Perdita Durango (1997)

Director:

Álex de la Iglesia

Writers (WGA):

Barry Gifford (novel)
Barry Gifford (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

31 October 1997 (Spain)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Get On The Road

Plot:

A psychotic criminal couple kidnaps a random teenage couple. The woman rapes the male captive, and lets him watch his lover being raped by the man. They then plan to sacrifice the couple.

Plot Keywords:

Sacrifice | Rape | Flashback | Urination | Helicopter

Awards:

6 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Rosie Perez	...	Perdita Durango
Javier Bardem	...	Romeo Dolorosa
Harley Cross	...	Duane
Aimee Graham	...	Estelle
James Gandolfini	...	Willie 'Woody' Dumas
Screamin' Jay Hawkins	...	Adolfo
Demián Bichir	...	Catalina
Carlos Bardem	...	Reggie San Pedro
Santiago Segura	...	Shorty Dee
Harry Porter	...	Ford
Carlos Arau	...	Phillips
Don Stroud	...	Santos
Alex Cox	...	Doyle
Miguel Galván	...	Doug
Regina Orozco	...	Lilly
Roger Cudney	...	Herbert
Erika Carlsson	...	Glory Ann (as Erika Carlson)
William G. Stamper	...	Charly Park
Gabriel Berthier	...	Technician
César Rodríguez	...	Dedo Peralta
David Villalpando	...	Skinny
Forrie J. Smith	...	Armendariz (as Forrie Smith)
Paco Pharrez	...	Nicky Bigfoot
Will 'Nahkohe' Strickland	...	Provinio Momo 'The Fist'
Josefina Echánove	...	Romeo's Grandmother
Miguel Iglesias	...	Danny Mestiza
Dewey Kellogg	...	Montana
Marco Bacuzzi	...	Tony
Abel Woolrich	...	Old Man in Cementery
James Gooden	...	Manny Flynn
Emily Blanton	...	Airport Waitress
Maya Zapata	...	Mexican Girl #1
Vadira Zapata	...	Mexican Girl #2
Andaluz Russell	...	Juana
Salvador Gómez	...	Mexican Border Guard
Kenny Jacobs	...	Driver
Pam Risner	...	Woman
Cheli Godínez	...	Vicky
Katie Barberi	...	Stewardess
Norman Stone	...	Old Man 'Toquez'
Gerardo Zepeda	...	La Florida Barman (as Gerardo Zepeda 'Chiquilin')
Lazaro Paterson	...	Babalawo Priest
Jessie Faller	...	Bank Teller
Adelina Sinohui	...	Beautiful Woman
Roberto Lopez	...	Susie Street Man
Paul Dapra	...	Policeman #1
Craig Vincent	...	Policeman #2
Steve Kennedy	...	Paramedic
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ben Caron	...	Concerned Citizen (uncredited)
Marco López	...	Extra in Las Vegas (uncredited)
Jay So	...	SWAT (uncredited)

Directed by
Álex de la Iglesia

Writing credits (WGA)
Barry Gifford		(novel "59 Degrees and Raining: The Story of Perdita Durango")
Barry Gifford		(screenplay) and
David Trueba		(screenplay) and
Álex de la Iglesia		(screenplay) &
Jorge Guerricaechevarría		(screenplay) (as Jorge Guerricaechevarria)

Produced by
Pablo Barbachano	....	executive producer
Fernando Bovaira	....	executive producer
Blanca Escobosa	....	assistant producer
José Luis Escolar	....	line producer
Andrés Vicente Gómez	....	producer
Marco Gómez	....	associate producer
Miguel Necoechea	....	executive producer
Max Rosenberg	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Simon Boswell

Cinematography by
Flavio Martínez Labiano

Film Editing by
Teresa Font

Casting by
Nicole Arbusto
Joy Dickson

Production Design by
José Luis Arrizabalaga
Biaffra		(as Arturo García Biafra)

Art Direction by
Andrew Bernard
Salvador Parra
Ana Solares

Set Decoration by
Helen Britten
Claudio Contreras

Costume Design by
María Estela Fernández
Glenn Ralston

Makeup Department
Mercedes Guillot	....	makeup artist
José Quetglás	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Anne McCaffrey	....	unit production manager
Sandra Solares	....	unit production manager
Martín Torres	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mark Brooks	....	third assistant director
José Luis Escolar	....	assistant director
Adrian Grunberg	....	second second assistant director
Charlie Lázaro	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Christine Alexander	....	lead woman
Star Fields	....	construction coordinator
Greg Finnin	....	assistant property master
Bill Garber	....	greensman
Joel S. Griffith	....	lead scenic artist
Larry D. Koszakovszky	....	set dresser
Brenton L. Lane	....	property master: USA
René Marquéz	....	assistant property master
Zaida Monteforte	....	art department coordinator
John M. Oswald	....	prop builder
John M. Oswald	....	set dresser
Ozcar Ramírez	....	on-set dresser
Tomas Rodriguez Tovar	....	set dresser
Carlos Salom	....	art assistant
Mirko von Berner	....	computer animation
Lynny Warner	....	set dresser
Jorge Siller	....	prop fabrication man (uncredited)

Sound Department
Salvador de la Fuente	....	location sound mixer
Jaime Fernández	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ray Gillon	....	sound designer
Ray Gillon	....	sound re-recording mixer
Juan Carlos Prieto	....	location sound mixer
Jaime Puig	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Leon Sandoval	....	boom operator
Oliver Tarney	....	sound designer
Santiago Thévenet	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Jackson Burns	....	special effects supervisor
Jackson Burns	....	special effects (as Jackson Earl Burns)
Danny Lester	....	special effects supervisor (as Dan Lester)

Visual Effects by
Gabe Ibáñez	....	animator
Bernardo Jasso	....	motion control operator
Tim Sassoon	....	visual effects
Jim Wheelock	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Julian Bucio	....	stunt coordinator
Jackson Burns	....	stunt double: James Gandolfini
Oscar Carles	....	stunts
Charlie Carpenter	....	utility stunts
David Sanders	....	stunt coordinator
Rafael Valdez	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Dean Anthony	....	electrician
Steven Aquilino	....	second assistant camera (as Steve Aquilino)
Gloria Avila	....	camera trainee
Carlos Cabeceran	....	Steadicam operator
Drew Carolan	....	still photographer
Kenny S. Christiansen	....	best boy grip
Mansur Johnson	....	grip
Gary A. Kilgore	....	rigging grip
Gary W. Shaw	....	key grip
Oscar H. Stevens II	....	video assist playback
John Trapman	....	camera operator: Wescam camera
Steven J. Winslow	....	assistant camera: Wescam camera
Steven J. Winslow	....	camera technician
Jon Yirak	....	first assistant: "b" camera

Casting Department
Rudy Joffroy	....	extras casting: Tijuana

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Adela Cortázar	....	costume assistant
Gabriela Fernandez	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
José María Bello	....	post-production coordinator
Irene Blecua	....	second assistant editor
Igor Iglesias	....	third assistant editor
Alejandro Lázaro	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Terry Davies	....	conductor
Terry Davies	....	orchestrator
Geoff Foster	....	score recordist
Chucho Merchan	....	musician: percussion soloist (as Chucho Merchán)
Julius Wechter	....	composer: song "Spanish Flea"

Transportation Department
Jason LaFountain	....	driver
Carlos Ponce de León	....	transportation captain
David Carlton White	....	transportation co-captain
Alfonso Paredes	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Laura Alemán	....	location manager
Beatriz Anda	....	script supervisor
Alejandro Arriaga	....	production staff (as Alejandro Lopez)
Marc Bedia	....	production coordinator
Amaya Díez	....	assistant: Álex de la Iglesia (as Amaya Diez 'Fany')
Ray Gillon	....	adr director
Liz Graham	....	script supervisor
Rhonda Hyde	....	script supervisor
Maggie Mancuso	....	location manager
Jon Proudstar	....	stand in/photo double
Ivor Shier	....	helicopter pilot
Douglas Stuart Wilson	....	international coordinator
Tod Swindell	....	location manager
Farron Kempton	....	photo double (uncredited)
Jennifer Scott	....	lead stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Canal+ España
• Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE)
• Lolafilms
• Mirador Films
• Occidental Media Corp.
• Sociedad General de Televisión (Sogetel)

Distributors

• Eurocine (1999) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Advanced (Germany)
• Ardustry Home Entertainment
• BMG Video (Germany)
• Edifilmes (Portugal)
• LK-TEL (1999) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Planet Media Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sogepaq Distribución (Spain)
• Top Tape (Brazil) (VHS)
• Trimark Pictures (USA)
• Unapix Entertainment Productions

Special Effects

• L² Visual Effects

Other Companies

• Animals R Us  animals
• Cinemobile System  equipment
• EFilm  film scanning and recording
• Story Film  optical effects
• Wescam USA  helicopter mounts

Also Known As:

"Dance with the Devil" - USA (video title)
"Horevontas stin Kolasi" - Greece (DVD title)
"Perdita Durango" - Serbia
"Perdita Durango - Démoni szeretők" - Hungary
"Toiminnan nainen" - Finland

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence including rape, sexuality, language and some drug content (cut)

Runtime:

126 min | Australia:125 min | USA:115 min (R-rated version) | USA:121 min (unrated version) | South Korea:95 min | Hong Kong:118 min | Germany:125 min (DVD version)

Country:

Mexico | USA | Spain

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Finland:K-16 (cut) | Iceland:16 | UK:18 (2006 re-rating) | UK:18 (cut) (original rating) | Australia:MA (cable rating) (cut) | USA:R (cut) | Australia:R (cut) | Spain:18 | Argentina:18 | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:(Banned) | Netherlands:16 (video premiere) | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | South Korea:18 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Canal+ España

Trivia:

The character of Perdita Durango appeared in Wild at Heart (1990) by 'Lynch, David', also based in a novel by Barry Gifford, and was played by Isabella Rosselini.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Shadow of the dolly and cameraman during the scene in the airplane junkyard.

Quotes:

Romeo Dolorosa:Well, the truth is, I'm a scientist.
Perdita Durango:A scientist? No, you're definitely a dentist. I could tell from the stupid smile on your face.

Movie Connections:

References Batman (1989)

Soundtrack:

Vera Cruz

Another overlooked gem...

Right after the success of his masterpiece, the dark comedy "El Dia De la Bestia", Spanish director Alex De la Iglesia took a stab at Hollywood with this wild ride of marvelous insanity and bizarre entertainment. Sadly, the resulting movie was severely cut in the U.S. and the U.K. and didn't had the expected results as many labeled as another Tarantino-style film. While at first sight "Perdita Durango" indeed looks like a rip off of the movies by the Tarantino-Rodriguez tandem, this really black comedy is more a witty satire than a serious action flick.

The film is the story of Perdita Durango (Rosie Perez), a young criminal who one night meets Romeo Dolorosa (Javier Bardem), a crazed priest of an extreme form of Santeria who makes a life doing jobs for the mob. They fall in love and Perdita comes along in Romeo's latest job: the traffic of human fetuses for the cosmetic industry. On their trip, they kidnap two American teenagers for Romeo's human sacrifices. However, things go wrong as a DEA agent (James Gandolfini) follows them closely and the kidnapped teens try to escape.

Based on Barry Gifford's novel of the same name, the movie follows the criminal couple's adventure in the style of a road trip movie with the two couples (the criminals and their victims) as main characters. I can't tell how faithful the movie is to the novel, but it is definitely closer to Gifford's previous film adaptation, David Lynch's "Wild at Heart" than to the Tarantino films that are often compared to it. The movie is charged with black humor and disturbing violence, and is a brilliant satire of modern society.

Alex De la Iglesia crafts a film that is at the same time disturbing and funny, and he plays with those two very different emotions with very good results. The pacing of the movie is very good although it is true that at times it feels a bit disjointed. Still, De la Iglesia manages to tell an intelligent and different story than what we are used to. On a side note, the edited A-Pix version is missing what is probably the most important moment of the film due to copyright troubles, so to fully appreciate the film, the 125 version is the way to go.

The acting is good for the most part, with Javier Bardem showing exactly why is he considered the best Spanish actor of his generation; his Romeo Delarosa is one of the best performances of his career. Rosie Perez is effective, but at times it feels as if she weren't up to the challenge, something that hurts the film badly, as she is the main character. Harley Cross and Aimee Graham are very believable as the kidnapped teens and show potential for comedy, but the real joy comes from supporting actors Gandolfini and a surprising Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

Personally, I liked the film a lot and it is a personal favorite, but I must be fair and point out that it is not a perfect film. Alex De la Iglesia's main mistake is to focus too much on Romeo Delarosa's character, almost to the point where Rosie Perez almost becomes a supporting actress. The fact that Bardem's acting is enormously superior doesn't really help Perez' performance. On another point, the movie seems to lose steam at the last point, and while it does recover some of its initial power, the edited versions definitely take out this final improvement.

As written above, this is a personal favorite, and while I wouldn't recommend it to everybody (due to its disturbing images), I would definitely recommend it to fans of black comedies, disturbing thrillers and overall bizarre film-making in general. 8/10