The Spirit of the Beehive: Criterion Collection

Criterion | 99 minutes | 1973 | Not Rated | Directed by: Victor Erice |
Standard DVD reviewed by: Fusion3600

As the nation recovered from a brutal civil war, residents of 1940 Spain find their lives uprooted and altered in numerous ways. Ana (Ana Torrent) is only five years old, the daughter of upper class parents, but now she lives in a farmhouse, on the desolate Castilian plains. Her family lost their home in the conflict and while the change has been abrupt, the children have managed to transition well. In truth, while their parents have struggled to get used to this new lifestyle, Ana and her older sister Isabel (Isabel Telleria) are thriving. The lives of the children soon take a turn however, when a traveling movie show arrives in town. The show presents Frankenstein and once Ana sees the film, her mind becomes obsessed with what she has seen. She is terrified by the scenes in which the monster turns on the little girl and drowns her, as well as seeing the girl's father carry her lifeless body. To make matters worse, Isabel tells Ana that the monster lives in the village. Ana then becomes possessed by the chance that this is true, which brings darkness into her life. Will she hunt down the monster and learn the truth, or will she uncover more than she ever expected?

I have heard a lot about The Spirit of the Beehive, but had never viewed the film for myself, until Criterion's release here. As stated on the case, this is considered to be the greatest Spanish film of the 1970s and while I haven't seen enough to know for sure, this is a well crafted picture. Although the film is told from the perspective of children, this is a deep and often dark experience. As expected, there is an innocence to what happens, but there is also that darker side. The genesis of the fear and dread is Frankenstein's monster from the movie, but this movie doesn't focus on a monster, the real focus is death. The subject is dealt with in an honest fashion, but still a quite childlike fashion. There is fear to be sure, but there is also deep fascination, as the children delve deeper to try to uncover the truth. The performances are good, better than I expected and in specific, Ana Torrent is simply beyond excellent in her role. Another important element to The Spirit of the Beehive is the visual design, which brings us visuals soaked in light. The approach is natural, but also saturated at times and in any event, the visuals are terrific and add a lot to the film. Criterion, as usual drums up an impressive package too, so if you're interested, The Spirit of the Beehive is recommended.

The Spirit of the Beehive is presented in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen. This film was made in 1973, but it looks brand new in this transfer, which should thrill fans of the film. The print shows some debris at times, but that is minimal at worst and the level of grain present is almost nill. So right off the top, this transfer is the cleanest edition of the film I've seen, which bodes well for the other elements also. The colors look just bright enough, with no traces of bleeds or other errors and flesh tones come off as normal as well. No issues with the contrast either, as black levels are dead on and detail is always high. All in all, this is a tremendous visual presentation and one that fans will be very pleased with in the end.

The original Spanish language is used for this release, via a basic, but effective mono option. I was never let down with track, but I do think a little more cleanup could have helped. A restoration was done on the elements, but you can still hear pops and hiss at times. Not enough to drive you nuts, but the flaws are more than evident. Even so, the defects never distract from the presentation, so I suppose no real harm is done. The audio here is basic and has no intense needs, so the mono track is more than up to the task. The dialogue also comes across very well, with crisp form and no evidence of volume errors I could detect. This release also includes new and improved, optional English subtitles.

The Footprints of a Spirit is a forty-eight minute piece that explores the production, with an emphasis on the visual approach. A lot of insightful interviews and while a little slow in some places, is still an excellent addition to this release. In addition to a fifty minute interview with director Victor Erice, you'll also find some other interviews have been included. Not a lot of supplements as far as quantity, but there is depth and insight in what has been included here.