Fando y Lis

Last updated
Fando y Lis
Fando-y-lis-movie-poster-md.jpg
Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky
Written byAlejandro Jodorowsky
Based onA play by Fernando Arrabal [1]
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byFernando Suarez [1]
Music by
  • Hector Morley
  • Pepe Ávila [1]
Production
company
Producciones Pánicas [2]
Release dates
  • 1968 (1968)(Acapulco Film Festival)
  • July 1972 (1972-07)(Mexico)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryMexico [2]
LanguageSpanish

Fando y Lis is a 1968 Mexican surrealist film directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky in his feature length directorial debut. It is an adaptation of a 1962 play of the same name by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. The film was shot in high-contrast black-and-white on the weekends with a small budget and was first shown at the Acapulco Film Festival in 1968. Fando y Lis stars Sergio Kleiner and Diana Mariscal as the titular pair who embark on a surreal quest in search of Tar, a mythical heaven-like place.

Contents

Plot

The film follows Fando (Klainer) and his paraplegic girlfriend Lis (Mariscal) through a barren, postapocalyptic wasteland in search of the mythical city of Tar, a place where one will know the true nature of eternity, and reach enlightenment. On their journey they see many odd and profoundly disturbing characters and events.

The narrative of the film leaves a lot to the audience's interpretation, as the avant-garde and surreal nature in which the events of the film are presented mimic the workings of the subconscious.

Cast

Release

Fando y Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival. [3] A full-scale riot subsequently broke out, leading to the film being banned in Mexico. [4] Fando y Lis was shown in New York's 5th Avenue Cinema where it was dubbed, re-edited and cut by 13 minutes. It was shown in London in February 1971, re-titled as Tar Babies, running 98 minutes. It was not released in Mexico until July 1972. [3]

Fando y Lis received a 4K digital restoration by ABKCO in 2020. [5] ABKCO partnered with Alamo Drafthouse to release it on their streaming platform that year and released the film on Blu-ray and DVD in 2021. [5] [6]

Reception

Fando y Lis was released in New York City to generally negative reviews, with many critics comparing it unfavorably to Fellini Satyricon , which had recently opened. [4] [3] It was also criticized for its shock value, while acknowledging its role in surrealist media. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Dune</i> (1984 film) 1984 film directed by David Lynch

Dune is a 1984 American epic space opera film written and directed by David Lynch and based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel Dune. It was filmed at the Churubusco Studios in Mexico City and the soundtrack includes the rock band Toto. Its large ensemble cast includes Kyle MacLachlan's film debut as young nobleman Paul Atreides, Patrick Stewart, Brad Dourif, Dean Stockwell, Virginia Madsen, José Ferrer, Sting, Linda Hunt, and Max von Sydow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alejandro Jodorowsky</span> Chilean-French filmmaker

Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films El Topo and The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABKCO Records</span> American independent record label

ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. is an American independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and/or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Herman's Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, Dishwalla, the Kinks as well as the Cameo Parkway label, which includes recordings by such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, the Orlons, the Dovells, Question Mark & the Mysterians, the Tymes and Dee Dee Sharp. Until 2009, ABKCO administered Philles Records and its master recordings, including hits by the Righteous Brothers, the Ronettes, the Crystals and others. The label is infamous for its management contracts and lawsuits by its founder Allen Klein, the latter of which persisted until his death.

<i>Santa Sangre</i> 1989 film

Santa Sangre is a 1989 avant-garde surreal horror film directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky and written by Jodorowsky along with Claudio Argento and Roberto Leoni. It stars Axel Jodorowsky, Adán Jodorowsky, Teo Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Thelma Tixou, and Guy Stockwell. An international co-production of Mexico and Italy, the film is set in Mexico, and tells the story of Fenix, a boy who grew up in a circus and his struggle with childhood trauma. It is signed on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.

<i>El Topo</i> 1970 film

El Topo is a 1970 Mexican acid Western film written, scored, directed by and starring Alejandro Jodorowsky. Characterized by its bizarre characters and occurrences, use of maimed and dwarf performers, and heavy doses of Judeo-Christian symbolism and Eastern philosophy, the film is about El Topo—a violent, black-clad gunfighter played by Jodorowsky—and his quest for enlightenment.

<i>The Exterminating Angel</i> 1962 film by Luis Buñuel

The Exterminating Angel is a 1962 Mexican surrealist film written and directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Silvia Pinal, and produced by Pinal's then-husband Gustavo Alatriste. It tells the story of a group of wealthy guests who find themselves unable to leave after a lavish dinner party, and the chaos that ensues. Sharply satirical and allegorical, the film contains a depiction of the aristocracy that suggests they "harbor savage instincts and unspeakable secrets".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernando Luján</span> Mexican actor (1938–2019)

Fernando Luján was a Mexican actor. He was a star of the silver screen in classic mexican films during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonora Carrington</span> Mexican artist, surrealist painter and novelist (1917–2011)

Mary Leonora Carrington was a British-born surrealist painter and novelist. She lived most of her adult life in Mexico City and was one of the last surviving participants in the surrealist movement of the 1930s. Carrington was also a founding member of the women's liberation movement in Mexico during the 1970s.

Sergio Kleiner, also credited as Sergio Klainer, is an Argentine-born Mexican film and television actor.

<i>The Holy Mountain</i> (1973 film) 1973 film by Alejandro Jodorowsky

The Holy Mountain is a 1973 Mexican surreal film directed, written, produced, co-scored, co-edited by and starring Alejandro Jodorowsky, who also participated as a set designer and costume designer on the film. Following Jodorowsky's underground hit El Topo, acclaimed by both John Lennon and George Harrison, the film was produced by the Beatles manager Allen Klein of ABKCO Music and Records. John Lennon and Yoko Ono put up production money. It was shown at various international film festivals in 1973, including Cannes, and limited screenings in New York and San Francisco.

<i>City of the Living Dead</i> 1980 supernatural horror film by Lucio Fulci

City of the Living Dead is a 1980 Italian supernatural horror film co-written and directed by Lucio Fulci. It stars Christopher George, Catriona MacColl, Carlo de Mejo, Antonella Interlenghi, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, and Janet Agren. The film follows a priest whose suicide opens a gateway to hell that releases the undead. A psychic and a reporter team up to close it before All Saints' Day.

Panic Movement was an art collective formed by Fernando Arrabal, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Roland Topor in Paris in 1962. Inspired by and named after the god Pan, and influenced by Luis Buñuel and Antonin Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty, the group concentrated on chaotic and surreal performance art, as a response to surrealism becoming mainstream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beatriz Sheridan</span> Mexican actress and director

Elizabeth Ann Sheridan Scarbrough, better known as Beatriz Sheridan was a Mexican actress and director. A pioneer of the Mexican telenovelas and prominent figure of the Mexican theater of the 20th century, she was also a teacher of dramatic technique for television and directed many great dramatic stars.

Apolinar is a Mexican fantasy drama film directed in 1971 by Julio Castillo and produced by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Robert Viskin. The film was shot on location in and around Atotonilco, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, in Mexico. Art direction was by Octavio Ocampo.

<i>Emotional Decompression Chamber</i> Album by Digitalis Purpurea

Emotional Decompression Chamber released with "Dreamcell_11/Aural Music" is the second full-length album of the Italian industrial metal band Digitalis Purpurea. It was released on November 12, 2010 with a worldwide distribution.

<i>The Specialists</i> (film) 1969 film directed by Sergio Corbucci

The Specialists is a 1969 Spaghetti Western co-written and directed by Sergio Corbucci. It was an international co-production between Italy, France and West Germany. Retrospective critics and scholars of Corbucci's Westerns have deemed The Specialists to be the final film in the director's "Mud and Blood" trilogy, which also includes Django (1966) and The Great Silence (1968).

<i>The Dance of Reality</i> 2013 film

The Dance of Reality is a 2013 Chilean-French semi-autobiographical musical fantasy drama film written, produced, and directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, starring Brontis Jodorowsky, Pamela Flores, and Jeremias Herskovits. It is Alejandro Jodorowsky's first film in 23 years. The film screened at Directors' Fortnight during the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. The film is based on an earlier work by Jodorowsky first published in Spanish under the title La danza de la realidad: Psicomagia y psicochamanismo (2001).

Rafael Corkidi Acriche was a Mexican cinematographer, film director and screenwriter. He began his career as a cinematographer and contributed to the visual style and cinematography in three films directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky in Mexico, Fando y Lis, El Topo, and The Holy Mountain. Eventually he became a director in his own right, including films such as Angels and Cherubs, Auandar Anapu, Pafnucio Santo and Deseos, his last film before he decided to pioneer video as a mean of expression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Gochanour</span> American director, producer and composer

Michael "Mick" Gochanour is a Grammy Award-winning American film director, producer, composer, and entertainment executive. He is best known for his filmmaking and film restoration with The Rolling Stones, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Sam Cooke. As a sound designer, composer, and music supervisor, he specialized in nature videos for Turner Broadcast, World Wildlife Organization and the Discovery Channel. He has toured with such acts as Peter Gabriel and David Bowie, among others.

<i>The Mansion of Madness</i> 1973 film

The Mansion of Madness is a 1973 Mexican horror film directed by Juan López Moctezuma, in his directorial debut, and starring Claudio Brook, Arthur Hansel, Ellen Sherman, and Martin LaSalle. Set in 19th-century France, the film follows a journalist visiting a rural insane asylum in which he uncovers that the inmates have overtaken the doctors and staff, and implemented a series of gruesome treatments. It is loosely based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Curti, Roberto (2020). "Credits". Alejandro Jodorowsky (Booklet). Arrow Video. p. 7. FCD1932.
  2. 1 2 "Information". British Film Institute . Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Blackford, James; Curti, Roberto (2020). "Credits". Original Reviews (Booklet). Arrow Video. p. 67. FCD1932.
  4. 1 2 Rosenbaum, Jonathan; Hoberman, J. (1991). Midnight Movies. Hachette Books. pp. 92–93. ISBN   9780306804335.
  5. 1 2 Hermanns, Grant (12 June 2020). "ABKCO Unveils Alejandro Jodorowsky: 4K Restoration Collection!". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  6. "4K Restorations of Jodorowsky Films El Topo, The Holy Mountain and Fando Y Lis Out March 19 on Blu-Ray". ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  7. "'Fando and Lis,' a Film Calculated to Shock". The New York Times. 3 February 1970. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
Bibliography