Black God White Devil - (Mr Bongo Films)

the disc was in the wrong region

Original title in Portuguese is `Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol'; which translates as, "God and the Devil in the Land of Sun". Seen as the leader in Cinema Novo, director Glauber Rocha was just 25 when he made this in 1964. It uses for its message the plight of Manoel - who is a poor ranch hand. They are literally `dirt poor' so in an attempt for change he goes to market to sell his stock. Once there his boss tries to steal his earnings from him by abuse of his authority. Manoel flies into a rage, after reasoning wont work, and he kills his boss.Now a wanted man Manoel flees with his wife Rosa. He has heard of a living saint in the shape of Sebastião (Lidio Silva), who advocates a lot of bunkum, but also the use of violence. As most of his venom is directed towards the ruling classes, he gets a fair amount of followers from the local peasantry. However, he is far from being benevolent and blood begets blood.The story moves along with a selection of bandits, corrupt clergy, corrupt government and mercenaries. The madness is almost comedic in places. But this was all seen as an indictment on the current societal condition in Brazil. It reminded me of `El Topo' in places and is said to have been a great influence on many in the industry including Bernardo Bertolucci and drawing praise from the great Luis Buñuel. It is violent but not a gore fest and it is a challenging watch, Buñuel described it as `savage poetry' and I can not put it better myself. But at two hours it may be a tad long for some.This is a presentation from Mr Bongo films and the print is not a remastered one, so the picture is not all it could be in places. Also this was made in the day when everything was dubbed, so there is little depth to the soundscape, and it is in monochrome but despite all of the above, this is still a phenomenal cinematic feast. This is one for all true cinema fans.

Since I like to watch films "outside the box" of what Hollywood offers, I search high and low for interesting films I never had the opportunity to see in a theater. I found Black God, White Devil after a recommendation given me upon my purchase of another film of the Brazilian Cinema Novo genre.The story takes place in the semi-feudal outback of Brazil's northeast, where the landowner's whim supersedes the law and where life for the peasant or for the gaucho was a grim affair. Manuel is a cowhand full of hope for the future who kills his boss with a machete when his hopes are rudely shattered by the boss's caprice. He is forced to flee with his wife and embarks on a journey to a better life he never finds. What he does find is a series of situations that would drive most people mad with despair. The black god of the title is the self-proclaimed mystic St. Sebastian who is a sort of pied piper for the poor and dispossessed. Manuel himself later becomes the white devil after the bandit Corisco tags him with Satan as his nom de guerre.Modern audiences used to fast-paced and gratuitous violence may be bored with the slow pace of the movie and the violence which is more suggested than graphic. The black and white film accentuates the bleakness of the landscape and the hopeless position of the protagonist. The patient viewer will be rewarded.

I hate the American title. I bought my copy (the two disc set) from Brazil before Amazon. The picture quality in that was great. But this story seems to be a conflation of the War of Canudos and the outrages of Lampiao with a young couple as the everyman of the poor caught between the rich and violence with no where to run.

Original title in Portuguese is `Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol'; which translates as, "God and the Devil in the Land of Sun". Seen as the leader in Cinema Novo, director Glauber Rocha was just 25 when he made this in 1964. It uses for its message the plight of Manoel - who is a poor ranch hand. They are literally `dirt poor' so in an attempt for change he goes to market to sell his stock. Once there his boss tries to steal his earnings from him by abuse of his authority. Manoel flies into a rage, after reasoning wont work, and he kills his boss.Now a wanted man Manoel flees with his wife Rosa. He has heard of a living saint in the shape of Sebastião (Lidio Silva), who advocates a lot of bunkum, but also the use of violence. As most of his venom is directed towards the ruling classes, he gets a fair amount of followers from the local peasantry. However, he is far from being benevolent and blood begets blood.The story moves along with a selection of bandits, corrupt clergy, corrupt government and mercenaries. The madness is almost comedic in places. But this was all seen as an indictment on the current societal condition in Brazil. It reminded me of `El Topo' in places and is said to have been a great influence on many in the industry including Bernardo Bertolucci and drawing praise from the great Luis Buñuel. It is violent but not a gore fest and it is a challenging watch, Buñuel described it as `savage poetry' and I can not put it better myself. But at two hours it may be a tad long for some.This is a presentation from Mr Bongo films and the print is not a remastered one, so the picture is not all it could be in places. Also this was made in the day when everything was dubbed, so there is little depth to the soundscape, and it is in monochrome but despite all of the above, this is still a phenomenal cinematic feast. This is one for all true cinema fans.

Kolonialherren plus Religion, Grauenhafte Auswüchse bei beiden, das gibt mir die Idee, man sollte beides verbieten. Ein wirklich sehenswerter Film.

100% boredom.Poorly directed and poor editing.Wooden acting as well.Oh dear....