Description
Upper-class geometry professor Juan and his wealthy, married mistress, Maria José, driving back from a late-night rendezvous, accidentally hit a cyclist, and run. The resulting, exquisitely shot tale of guilt, infidelity, and blackmail reveals the wide gap between the rich and the poor in Spain, and surveys the corrupt ethics of a society seduced by decadence. Juan Antonio Bardem’s charged melodrama _Death of a Cyclist_ (_Muerte de un ciclista_) was a direct attack on 1950s Spanish society under Franco’s rule. Though it was affected by the dictates of censorship, its sting could never be dulled.
* New, restored high-definition digital transfer
* _Calle Bardem_ (2005), a documentary on the revolutionary life and career of director Juan Antonio Bardem
* New and improved English subtitle translation
* PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by scholar Marsha Kinder and Bardem’s 1955 call to arms for Spanish cinema
_New cover by Michael Boland_