Discover the duende and mystery of flamenco
The greatest flamenco documentary of all time is from 1952.
The great bailaor Antonio Ruiz Soler in a still from the film Duende y misterio del flamenco.
We love it when different arts merge into great works that never get old. Today we tell you all about what is currently considered to be the best film ever made about flamenco.
At this article we told you about the love story of acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura for flamenco, who used the genre to create his great trilogy of films around this art. But Saura was not the only Spanish film director who captured his passion for flamenco on celluloid. Edgar Neville, an artist and diplomat born in Madrid with an English father, hence his surname, left us another work of art half a century before Saura did.
Edgar Neville, a man of multiple talents and hobbies, stood out as a writer, playwright and, above all, as a film director, being The Life of a Son one of his most successful films. And, among all his repertoire, he also left us Duende y misterio del flamenco, a film of great documentary and artistic value in which a complete journey through the history of flamenco in the first half of the twentieth century is represented through the various songs and dances.
Poster of Duende y misterio del flamenco showing the stars of the film, Pilar López and Antonio Ruiz Soler.
The film, with a running time of 75 minutes, is a visual poem of exquisite taste. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival in 1953 and features music by Enrique Granados and Antonio Soler Ramos and the participation of established artists such as: Antonio Ruiz Soler and Pilar López and others such as Chano Lobato, Pastora Amaya, Manolo Vargas, Mariluz, Conchita Montes, Manuel Romero and the actor Fernando Rey, as narrator.
Still from the film showing Madrid in the 1950s.
When you watch it, you will not only enjoy witnessing classic and authentic flamenco, but you will also delight in the great beauty with which the Andalusian landscapes where it was filmed have been immortalized: Images from almost 70 years ago of the rooftops of Cadiz, a boat on the Guadalquivir River, the houses in Granada and Sacromonte, Vejer de la Frontera, Cordoba, El Puerto de Santa Maria... The film also includes images from Madrid including the Royal Palace, La Fuente de Cibeles with its tramway, La Puerta de Atocha and panoramic views of the city where the ballet of Pilar López appears performing.
Undoubtedly, its viewing is a must for art lovers, you can currently find this documentary here.
End of the film Duende y misterio del flamenco where Antonio Ruiz Soler dances for the first time a martinete in front of the tajo de Ronda.