FILMMAKER ON THE VERGE OF A RETROSPECTIVE.Byline: Fred Shuster Staff Writer Beginning Friday, Pedro Almodovar, the campy, iconoclastic i·con·o·clast n. 1. One who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions. 2. One who destroys sacred religious images. Spanish director, gets an eight-week, eight-film retrospective at the Sunset 5. The series sees the theatrical re-release of Almodovar's early works, including ``Women on the Verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of a Nervous Breakdown nervous breakdown n. A severe or incapacitating emotional disorder, especially when occurring suddenly and marked by depression. nervous breakdown ,'' ``The Law of Desire'' and ``Matador matador In bullfighting, the principal performer, who works the capes and attempts to dispatch the bull with a sword thrust between the shoulder blades. Most of the techniques used by modern matadors were established in the 1910s by Juan Belmonte (b. 1894–d. ,'' as a lead-in to his 16th and latest film, ``Volver,'' which stars Penelope Cruz and opens Nov. 3. Almodovar is considered the most influential filmmaker in contemporary Spain. ``Volver,'' which reaped praise at this year's Cannes Film Festival Cannes Film Festival Film festival held annually in Cannes, France. First held in 1946 for the recognition of artistic achievement, the festival came to provide a rendezvous for those interested in the art and influence of the movies. , is said to be one of the director's finest in his 20-year career. The Sunset 5 retrospective, dubbed ``Viva Pedro'' and utilizing brand-new prints, will run for eight consecutive weeks, from Friday through Oct. 20. Several of the titles have not been shown since their original release, and all have been withdrawn from the DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. marketplace to accommodate this theatrical run (two titles -- ``Matador'' and ``Law of Desire'' -- never have been issued on DVD). ``Almodovar has gained such a fan base and reputation with his last few films that many of his new fans haven't seen his earlier movies,'' said Michael Barker
Lieutenant-General Michael George Henry Barker (1884 – 1960), CB, DSO was a British Army general who served as commander of I Corps in 1940, before being , co-president of Sony Pictures Classics. ``You can compare him to Fellini in the '50s and '60s in terms of an international following. I don't think there's anyone who rivals Almodovar in terms of inventiveness -- it crosses borders and somehow translates to all cultures.'' The retrospective is as follows: ``Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'' (1988): Amid much comedy, a woman pulls herself together after a bad breakup. Opens Friday. ``All About My Mother'' (1999): This Oscar winner shows how tragedy can unexpectedly bring two people together. Opens Sept 1. ``Talk to Her'' (2001): A male nurse falls for a young dancer in a coma. Opens Sept. 8. ``The Flower of My Secret'' (1996): A woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown is the centerpiece of this examination of female empathy. Opens Sept. 15. ``Live Flesh'' (1998): A fate-filled, often outrageous tragicomedy tragicomedy Literary genre consisting of dramas that combine elements of tragedy and comedy. Plautus coined the Latin word tragicocomoedia to denote a play in which gods and mortals, masters and slaves reverse the roles traditionally assigned to them. . Opens Sept. 22. ``The Law of Desire'' (1987): A lurid tale of lust and violence. Opens Sept. 29. ``Matador'' (1988): Sex, death and bullfighting bullfighting, national sport and spectacle of Spain. Called the corrida de toros in Spanish, the bullfight takes place in a large outdoor arena known as the plaza de toros. . Opens Oct. 6. ``Bad Education'' (2004): An actor under investigation enters a dreamy, surreal world. Opens Oct. 13. Fred Shuster, (818) 713-3676 fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com VIVA PEDRO Where: Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. When: Various times, Friday through Oct. 20. Tickets: $10 general. (323) 848-3500; www.laemmle.com. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) ``Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'' (1988) leads the eight-week ``Viva Pedro'' retrospective, beginning Friday. (2 -- color) The Oscar-winning ``All About My Mother'' (1999), opening Sept. 1, is the second of eight early films being screened. |
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