Beginning Friday, Aug. 25, the Sunset 5 theater complex in West Hollywood will present an eight-week, eight-film retrospective of one of the foremost film directors of the last 20 years, Pedro Almodóvar, whose latest film, Volver, opens in the U.S. on Nov. 3.
The retrospective, named "Viva Pedro," will screen brand-new prints of — in my invariably humble opinion — the director's 8 best films. Two of those being screened, Matador (1986) and the outstanding La Ley del deseo / Law of Desire (1987), have never been released on DVD in the U.S. (La Ley del deseo is available, but in PAL format.)
Volver, by the way, won Almodóvar the Best Screenplay Award at this year's Cannes Film Festival. (A consolation prize, as Volver was the odds-on favorite to win the Palme d'Or for Best Film.)
Aug. 25
Academy Award-nominee (Best Foreign Language Film) Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios / Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
(1988)
Sept. 1
Academy Award-winner (Best Foreign Language Film) Todo sobre mi madre / All About My Mother (1999)
Sept. 8
Academy Award-winner (Best Original Screenplay) Hable con ella / Talk to Her (2002)
Sept. 15
La Flor de mi secreto / The Flower of My Secret (1995)
Sept. 22
Carne trémula / Live Flesh (1998)
Sept. 29
La Ley del deseo / Law of Desire (1987)
Oct. 6
Matador (1988)
Oct. 13
New York Film Critics Winner (Best Foreign Language Film) La Mala educación / Bad Education (2004)