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LA GRAN VIDA/THE GREAT LIFE2000 | |||
| Cast: Salma Hayek (Lola), Carmelo Gomez (Martin),
Tito Valverde (Salva), Alicia Agut (Rosa), Paul Naschy
(taxi-driver) Director: Antonio Cuardi Producer: Cesar Benitez, Aldo Spagnoli Screenplay: Carlos Asorey, Fernando Leon de Aranoa Photography: Nestor Calvo Music: Manuel Villalta Running time: 114 min. American title: LIVING IT UP: LA
GRAN VIDA |
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| Notes: Naschy appears for a few seconds as
a taxi-driver in the last part of the film. In an amusing bit, he tells
his passenger, the already frightened and mob-pursued Martin (Spanish
leading man Carmelo Gomez) to smell the interior of the cab and, when
Martin doesn't notice anything novel, that the cab smells of blood in
the air. I guess one should be thankful that Naschy had a chance to appear
in a quality Spanish film that found distribution worldwide and here in
the United States on DVD and video from a major company like Columbia
Tristar. Naschy does try to squeeze as much novelty and scene-stealing
into the brief role as possible, and the Naschy fan will smile throughout
the scene. In the opening credits Naschy is listed separately in a guest
star capacity, but his name is nowhere to be seen on the cover of the
American DVD or video, even though he is better known to American
audiences (well, to cult/horror audiences at least) than the male Spanish
leads, Tito Valverde and the aforementioned Carmelo Gomez. The optional
English language dub available on the DVD does not do justice to anyone's
voice or performance, Naschy's included. Without doubt, it's best to see
the film in its original Spanish language. As for the film itself, it is a
moderately interesting and lively take, well produced and directed, on the
always curious story of a character who has one week to live. Gomez and
Valverde are quite good and charasmatic, but Salma Hayek looks terrible in
her stringy braids, and her performance as Lola is unnecessarily
gratting.
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