Black God, White Devil
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| Black God, White Devil | |
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| Directed by | Glauber Rocha |
| Produced by | Luiz Augusto Mendes Luiz Paulino Dos Santos |
| Written by | Glauber Rocha Walter Lima Jr. Paulo Gil Soares |
| Starring | Geraldo Del Rey 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 |
| Allmovie 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 literally as "God and the Devil in the Land of Sun". Considered Rocha's masterpiece, the movie stars Othon Bastos, Maurício do Valle, Yoná Magalhães and Geraldo Del Rey. It belongs to the Cinema Novo movement, addressing the socio-political problems of 1960s Brazil. The film is being released on DVD in North America for the first time by Koch-Lorber Films.
[edit] Plot summary
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The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. (June 2008) |
The film starts 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] Production
Glauber Rocha was only 25 years old when he wrote and began to direct the film.
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. In an interview taped for the DVD release, Bastos confesses that he was nervous about it, and wanted to ask the man to leave, but didn't have the nerve.
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 worried Rocha. After the shooting, Del Rey had to take 2 days off, due to fatigue.
During the dubbing of the sound, Othon Bastos performed three voices. Besides dubbing himself as Corisco, he performed the voice for Lampião (whom Corisco had "incorporated") and also dubbed Sebastião, the black God, even though Lídio Silva played the character on screen.
[edit] Responses
The film 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.[1] It has influenced major filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese and Sergio Leone (Henry Fonda's duster in Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West was inspired by the long coat worn by the character Antônio das Mortes in Rocha's film).[citation needed]
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