By MICHAEL GINGOLD
One of the year’s must-see films has just hit disc, fully loaded with supplemental goodness.
Kino Lorber has released BACURAU, a mashup of horror, action and Western themes from Brazilian filmmakers Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles, on Blu-ray and DVD today. The cast includes genre legend Udo Kier and veteran actress Sonia Braga, along with Bárbara Colen, Thomas Aquino, Silvero Pereira, Thardelly Lima, Rubens Santos, Wilson Rabelo, Luciana Souza, Karine Teles, Antonio Saboia, Carlos Francisco. The synopsis: “A few years from now… Bacurau, a small village in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants (among them Sônia Braga) notice that their village has literally vanished from online maps and a UFO-shaped drone is seen flying overhead. There are forces that want to expel them from their homes, and soon, in a genre-bending twist, a band of armed mercenaries led by Udo Kier arrive in town picking off the inhabitants one by one. A fierce confrontation takes place when the townspeople turn the tables on the villainous outsiders, banding together by any means necessary to protect and maintain their remote community. The mercenaries just may have met their match in the fed-up, resourceful denizens of little Bacurau.”
The discs present the movie in 2.39:1 widescreen (1080p on the Blu-ray). Extras on the Blu-ray are:
- BACURAU ON THE MAP, a making-of documentary by Kleber Mendonça Filho (60 minutes)
- Deleted scene
- Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles and Sonia Braga in conversation (courtesy of Film at Lincoln Center)
- Booklet essay by film critic Fabio Andrade
- New interview with Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
- MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO (2011, a short film by Juliano Dornelles)
- Theatrical trailer
The DVD includes the documentary, deleted scene, Lincoln Center conversation and trailer. Retail prices are $29.95 for the Blu-ray and $19.95 on the DVD. See our interview with the filmmakers here and here.
