in cuba shares for the last two years, brooklynbased filmmaker bentjorgen perlmutt has been directing a documentary called havana motor club, which explores cubas underground dragracing community and their quest to hold the first official car race in cuba since the revolution. Sometimes the story behind a film is so compelling that it becomes an integral part of the film itself as is the case with i am cuba. I am cuba is a 1964 film directed by mikhail kalatozov an international coproduction between the soviet union and cuba, it was not received well by either the russian or cuban public, and was almost completely forgotten until it was rediscovered by filmmakers martin scorcese and francis ford coppola who after seeing its acrobatic tracking shots and idiosyncratic mise en scene prompted. After researching the riviera, i realized that it was the hotel where they filmed the scenes of tourists swimming at the hotel pool, which is pretty cool. A headspinning mix of constructivist aesthetics and sensuous photography, i am cuba pulses with some of the most exhilarating camera movements and most luscious blackandwhite cinematography youll ever see jonathan rosenbaum, chicago reader. I am cuba is an anthology film full of breathtaking speeches about the fight for freedom and the necessity of a government that works for its people, not the other way around. But i am cuba is not just a catalog of bravura technique it also succeeds in exploring the innermost feelings.
The siberian mammotha solid primer on the film, if not a particularly distinguished onetracks down some of the crew members on the arduous 14month shoot, many of whom are baffled that the project they remember as a total disaster has any appreciators at all. Sep 25, 20 cuba was right in the middle of it and so was the film crew of i am cuba. The spanish voiceover of course feels absolutely right, giving a warmer. Started only a week after the cuban missile crisis and designed to be cubas answer to both sergei eisensteins propaganda masterpiece, potemkin and jeanluc godards freewheeling romance, breathless, i am cuba turned out to be something quite unique a wildly schizophrenic celebration of communist kitsch, mixing slavic solemnity with latin sensuality. There is a shot near the beginning of i am cuba that is one of the most. I am cuba is a 1964 sovietcuban film directed by mikhail kalatozov at mosfilm. It was produced jointly by russia and cuba and came out in 64, so the politics are are pretty antiwestern. A brief side note to give you an idea as to why i find the next film so intriguing.
A study in contrasts set in and around havana that explores cuba s 1959 revolution. No less than thirty shots have been ripped off from this movie in the past five years, in films like out of sight, boogie nights, and pulp fiction. So it is that the film begins with a survey of the islands topography, the camera evoking a sense of arrival, with the blownout palm trees and waters. Milestone films first released mikhail kalatozovs deliriously beautiful masterpiece, i am cuba in 1995. Aug 16, 2015 i am cuba is unusual in that people see completely different things in it. However, niether the story, nor other acting is memorable. Absolutely beautiful filmmaking but i just couldnt engage with it. His 1964 sovietcuban propaganda film i am cuba was not received well by cuban or russian audiences during its initial screenings, and was almost completely. Started only a week after the cuban missile crisis and designed to be cubas answer to both sergei eisensteins propaganda visit our beta website and give us feedback on our completely redesigned victory dashboard. The masterpiece of russiancuban cinema presented by martin scorsese and francis ford coppola. N 1 neil sinyard in his the films of richard lester wrote that the film, developed originally out of an idea of lesters own, inspired by a conversation. I am cuba is unusual in that people see completely different things in it. I am cuba is described by film critic elliot wilhelm as a unique, insane, exhilarating spectacle. Jan 19, 2016 i am cuba released in 1964, this film tries to show the struggles of the cuban people before and after the revolution of the late 1950s.
Of course, what is most interesting is to see havana in all its beauty just after fidels revolution and then to contrast that with the cuba seen in buena vista social club. I am cuba is being presented as part of the latin american. Jul 19, 20 soy cuba i am cuba mikhail kalatozov, russiacuba, 1964 without subtitles. Fascinating filmmakers and professionals with its unbelievable angles and shots, i am cuba uses a bold, reckless, handheld camera that rises and falls, tips and sways with a latin beat to look at the world through a wideangle, 9. In fact, i am cuba is a film students must see for its stunning cinematography and its impact on telling the story. An international coproduction between the soviet union and cuba, it was not received well by. Soy cuba i am cuba mikhail kalatozov, russiacuba, 1964 without subtitles. Besides a very satisfactory scan of the original film, soy cuba, the. Mikhail kalatozovs groundbreaking 1964 film has been fully restored and put on dvd in a truly stellar package. Kalatozov utilizes every cinematographic technique in the book, including many that werent widely used at the time, to capture sweeping vistas, claustrophobic. Sep 01, 2015 premiering in 1964 in cuba and the soviet union, soy cuba was removed from distribution after only one week in both countries, both with staterun film industries.
Cuba, 1964 not rated, recommended for mature audiences. Soy cuba i am cuba is a 1964 drama experimental propaganda film written by enrique pineda barnet and yevgeni yevtushenko and directed by mikhail kalatozov. It runs a tad too long to keep you completely involved and there are. I am cuba the ultimate edition is the kind of package film enthusiasts have been waiting for. Id argue that both camps were completely rightand yet i am cuba is still magnificent. Since the films prediction of a brave new world under fidel castro has not resulted in a utopia for cubans, who suffer. The spanish voiceover of course feels absolutely right, giving a warmer ambiance to the.
In fact, i am cuba is a film students must see for its stunning cinematography and its. Maybe the problem is that revolutionary cinema probably. Of course it is largely communist propaganda but that doesnt diminish the quality of the film. It was directed by mikhail kalatozov the cranes are flying. Jan 20, 2018 i am cuba is an anthology film full of breathtaking speeches about the fight for freedom and the necessity of a government that works for its people, not the other way around. Ten things i learned about making a film in cuba shares for the last two years, brooklynbased filmmaker bentjorgen perlmutt has been directing a documentary called havana motor club, which explores cubas underground dragracing community and their quest to hold the first official car race in cuba since the revolution. Soy cuba i am cuba mikhail kalatozov, russiacuba, 1964 without subtitles the cuban revolution and the imposition of a socialist system led to the soviet union funding and producing several films promoting cubas political structures. Ill make a movie in cuba that will be my answer, and that of the whole soviet people, against the naval blockade, this cruel. An unabashed exercise in cinema stylistics, i am cuba is procastroantibatista rhetoric dressed up in the finest clothes. Reflect that it was made in 1964, long before the days of lightweight cameras and steadicams, and the shot is almost impossible to explain. Since the film s prediction of a brave new world under fidel castro has not resulted in a utopia for cubans, who suffer. Russianborn director mikhail kalatozov films ordinary country peasants struggling on the land and city dwellers fighting for their rights against the police. I am cuba is an antiamerican propaganda film, made as a. The cuban revolution and the imposition of a socialist system led to the soviet union funding and producing several films promoting cubas political structures.
Movie info hidden away in the soviet archives for three decades, i am cuba is a wildly schizophrenic celebration of communist kitsch, mixing slavic solemnity with latin sensuality a whirling. An international coproduction between the soviet union and cuba, it was not received well by either the russian or cuban public and was almost completely forgotten until it was rediscovered by filmmakers in the. His 1964 sovietcuban propaganda film i am cuba was not received well by cuban or russian audiences during its initial screenings, and was almost completely forgotten until it was rediscovered and restored by u. This soviet union cuban coproduction soy cuba i am cuba, 1964 is not among the most incredible, literally and completely objectively, pieces ever made for its message, universal theme or other mental content to be expressed, but for its camera usage and images. Unfortunately, the completed film tanked with both the cubans and the russians. Now, decades later, we are delighted to have been able to create a brand new 4k restoration of the film from original 35mm fine grain masters we purchased so long ago. The film s four dramatic stories take place in the final days of the batista regime. To give an indepth look at cubas film business, i am publishing a long chapter of what i hope will soon be published, my book on. Some see the vibrance of cuban culture and the countrys beauty, others, heavyhanded propaganda. Lost film soy cuba revived by scorsese and coppola after 30. There are incredible, noteworthy interviews with participants in the original production, and excellent documentation of how the film was created. For a film ostensibly dealing with the cuban revolution, and produced essentially as communist propaganda, i am cuba has somehow managed to transcend those typically drab descriptors to remain one of the most innovative films ever made. Films of propaganda, more than any other kind, mirror the moments of their.
There is a shot near the beginning of i am cuba that is one of the most astonishing i have ever seen. While the picture is too long to fully sustain such a cascade of. Soy cuba ist ein sowjetischkubanischer propagandafilm aus dem jahre 1964, bei dem michail kalatosow regie fuhrte. Dec 01, 2018 four vignettes about the lives of the cuban people set during the prerevolutionary era, i am cuba is a 1964 sovietcuban film directed by mikhail kalatozov. Visually absorbing and formally audacious, i am cuba soy cuba opens a longburied. Premiering in 1964 in cuba and the soviet union, soy cuba was removed from distribution after only one week in both countries, both with staterun film industries. For the soviet union, i am cuba was an opportunity to promote socialism abroad during destalinization in the khrushchev era, and for cuba it was a way of staking out a cinematic presence. There is a shot near the beginning of i am cuba that is one of the. An international coproduction between the soviet union and cuba, it was not received well by either the russian or cuban public. Select any poster below to play the movie, totally free. An international coproduction between the soviet union and cuba, it was not received well by either the russian or cuban public and was almost completely forgotten until it was.
I am cuba soy cuba is a 1964 soviet film set in cuba, about life in cuba in the days leading up to the revolution. I am cuba was not shown in the us until a festival screening at telluride in 1992, only made possible by the knowledge and perseverance of pacific film archives edith kramer, who. An international coproduction between the soviet union and cuba, it was not received well by either the russian or cuban public and was almost completely forgotten until. It begins on a rooftop deck of a luxury hotel in precastro havana.
Cuba was right in the middle of it and so was the film crew of i am cuba. The astonishing images of i am cuba the american society of. The film deals with something about a love interest that brings connery deeper into the cuban crimevigilante world. I am cuba is a 1964 film directed by mikhail kalatozov at mosfilm. Every time the narrator said soy cuba i got goosebumps. The film was not received well by either the russian or cuban public and was almost completely forgotten until it was re. The production team had become part of the cold war. Started only a week after the cuban missile crisis and designed to be cubas.
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