Buena Vista Social Club Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Buena Vista Social Club Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 17, 2017

Nominated for Oscar Award for Best Documentary Feature, Wim Wenders' "Buena Vista Social Club" (1999) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; exclusive new video interview with Wim Wenders; archival interview with musician Compay Segundo; and more. The release also arrives with an 18-page illustrated booklet featuring writer Joshua Jelly-Schapiro's essay "A City in Time" and technical credits. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The paradise that never was

I don’t recall the exact day, but it was sometime during the final week of last year. It was late and I was exhausted, but I had just stumbled upon a rerun of an episode from Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown in which the globetrotting chef had landed in communist-controlled Cuba. I like Tony a lot and the footage he and his crew had shot was the type of material that rarely, if ever, appears on American networks, so I could not stop watching.

When he visits a foreign country Tony usually spends a great deal of time talking with the locals about food and their unique customs, but what I find most fascinating is when the camera turns away from the interviewees and captures life as it literally happens -- basically by observing strangers that are completely unaware of its existence. In this episode Tony first spent some time on the streets of Havana and then traveled all the way to Santiago de Cuba, which according to some of the locals there is the place to visit if you really want to have a great time while visiting the island. This could very well be true, but while I was watching Tony talk to a group of Cuban hip-hop artists that had previously been arrested by the communist police for importing American music and performing and selling their own, I could not stop thinking just how bad life on the island still is. And yet, much to my surprise, these young artists loved what they were doing so much that the misery and oppression that they were enduring had become irrelevant to them. The power of music had profoundly altered their lives and, quite possibly without making them realize, made them invincible.

Wim Wenders’ film Buena Vista Social Club is about a group of elderly Cuban musicians who had also become invincible but in a different era. They were born in the early 1920s and 1930s and witnessed the profound transformation of their country after the Revolution in 1953 and eventually the collapse of the Soviet Union. Like the young hip-hop artists that Tony interviewed for his show, however, all they cared about was their music and the pure joy that it brought to their lives. So, while Fidel Castro and his trusted generals were building the communist paradise that they had promised the Cuban people, the musicians were fully immersed in their music and determined to share it with as many of their countrymen as they could reach. For a while this total immersion worked brilliantly, but as economic conditions in Cuba continued to worsen and eventually the country was pushed on the verge of a total socio-economic collapse, people turned their backs on the musicians and essentially forgot about them -- at least until Wenders, the great American slide guitarist Ry Cooder and his son arrived in Havana and started looking out for them.

The film blends two types of footage. One part of it incorporates bits of raw rehearsals and concert footage where these legendary Cuban musicians are seen performing many of the songs that transformed their lives. (In the first half there are some absolutely brilliant performances from what must have been a phenomenal show that was staged in Amsterdam, Holland. Towards the end there is additional footage from a very enthusiastic show that was filmed at Carnegie Hall in New Your City). The other part uses footage from various intimate interviews in which the musicians recall how they fell in love with music, the rhythm of life in Cuba before the Revolution, and the impact that Castro’s regime had on their lives.

*There are various sporadic fluctuations in terms of image quality, but they are part of the original masters. The footage that is mentioned above was shot with Digital Betacam and MiniDV camcorders and not always under optimal conditions.

Buena Vista Social Club Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Wim Wenders' Buena Vista Social Club arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this release:

"Buena Vista Social Club was filmed using Digital Betacam (three-chip) and MiniDV (one-chip) camcorders, which at the time offered flexibility, mobility, and the least intrusiveness possible. The image was recorded in the 625 widescreen PAL format, which scans slightly more horizontal lines than NTSC and whose frame rate is close to the cinematic standard. Nonlinear conforming and editing were also done in PAL, while color grading and mastering were carried out in NTSC. The original D2 NTSC master tape, which was used to produce a 35mm negative at the time of the film's theatrical release, was the source for the high-definition remastering presented on this Blu-ray (and DVD) release. The film is presented in the director's preferred aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The film features a fully digital soundtrack. The 5.1 surround audio for the release was mastered from the original digital audio master files using Pro Tools HD.

Financing and coordination: Laura Schmidt, Francesco Hecht, Claire Brunel."

Obviously, there are all sorts of different fluctuations on display, but they are inherited from the original masters. In other words, the film was shot with equipment that produces a certain type of quality, and this is exactly the type of quality that the Blu-ray release reproduces. The darker and indoor footage is where you will notice the biggest drops in quality, but the fluid camerawork is also frequently responsible for some noticeable anomalies. Image stability is good. All in all, the current technical presentation allows you to experience the film exactly as it was envisioned and shot by its creators. (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).

Buena Vista Social Club Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

The interviews and the concert footage boast very good clarity, but depth and fluidity tend to fluctuate a bit. However, this is hardly surprising because there is footage that was shot under different conditions and there are certain native organic qualities that are retained. There are no audio dropouts or digital/mastering anomalies to report.

Buena Vista Social Club Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Buena Vista Social Club. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080i).

• Wim Wenders - in this brand new video interview, director Wim Wenders explains how his relationship with Ry Cooder started and discusses the work they did together during the years as well as the conception and success of Buena Vista Social Club. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Berlin in December 2016. In English, not subtitled. (27 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - in this archival audio commentary, director Wim Wenders discusses in great detail how various sequences from Buena Vista Social Club were shot and edited, the three weeks that his crew spent in Havana, the Amsterdam and New York shows, the film's soundtrack, etc. The commentary was recorded in 1999. In English.

• Additional Scenes - four additional scenes.
  
  1. "Candela," Amsterdam.
  2. Alberto Korda's photographs
  3. Interview with Juan de Marcos Gonzalez
  4. "Cienfuegos tiene su Guaguanco," Egrem Studios

• Las claves - presented here is an archival interview with Buena Vista Social Club musician Compay Segundo in which he discusses his life and the music scene in Cuba before and after the Revolution. The interview was conducted in 1998 for the Spanish television program Las claves. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. (60 min, 1080i).

• Radio Interviews - a large collection of audio interviews with the following musicians:
  
  1. Eliades Ochoa
  2. Manuel "Puntillita" Licea
  3. Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez
  4. Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal
  5. Juan de Marcos Gonzalez
  6. Omara Portuondo
  7. Ibrahim Ferrer
  8. Barbarito Torres
  9. Pio Leyva
  10. Ruben Gonzalez
  11. Manuel Galban
  12. Alberto "Virgilio" Valdes

• Booklet - 18-page illustrated booklet featuring writer Joshua Jelly-Schapiro's essay "A City in Time" and technical credits.

Buena Vista Social Club Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Buena Vista Social Club is as much about a group of truly phenomenal but forgotten musicians as it is about a country that was brought on the brink of a total collapse by a brutal dictator. It is a true eye-opener that sadly remains every bit as relevant today as it was during the 1990s. Criterion's recent Blu-ray release of Buena Vista Social Club offers a very solid technical presentation of the film with a great selection of new and archival supplemental features. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.