IMDb >
Viridiana (1961)
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsViridiana (1961) More at IMDbPro »
| Videos |
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
19 March 1962 (USA)
more
Plot:
Viridiana, a young nun about to take her final vows, pays a visit to her widowed uncle at the request of her Mother Superior. | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Vow
|
Nun
|
Mother Superior
|
Soaking Feet
|
Spider
more
Awards:
1 win
more
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Going Nowhere
(From IFC. 24 November 2009, 6:10 AM, PST)
The greatest movies ever made
(From Roger Ebert's Blog. 2 August 2009, 10:59 AM, PDT)
(From IFC. 24 November 2009, 6:10 AM, PST)
The greatest movies ever made
(From Roger Ebert's Blog. 2 August 2009, 10:59 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Buñuelesque Extravaganza
more (38 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Silvia Pinal | ... | Viridiana | |
| Francisco Rabal | ... | Jorge | |
| Fernando Rey | ... | Don Jaime | |
| José Calvo | ... | Beggar (as Jose Calvo) | |
| Margarita Lozano | ... | Ramona | |
| José Manuel Martín | ... | Beggar | |
| Victoria Zinny | ... | Lucia | |
| Luis Heredia | ... | Beggar | |
| Joaquín Roa | ... | Beggar | |
| Lola Gaos | ... | Beggar | |
| María Isbert | ... | Beggar (as Maruja Isbert) | |
| Teresa Rabal | ... | Rita (as Teresita Rabal) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
90 min
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Australia:M |
France:Unrated |
Argentina:16 |
Chile:18 |
Finland:K-16 |
Spain:18 |
Sweden:15 |
UK:15
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Conchita Buñuel said the costumes in the film were authentic. "We scoured the outlying districts of Madrid for them, particularly under bridges, giving poor people new clothes in exchange for their rags, which were then disinfected but not washed."
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003)
more
Soundtrack:
Hallejujah Chorus
more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (38 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Viridiana (1961)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Interpretation of the movie ? (spoiler ofc) | BornFree-2 |
| blasphemy? | thesiouxfallskid |
| need an opinion.. | tekia412 |
| Last Supper | irisrx |
| Should be in TOP250 | isket |
| feet scene? | gilberto_h_m |
Recommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Die Blechtrommel | Gone with the Wind | Journal d'un curé de campagne | L'albero degli zoccoli | Novecento |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Drama section | IMDb Spain section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |


Forty years on and `Viridiana' is one of the very few, almost unique, examples of classical Spanish cinema to have survived the turmoil of the latter half of the last century. It remains as a little light in the midst of the darkness of the Franco Régime, which promptly banned it, or as an insouciance to the Vatican, which promptly excomulgated everyone concerned with it.
Buñuel's genius is apparent in every frame: the eye for detail, nonetheless permitting that impromptu evanesqueness which lends exquisiteness to these memorable scenes, above which shines the `Last Supper'. And it is precisely this scene which gives one the impression that the real stars in the making of this film were the motley beggars taken in from the streets. Silvia Pinal and Francisco `Paco' Rabal are not outstanding in this piece; even the incomparable Fernando Rey is overshadowed by the band of social outcasts. The sheer poeticness so brilliantly captured by the camera roaming among the vagabonds is cinematographic exquisiteness carried to its extreme: every grimace, every wrinkled nose, the debauchery, is what makes the principal actors be no such thing, but secondary actors overwhelmed by the nuances and gestures of these `untouchables". Brilliant filming, indeed whether intentional or not or whether this be only my personal interpretation after seeing this film three times in the last twenty five years, is of course open to debate.
Suffice just to mention Lola Gaos: (Tristana (1970) also by Buñuel - is one of her other films worthy of mention, surprisingly accepted by the censor's blue pen). In the 70s her voice began to break up, such that in the end she lived out her last years in poverty, forgotten by the times and cinema makers, until hauled out of hiding for a last TV appearance, sardonic way of giving her a few pennies to eke out to the end of her existence, but by then (1989) her voice was so fragmented it was near impossible to understand her. Her throat-cancer was never treated adequately.
Luis Buñuel (`Thank God I am an atheist') has gone; Fernando Rey has gone; Paco Rabal died yesterday in an aeroplane flying over the English Channel, returning from the Montreal Film Festival where he received his last award .
They leave `Viridiana' as testament to those historical and difficult times, an isolated exposé amid what was, for Spain, a cinematographical desert.