Big Ben wrote: ↑Wed Aug 08, 2018 6:31 pm
Perhaps I haven't met enough Brazilians but I doubt many would be rushing out to see Pixote anymore than a US citizen would.
I'm sorry to say your assessment is accurate, at least in terms of contemporary times. 'Pixote' was a success back in 1980 (2.5 million tickets sold), but nowadays it's mostly television-like comedies or religious biopics that draw big crowds. I haven't seen a Brazilian film on the big screen since 2008, because none of the interesting ones play anywhere near me.
However, I suspect that our indifference towards our own cinematic heritage stems at least in part from both the lack of availability and the poor quality of the copies of the relatively few classics released on DVD. If not even dedicated cinephiles can get their hands on decent copies of the work of filmmakers like Julio Bressane and Ruy Guerra, then how can one hope to spark interest among a more general audience? Mind you, even when important work
is released (such as the three Nelson Pereira dos Santos boxsets), the company that puts it out is dubious, the price is obscene and there is an absolute lack of technical reviews to inform potential buyers.
Sorry for derailing the thread with this rather esoteric talk, but if even Kino is about to release a Joaquim Pedro de Andrade boxset on Blu-ray in the United States, then perhaps Criterion could be a bit adventurous and include Brazil a little more in their world cinema efforts. Even an Eclipse set would be thrilling!