Almodovar on Almodovar

by Pedro Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar

The film-maker Pedro Almodovar emerged from an austere background in rural Spain to carve for himself a niche in contemporary cinema with energetic, passionate films such as "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown", "Law of Desire" and "Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down!". In recent years, however, he has tried to deepen the emotional content of his work and move in new directions. In these conversations, Almodovar takes each of his films in turn, and charts his personal development from one film to the next.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Spanish Literature, Spain

187 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1995

About the author

Pedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.

Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular songs, irreverent humor, strong colors and glossy décor. Desire, passion, family and identity are among Almodóvar’s most prevalent themes. His films enjoy a worldwide following and he has become a major figure on the stage of world cinema.

He founded Spanish film production company El Deseo S.A. with his younger brother Agustín Almodóvar who has produced almost all of Pedro’s films.

Reviews

[Metodi Markov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Книгата е поредица от интервюта, засягащи повече ранните творби на Алмодовар. Всичко в стила и направата им е разчепкано твърде подробно, та на моменти дори доскучаваше и попрескочих това-онова.

Разбираме също, колко много желае да сподели с нас създателя на филмите, а твърде често ние просто се плъзгаме по идеите му и ги консумираме, без особено да се замислим върху тях...

На "Всичко за майка ми" и "Говори с нея", които са ми много любими, е отделено малко място в края, твърде нови са били по време на написването на този мемоар.

Алмодовар споделя много за майка си, за това как го е засегнала смъртта ѝ, за сложните им отношения. Всичко това ще видим на екрана в "Болка и слава" от 2019, който се оказва силно биографичен и в който Антонио Бандерас е просто великолепен!!!

P.S. В книгата са включени цветни снимки от обсъжданите ленти.

[Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Q. What is it with Spain and surrealism?
Almodovar: Well, it’s natural in a place where everyone has a ham hanging over their bath.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love him, love his films. Love his colors, love his women, love his obsession with subjects that make people uncomfortable and how comfortable we become watching it all. For the film geeks out there.

[Mina Talaat · Rating 3 out of 5]

حوار طويل يناقش بدايات المودوفار و أفلامه و طريقته كتاباته و الالهام الخاص به
لم أشاهد له أية أفلام لكني بحثت عنها في موقع imdb و كان أغلبها ذو تقييمات عالية

[Brennan Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to hear a director work chronologically through their filmography in their own words. But here I found the interviewer incredibly pretentious, crafting questions to impress the readers (and Almodóvar himself) with how smart he is, rather than digging into what I’d actually want to know about the films.

[marteta · Rating 4 out of 5]

me gusta mucho que vayan película por película, está muyyy bien pero a excepción de alguna cosa, tampoco es nada que Pedro no haya dicho previamente en entrevistas

[Kasia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Me, myself, I, and Almodóvar. A completely uninteresting interview, which turned out to be a narcissistic monologue.

[Kuna · Rating 2 out of 5]

After three long years I finally managed to finish this book. The translation caused such a terrible disconnect, it was quite the opposite of what one would expect of a book full of interviews. I kept forgetting it was Almodóvar who was talking; his answers seemed cold and detached, which was unnerving, because he’s one of the most passionate directors in my eyes. I’m very disappointed, and even though they included some interesting details about his movies, I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. Just very poorly written in my opinion.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

É incrível poder ver um diretor que você admira falar da sua vida pessoal e profissional. Da vida no set.

[Anbeacor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conversar com Almodóvar pareceu querer conversar sobre um inconsciente.

[Marcelo Alves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belo livro. Bom para desvendar um pouco do modo de fazer cinema de Pedro Almodóvar, um dos maiores cineastas do mundo.

[Katya Vinogradova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very thorough analysis of every Pedro Almodovar movie, compiled from interviews with the writer-director. Frederic Strauss has a wonderful way of phrasing his questions and eliciting responses from Almodovar in order to paint a full portrait of not only his movies, but also of Spanish society and culture. They also touch upon Almodovar's influences from the world of cinema and literature, discuss deep philosophical questions and other topics.
A must for anyone who loves films in general and Pedro Almodovar in particular!

[the lost lisbon sister · Rating 4 out of 5]

soundtracked by this is: yoko ono

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite good if you like Pedro's work.