Eloy de la Iglesia's Quinqui Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Eloy de la Iglesia's Quinqui Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 12, 2021

It can be kind of interesting to trace when various genres or subgenres in film started to appear in various countries. In the United States, for example, there was a veritable glut of so-called "juvenile delinquent" films that began showing up in the fifties in particular, though there are probably isolated incidents of quasi-JDs appearing considerably earlier (arguably like those seen in 1937's Dead End, who continued on as The East Side Kids, among other appellations) . But the post-World War II era really seemed to give rise to this kind of film, with everything from Blackboard Jungle to Rebel Without a Cause ensuing (both of those interestingly from the same year of 1955). The genre may have tended more toward exploitation fare as it continued, with more overtly hyperbolic productions like Reform School Girl, The Green-Eyed Blonde and The Party Crashers (the last two directed by genre stalwart Bernard Girard, and the last film offering the final big screen performances from both Frances Farmer and Bobby Driscoll). By the time juvenile delinquents were seen singing and dancing in West Side Story, the genre may have obviously morphed pretty significantly, but in its own way, it continued apace with any number of films throughout the sixties and beyond, including a glut of "biker gang" outings.

Perhaps due to the influence of Franco, who may not have wanted the world to think that "his" country had any problems with errant youth, Spain didn't really start offering juvenile delinquent films until the 1970s, though, again, there are isolated examples that can be cited, like Luis Bunuel's The Young and the Damned, which kind of interestingly given the above data was released in 1950. The word quinqui was utilized to define this emerging late 70s - early 80s genre (or subgenre, if you prefer) featuring Spanish JDs, and while that word may seem like it should be inherently linked etymologically to "delinquent", the actual facts may be a bit different, as is discussed in one of the supplements included on this set of discs. Whatever the genesis of the term actually is, Eloy de la Iglesia is considered one of the prime creators of quinqui films, and this collection from Severin offers a trio of often graphically disturbing works that have a bit of a Neorealist flavor to them, albeit in the mean streets of Madrid and Bilbao rather than Rome and environs.

For reviews of the three films included on this release, please click on the following links:

Navajeros Blu-ray review

El Pico Blu-ray review

El Pico 2 Blu-ray review

Eloy de la Iglesia's Quinqui Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Eloy de la Iglesia's Quinqui Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Eloy de la Iglesia's Quinqui Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release is packaged with Navajeros one one disc, and El Pico and El Pico 2 together on a second disc. The El Pico disc has only trailers for the two films (details in the appropriate reviews), but the Navajeros disc has some really well done generalists supplements that are detailed in that review.

Eloy de la Iglesia's Quinqui Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Severin Films has been offering a number of Eloy de la Iglesia films lately, and they've all been very interesting in their own ways. This new set is no exception, and while often quite disturbing and rather graphic in their depictions of drug use, the three films in this set are viscerally compelling and, ultimately, kind of unforgettable. Technical merits are solid, and the supplements on the Navajeros disc outstanding. Recommended.