Director of two of the most talked-about titles in BAMPFA’s 2016 Mexican noir series, Twilight and Another Dawn, Julio Bracho (1909–1978) was one of the most commercially successful—and stylistically innovative—craftsmen of Mexican cinema’s midcentury golden age. Spanning styles and genres from raucous music-hall comedy to tough urban noir, sweeping historical tearjerker to daring political thriller, this eye-opening six-film tribute offers up a tantalizing sampling of Bracho’s range and artistry in new digital restorations. Just as important, it shines a spotlight on the many talents and achievements of the Mexican film industry of the 1940s, from luminous stars such as Arturo de Córdova, Jorge Negrete, and Gloria Marín to cinematographers like Gabriel Figueroa and Alex Phillips.
Born in Durango, Bracho moved with his family to Mexico City as a child (his sister, Andrea Palma, would become one of the country’s early film stars). He first gained notoriety as a cofounder of Teatro Orientación, Mexico’s first experimental theater company, and earned his start in filmmaking through a chance encounter with Fred Zinnemann and Paul Strand, who offered him work on their shot-in-Mexico classic The Wave. His 1941 debut, the musical comedy Those Were the Days, Señor Don Simón!, broke box-office records across the country, and led to a career that boasted more than fifty films, encompassing noirs such as Twilight and Another Dawn and romantic epics like Story of a Great Love. In 1960 he finished his most personal and controversial work, The Shadow of the Tyrant, a critique of Mexico’s ruling party that was banned for nearly thirty years.
Jason Sanders, Film Notes Writer
show less
Born in Durango, Bracho moved with his family to Mexico City as a child (his sister, Andrea Palma, would become one of the country’s early film stars). He first gained notoriety as a cofounder of Teatro Orientación, Mexico’s first experimental theater company, and earned his start in filmmaking through a chance encounter with Fred Zinnemann and Paul Strand, who offered him work on their shot-in-Mexico classic The Wave. His 1941 debut, the musical comedy Those Were the Days, Señor Don Simón!, broke box-office records across the country, and led to a career that boasted more than fifty films, encompassing noirs such as Twilight and Another Dawn and romantic epics like Story of a Great Love. In 1960 he finished his most personal and controversial work, The Shadow of the Tyrant, a critique of Mexico’s ruling party that was banned for nearly thirty years.
Jason Sanders, Film Notes Writer
Director of two of the most talked-about titles in BAMPFA’s 2016 Mexican noir series, Twilight and Another Dawn, Julio Bracho (1909–1978) was one of the most commercially successful—and stylistically innovative—craftsmen of Mexican cinema’s midcentury golden age. Spanning styles and genres from raucous music-hall comedy to tough urban noir, sweeping historical tearjerker to daring political thriller, this eye-opening six-film tribute offers up a tantalizing sampling of Bracho’s range and artistry in new digital restorations. Just as important, it shines a spotlight on the many talents and achievements of the Mexican film industry of the 1940s, from luminous stars such as Arturo de Córdova, Jorge Negrete, and Gloria Marín to cinematographers like Gabriel Figueroa and Alex Phillips.
Born in Durango, Bracho moved with his family to Mexico City as a child (his sister, Andrea Palma, would become one of the country’s early film stars). He first gained notoriety as a cofounder of Teatro Orientación, Mexico’s first experimental theater company, and earned his start in filmmaking through a chance encounter with Fred Zinnemann and Paul Strand, who offered him work on their shot-in-Mexico classic The Wave. His 1941 debut, the musical comedy Those Were the Days, Señor Don Simón!, broke box-office records across the country, and led to a career that boasted more than fifty films, encompassing noirs such as Twilight and Another Dawn and romantic epics like Story of a Great Love. In 1960 he finished his most personal and controversial work, The Shadow of the Tyrant, a critique of Mexico’s ruling party that was banned for nearly thirty years.
Jason Sanders, Film Notes Writer
read more
Born in Durango, Bracho moved with his family to Mexico City as a child (his sister, Andrea Palma, would become one of the country’s early film stars). He first gained notoriety as a cofounder of Teatro Orientación, Mexico’s first experimental theater company, and earned his start in filmmaking through a chance encounter with Fred Zinnemann and Paul Strand, who offered him work on their shot-in-Mexico classic The Wave. His 1941 debut, the musical comedy Those Were the Days, Señor Don Simón!, broke box-office records across the country, and led to a career that boasted more than fifty films, encompassing noirs such as Twilight and Another Dawn and romantic epics like Story of a Great Love. In 1960 he finished his most personal and controversial work, The Shadow of the Tyrant, a critique of Mexico’s ruling party that was banned for nearly thirty years.
Jason Sanders, Film Notes Writer
show less
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