Black God, White Devil (1964)

After killing his employer when said employer tries to cheat him out of his payment, a man becomes an outlaw and starts following a self-proclaimed saint.

Director:

Glauber Rocha

Writer:

Glauber Rocha

Stars:

Geraldo Del Rey, Yoná Magalhães, Othon Bastos

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Geraldo Del Rey	...	Manuel
Yoná Magalhães	...	Rosa
Othon Bastos	...	Corisco
Maurício do Valle	...	Antônio das Mortes
Lidio Silva	...	Sebastião
Sonia Dos Humildes	...	Dadá
João Gama	...	Priest
Antônio Pinto	...	Colonel
Milton Rosa	...	Moraes (as Milton Roda)
Roque Santos	...	(as Roque)

Storyline

Fictionalized account of the adventures of hired gunman Antonio das Mortes, set against the real life last days of rural banditism. The movie follows Antonio as he witnesses the descent of common rural worker Manuel into a life of crime, joining the gang of Antonio's sworn enemy, Corisco the Blond Devil (Othon Bastos), and the Pedra Bonita Massacre.

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Plot Keywords:

male objectification | bare chested male | gunman | gunshot | criminal | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Western

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Did You Know?

Trivia

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.

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Quotes

Corisco: Here's my rifle to save the poor from starving.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: New Directors, New Form (2011)

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Soundtracks

Discurso de Sebastião
Written by Glauber Rocha & Sérgio Ricardo

User Reviews

Western done Brazilian style.

Nothing wrong with a movie that is being a bit slower and different, as long as it fascinates. And this movie does that well.

It's an unusual movie, with an unusual approach and story. This is not a slick Hollywood movie here but an artistic South-American one. It doesn't really follow any familiar movie rules but having said that, this movie at the same time still remains a perfectly accessible one.

Even though there are of course some deeper meanings behind it all, the movie never feels too serious or heavy handed. The movie actually still manages to entertain as well, which is for most part thanks to its very lively characters, who especially come to live in its second half. Most people seem to have most problems with the movie its second half but I actually do think that this was the strongest and most intriguing part of the entire movie, since it seemed to focus more purely on its characters and less on its story, that is a complicated one to follow and completely understand.

What I foremost love about this movie is that it's being shot like a western, while it's actually a totally different genre movie, set in Brazil. The cinematography, directing, characters and such still make this movie really feel and look like a good old spaghetti western.

Due to its directing approach and way of storytelling this is a very visual orientated movie. Even though it can be a slow movie at times, its visuals still manages to fully keep you interested throughout. It's black & white cinematography does ensure this well.

No need and reason to overpraise this movie but it remains simply a good and special one to watch.

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Details

Official Sites:

Mr Bongo Films

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

10 July 1964 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun

Filming Locations:

Canudos, Bahia, Brazil

Company Credits

Production Co:

Banco Nacional de Minas Gerais, Copacabana Filmes, Luiz Augusto Mendes Produções Cinematográficas

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1