Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Amores Perros Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 19, 2020

Alejandro G. Inarritu's "Amores Perros" (2000) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include new interviews with cast and crew members; deleted scenes with new commentary recorded by the director and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto; new interview with composer Gustavo Santaolalla; music videos; and more. Also included with the release is an illustrated booklet featuring essays by critic Fernanda Solórzano and author Juan Villoro, as well as technical credits. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

In the United States, Amores Perros was previously released on Blu-ray by Lionsgate Films. You can see our review and listing of this release here.

***

Amores Perros is a long, demanding utmost concentration film. It is divided into multiple episodes, each focusing on a group of different characters, of which only one is somewhat easy to like.

The first three characters are Octavio (Gael García Bernal, The Motorcycle Diaries, Bad Education), his brother Ramiro (Marco Perez, La sombra del sahuaro), and his wife Susana (Vanessa Bauche, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada). Octavio is a kind and sensitive guy who likes Susana a lot. In fact, Octavio likes Susana so much that eventually he asks her to run away with him. Susana is tempted because Ramiro does not seem to care much about their baby. She has also discovered that he has become a robber. Octavio isn’t a perfect guy -- he has become involved in illegal dog fighting -- but at least he occasionally gives her money to buy what the baby needs.

Daniel (Alvaro Guerrero, Otilia Rauda) and Valeria (Goya Toledo, Sandrine in the Rain) are madly in love with each other. He is a respected magazine publisher who has decided to leave his wife and two children and live his life the way he should have. She is a stunningly beautiful supermodel whose face is on large billboards all over Mexico City. On the day when the two move into their brand new apartment, Valeria is seriously injured in a car accident that puts an end to her modeling career.

Chivo (Emilio Echevarría, Y tu mama tambien, The Alamo) is an aging ex-revolutionary who wanders the streets of Mexico City with a pack of dogs. Years ago, he left his family to fight a battle that should have changed his country. But he lost the battle and his family. Now he is a lonely hitman who often thinks about the past. When an old friend asks Chivo to do a job, he suddenly realizes that there is still time for him to be the father he never was.

Amores Perros hits hard and in a notably uncompromising fashion. It is also devoid of political correctness and the cheap melodrama other similarly-themed films are often plagued with. Bad things happen to each of the three characters in it for different reasons -- most of which supposedly have something to do with love.

But they don’t. The violence and suffering in Amores Perros are bred by poverty, social insecurity and corruption, which now, ten years after Amores Perros was filmed, many political analysts believe have irreversibly damaged the Mexican society.

Director Inarritu's eye for detail is impressive. Born and raised in Mexico City, he is the perfect guide to have in the beautiful but chaotic and dangerous Mexican capital. One can literally feel its pulse in his film. Director Inarritu also knows well the people who live there, and especially the ones the local government has apparently stopped caring about.

Amores Perros Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Amores Perros arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The new 4K master that director Alejandro G. Inarritu and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto supervised and approved is a stunner. I viewed Criterion's release last night and then did some direct comparisons with this old Region-B release from Optimum Home Entertainment/StudioCanal, and I can confirm that there are a number of very significant upgrades. First, the new master handles overexposed light in a vastly superior fashion. Indeed, despite the elevated highlights, it actually reveals a lot of finer nuances that are either very difficult to spot or lost on the previous release. Second, grain exposure, which varies a lot in the different segments, is all-around better. As a result, the unique contrasts that come with the management of light look much more impressive. They look organic as well. Contrast is superior, both in daylight footage and darker/nighttime footage, and shadow definition benefits in a number of different ways. (Again, in different segments there are different stylistic effects). Quite predictably, clarity, depth, and fluidity are a lot more pleasing. Furthermore, the new master has a different and better balanced color scheme. There are new primaries -- and they are actually not 'new' because it is very easy to tell now that on the old master some are basically preset, which is why magenta and blown-out whites are present everywhere -- with new supporting nuances, and balance, especially where mishandled whites used to create issues, is now much more convincing. Finally, the entire film looks a lot healthier. So, this is a very impressive makeover that ensures a completely different viewing experience, and my guess is that it looks even better in native 4K. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Amores Perros Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

When this release was announced my gut feeling was that it should have included an Atmos track, but I would be lying if I wrote that I could spot areas where the current lossless tracks does not deliver as I think it should. All you have to do is test the unexpected car crash to know exactly what I mean. On the other hand, there are some notable dynamic fluctuations because plenty of organic sounds and noises flood the soundtrack, but this does not meant that there is room for improvement. This is how the original soundtrack was created and these are the native qualities the lossless track reproduces. There are no encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Amores Perros Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Amores Perros. With music and Spanish text, with English subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

• Alejandro G. Inarritu and Pawel Pawlikowski - in this new program, Alejandro G. Inarritu and Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War) discuss the making of Amores Perros, some of the key themes that define the film, and the struggle to make the film and its reception in Mexico. The program was produced for Criterion in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (29 min, 1080p).

• Amores Perros: Reunion - in this new program, actors Adriana Barraza, Vanessa Bauche, and Gael Garcia Bernal and director Alejandro G. Inarritu recall their work on Amores Perros and discuss how their lives have changed since 2000. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. (36 min, 1080p).

• Prologo - this program features footage from the rehearsals for Amores Perros, with observations on directing recorded by Alejandro G. Inarritu in 2020. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. (6 min, 1080p).

• Perros, Amores, Accidentes - this new program contains research and raw footage from the production of Amores Perros. Please be advised that some of the research footage contains graphic doc fights. The program was produced by Alejandro G. Inarritu in 2020. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. (44 min, 1080p).

• Gustavo Santaolalla - in this new video interview, composer Gustavo Santaolalla recalls his involvement with Amores Perros and how the soundtrack for the film was conceived. The interview was conducted in Los Angeles in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (11 min, 1080p).

• Music Videos - three music videos, two of them directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu.
  
  1. "Me Van a Matar" performed by Julieta Venegas. (4 min, 1080i).
  2. "A Vientame" performed by Cage Tacvba. (4 min, 1080i).
  3. "De Perros Amores" performed by Control Machete and Ely Guerra. (4 min, 1080i).

• Video Essay - this new video essay was written and is narrated by critic Paul Julian Smith. In English, not subtitled. (24 min, 1080p).

• Deleted Scenes - three deleted scenes that can be viewed with optional audio commentary by Alejandro G. Inarritu and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2020. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. (18 1080p).
  
  1. Octavio and Susana
  2. Daniel and Valeria
  3. El Chivo and Maru

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring essays by critic Fernanda Solórzano and author Juan Villoro, as well as technical credits.

Amores Perros Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is amazing to see the type of transformation Alejandro G. Inarritu has had after he completed his directorial debut, Amores Perros, in 2000. I mean, really, it does not get any better than this. In my opinion, Inarritu's best work is in Amores Perros because I feel that it is a very personal but also incredibly illuminating film that in a way sums up perfectly his homeland. I realize that this won't be a popular opinion because Inarritu has directed some huge and very well-received blockbusters since Amores Perros, but as far as I am concerned everything comes together in it a little bit better than it does in his other films, including 21 Grams, which is another masterpiece. Criterion's release is sourced from an outstanding new 4K master and features a great selection of exclusive new and archival bonus features. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.