Black God, White Devil

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Black God, White Devil
Directed by	Glauber Rocha
Produced by	Luiz Augusto Mendes Luiz Paulino Dos Santos
Written by	Glauber Rocha Walter Lima Jr. Paulo Gil Soares
Starring	Yoná Magalhães Othon Bastos
Music by	Sérgio Ricardo Heitor Villa-Lobos
Cinematography	Waldemar Lima
Editing by	Rafael Justo Valverde
Distributed by	Koch-Lorber Films (North America)
Release date(s)	July 10, 1964 25 September 1971 (NYC)
Running time	120 min
Country	Brazil
Language	Portuguese
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Black God, White Devil is a 1964 Brazilian film directed and written by Glauber Rocha. Its original Portuguese title is Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol, which translates as "God and the Devil in the Land of Sun". Considered as Rocha's masterpiece, the movie stars Othon Bastos, Mauricio do Valle, Yoná Magalhães and Geraldo Del Rey. The film addresses the socio-political problems of 1960s Brazil. It was nominated for the 1964 Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival, but failed to win. It is considered by international critics to be one of the best Brazilian movies of all time.

[edit] Plot summary

The film start in the 1940s, during another drought in the sertão, when ranch hand Manuel (Geraldo Del Rey) is fed up with his situation. His boss tries to cheat him of his earnings and Manuel kills him, fleeing with his wife, Rosa (Yoná Magalhães). Now an outlaw, Manuel joins up with a self-proclaimed saint who condones violence and preaches disturbing doctrines. It is now Rosa who turns to killing and the two are on the move once again. And so it goes, the two running from one allegiance to another, following the words of others as they attempt to find a place in their ruthless land. Blending mysticism, religion, and popular culture in this symbolic and realistic drama, Rocha insists that rather than follow the external and obscure dogmas of culture and religion, man must determine his path by his own voice.

[edit] Trivia

Glauber Rocha was only 25 years old when he wrote and started to direct God and the Devil in Land of Sun.
During the shooting of the scene in which Corisco (Othon Bastos) and Rosa (Yoná Magalhães) kiss passionately, Yoná Magalhães's husband was sitting off-camera, right beside the two actors. During the interview taped for the DVD release, Bastos confessed he as really nervous about it, and wanted to ask the man to leave, but didn't have the nerve to do it.
In the scene where we see Manuel (Geraldo Del Rey) carrying a huge stone over his head while climbing Monte Santo on his knees, Del Rey insisted on carrying a real stone that weighted over 20 kilos - something that really worried director Glauber Rocha. After the shooting, Del Rey had to take 2 days off, as he wasn't in condition to show up.
Othon Bastos did three voices for the movie. Besides dubbing himself as Corisco, he did the voice for Lampião (whom Corisco had "incorporated) and he also dubbed Sebastião, the black God - although Lídio Silva played the character on screen.
The film is being released on DVD in North America for the first time by Koch-Lorber Films.