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The Spirit of the Beehive

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Criterion is proud to present Víctor Erice's spellbinding The Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena), widely regarded as the greatest Spanish film of the 1970s. In a small Castilian village in 1940, in the wake of the country's devastating civil war, six-year-old Ana attends a traveling movie show of Frankenstein and becomes possessed by the memory of it. Produced as Franco's long regime was nearing its end, The Spirit of the Beehive is a bewitching portrait of a child's haunted inner life and one of the most visually arresting movies ever made.

SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET

-New, restored high-definition digital transfer
-The Footprints of a Spirit, a documentary featuring director Víctor Erice, producer Elías Querejeta, coscreenwriter Ángel Fernández-Santos, and actor Ana Torrent
-Víctor Erice in Madrid, an interview with the director
-Interview with film scholar Linda Ehrlich
-Interview with actor Fernando Fernán Gómez
-New and improved English subtitle translation
-PLUS: a new essay by film scholar Paul Julian Smith

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Buttery Jeb wrote:According to Turner Classic Movie's report on the recent Telluride Film Festival, Victor Erice's "The Spirit of the Beehive" was screened as part of the fest's tribute to The Criterion Collection and Janus Films. Complementary DVDs were supposedly handed out to attendees.

Bodes well for an early '06 release. Can I have a "Fuck yea!"?

If the DVDs are being handed out, then wouldn't that mean they're finished? For all we know, it could be an unannounced December title. Exciting news, anyway.

We've known Criterion was interested for a while. The Telluride screening certainly bodes well for a disc in the near future. I think I'd like a more firm report on the complimentary DVDs though. That seems a pretty tall order for a company that still hasn't released the cover art for Forbidden Games.

Just to get all giddy for a sec, wouldn't it be sweet if Spirit came out in an Erice set? Or maybe came with some bonus short films? Who knows....

Is El Sur still New Yorker's? Does anyone know?

All three of his movies are available already, you know (though El Sur has no English subs). Quince Tree has a wonderful edition.

I was talking about R1, and better yet a Criterion edition.

I have the region 2 UK dvd of The Spirit of the Beehive which has a much better picture than the Home Vision vhs tape!! It's one of my favorite movies and great news if Criterion releases it!

Criterion could release the OOP japanese boxset linked here, add Quince Tree to the package and put together The Complete Victor Erice Collection and ultimately make us all very, very happy!

Gah! Where did this come from? Complementary Criterion DVDs of Spirit of the Beehive? Hmm. Let's check Ebay... Nope, nothing there.

This has to be a December or January release, which makes me delighted, as I didn't expect to see this until 2007. Makes we wonder what else they have up their sleeve. I have the UK edition of Beehive, which has a very good non-anamorphic 1.66 transfer, but I'll glady upgrade. It's probably my favourite film about childhood.

Funnily enough (eat your heart out, Carl Jung!) I received the Spanish DVD of Cría cuervos (1976, Carlos Saura) which also stars Ana Torrent. Again, good non-anamorphic 1.66 transfer. It's available HERE.

Thanks, Jeb! Well spotted.

The complementary DVDs were most likely of other Criterion titles and not necessarily The Spirit of the Beehive.

From the above TCM link:

The Criterion Collection tribute which featured a screening of The Spirit of the Beehive with complimentary DVD copies to the attendees at the Sheridan Opera House.

This wording infers that it was copies of The Spirit of the Beehive
that were doled out, wouldn't you say?

If it did happen, it's utterly flabbergasting that none of them have turned up on eBay.

Or they're running a very tight ship. Many companies have ebay watchers to crack down on just that sort of thing.

ben d banana wrote:Or they're running a very tight ship. Many companies have ebay watchers to crack down on just that sort of thing.

That's right. Take me, for instance: last month I tried to sell my Criterion edition of Titicut Follies that Kim Hendrickson gave me, but I was caught out; not by Criterion, but by Fred Wiseman. I was arrested and taken to the State Prison for the Criminally Insane in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where I now reside. Safer than being on the streets, that's for sure. And, yes: they still use the tube to feed us.

Spirit of the Beehive is one of my faves. I've seen it at least 30 times... mostly in October. It's not so much of a horror film in the traditional sense but its lush autumn colors and eerie aura ....and of course, its lovely homage to Frankenstein (and that green-eyed black cat!) put me in the most perfect Halloween mood. Too bad that Criterion won't release this film in time for October.

I could write pages and pages of why I love Spirit of the Beehive. This film is easily in the top five of my 70s list.

I like the way the bees are placed in a way to form the head of Frankenstein. Very Bee-movie like!

But I have to agree with Michael, every frame of the film is gorgeous. I even went so far as to use one as my wallpaper for weeks:

Has anybody e-mailed JM about this being an impending release?

I'll email JM right now. I caught this film over this past weekend: Wow, what an amazing movie! Quiet and thoughtful, it was a nice presentation of life under Franco where people don't talk about the past and use fantasy and imagination to make life more worth living.

Edit:

Dear Mike,

We would certainly like to release THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE, but nothing iscertain at this time.

best,
JM

Well, there it is, for all it's worth. I'm guessing it will be released next spring. Hopefully.

My guess is that Criterion have acquired the rights, but have yet to commence any work on the DVD. The DVDs handed out at the recent screening were probably not DVDs of Spirit of the Beehive. I really can't see why they would do that, with the likelihood of bootlegging being high. Also, such a promotion by Criterion is unprecidented. Or is it?

Janus has owned the film for years now - it's a case of getting round to it (much like Forbidden Games) rather than only now having the opportunity (like, for example, Le Samourai). Criterion had planned this on laserdisc and even assigned it a spine number, but it never came out. The HVE video has been out for yonks though.

According to this article:

"This Spanish masterpiece was released the first year of our Festival, in 1973, but it has not been seen in this country until now," explained Pence. "It will soon be out on DVD."

Well this rumor unfortunately kind of died out. Anyone heard any updates on the possible release?

Just because they didn't release it in April don't mean it died out.

I'm not referring to the fact that its not part of Criterion's current release roster--I'd be happy if just about any company were to put this one out. I was just referring to how all speculation over this one from a few months back just seems to have stopped. Is there really any solid indication that Criterion--or anyone--is releasing this one soon?

The source of the rumour (previous page) seemed to be pretty strong:

Buttery Jeb wrote:According to Turner Classic Movie's report on the recent Telluride Film Festival, Victor Erice's "The Spirit of the Beehive" was screened as part of the fest's tribute to The Criterion Collection and Janus Films.

BUT a quick google identifies Spirit as being part of the festival's 'Favourite films of Don DeLillo' sidebar, not a Criterion tribute. (Criterion received an award at the same festival - there didn't seem to be any associated screenings).

Here's an extract from a long report / regugitated press release on the festival. Check out the last line: all is not lost!

Director Victor Erice once described his film "The Spirit of the Beehive" as "poetic cinema." Erice is a celebrated director who makes a full-length film every 10 years or so. This film, like "The Passenger," is being screened in this country for the first time in 25 years.

A young girl, Ana, lives with an older sister and their distracted parents. Her father tends a beehive, while her mother corresponds with a lover. Ana's two major discoveries, one the "Frankenstein" movie by James Whale and then an injured soldier in hiding, shape the heart of this film set in the days of the Spanish dictatorship. The drama is shot in deceptively serene tones and paced in the rhythms of rural isolation.

"This Spanish masterpiece was released the first year of our Festival, in 1973, but it has not been seen in this country until now," explained Pence. "It will soon be out on DVD."