The Moment of Truth (1965)

The rise and fall of a famous torero, Miguelin, inside and outside of the bullfighters ring.

Director:

Francesco Rosi

Writers:

Pedro Beltrán (screenplay), Pedro Beltrán (story)

Stars:

Miguel Mateo 'Miguelín', José Gómez Sevillano, Pedro Basauri 'Pedrucho'

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Miguel Mateo 'Miguelín'	...	Miguel Romero 'Miguelín'
José Gómez Sevillano	...	Impresario
Pedro Basauri 'Pedrucho'	...	Himself
Linda Christian	...	Linda, American woman
Luque Gago	...	La cuadrilla del matador #1
Salvador Mateo	...	La cuadrilla del matador #2
Manuel Ruiz Serrana	...	La cuadrilla del matador #3
Francisco Caño	...	La cuadrilla del matador #4
José Rodríguez Matia	...	La cuadrilla del matador #5
Manolo Pérez Moratilla	...	La cuadrilla del matador #6
José Vizcaino	...	La cuadrilla del matador #7
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Curro Carmona
Gregorio Sánchez

Storyline

The rise and fall of a famous torero, Miguelin, inside and outside of the bullfighters ring.

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Plot Keywords:

bullfight | bullfighting | bullfighter | procession | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy Spain

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

3 March 1965 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Moment of Truth

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

As Films Producción,Federiz

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Marxist Poetry: The Making of 'The Battle of Algiers' (2004)

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Soundtracks

El Porompompero
Words by José Antonio Ochaíta & Xandro Valerio
Music by Juan Solano (as Juan Solano Pedrero)
Performed by Manolo Escobar

User Reviews

Neo-realist picture in documentary style about bullfighting in Spain of the sixties

This splendid picture concerns the rise and fall of a known Torero , Miguelin (Miguel Romero 'Miguelín') , inside and outside of the bullfighters ring . At the beginning he flees from his impoverished countryside origin , Jaen , for the broader horizons of the big city . This is a good film about a young who emigrates to big town , Barcelona , like many others ; however , he finds exploitation and hardworking ,and finally he gets his dream : to be a successful bullfighter . At the same time it deals with Spanish-style bullfighting , it is called Corrida De Toros (literally "running of bulls") or la fiesta ("the festival").

Neo-realist yarn talks about a young peasant goes to big city to achieve great success as matador . Along the way he finds distresses , penury and hard as well as part-time jobs . The flick deals with the relationship between man and society , between man and glory hunger . It describes the hardship existences of lower classes on countryside as well as big cities where a lot of people working for nothing in short wages and precarious works . Director Francesco Rosi attempts to reflect Spanish life of the past sixties , including social habits , as there appears ¨Holy Week¨ Procesiones , religious parades , San Fermin parties , Flamenco dancing , among others . Evocative and sensitive original musical score by Piero Piccioni and atmospheric songs of Saetas , Andaluz Cante , Flamenco and religious music . Colorful cinematography by Pasqualino De Santis , though a perfect remastering being necessary .

The film gives a real description about ¨Bullfighting¨ art , as the bull is released into the ring, where he is tested for ferocity by the matador and Banderilleros with the magenta and gold Capote ("Cape"). This is the first stage, the Tercio de Varas ("the lancing third"). The matador confronts the bull with the Capote, performing a series of passes and observing the behavior and quirks of the bull . Next, a picador enters the arena on horseback armed with a Vara (lance). In the next stage, the Tercio De Banderillas ("the third of Banderillas"), each of the three Banderilleros attempts to plant two Banderillas, sharp barbed sticks, into the bull's shoulders . In the final stage, the "the third of death" , the matador re-enters the ring alone with a small red cape, or Muleta, and a sword .

The motion picture was well directed by Francesco Rosi . Francesco Rosi was born (1922) in Naples , Campania, , location where he often shoots his films . Rosi is a very good Italian filmmaker whose themes are always more or less the same : the relationship between man and society , between man and power . Most of his films deal with controversial issues and have political messages . It includes terrorism issues , political murders , Mafia and policy . He tried to reflect a little of Italian life of the past fifty years , using Italy as the context ,all the problems that come from the oppression of people by power , whether it's economic power , military power , political power, or the power of the Mafia . Rossi was a writer and director, known for ¨Salvatore Giuliano¨ (1959) , "Hands Over the City" (1963), ¨Case Mattei¨ (1972) , ¨Lucky Luciano¨ (1973) , "Illustrious Corpses" (1976) , Carmen by Bizet (1984) , "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" (1987) and ¨Truce¨ (1997) .