El ojo de vidrio
Encyclopedia
El ojo de vidrio is a 1969 Mexican
drama
-epic
film directed by René Cardona Jr., starring Antonio Aguilar, Flor Silvestre
, Manuel Capetillo, Eleazar García, Alejandro Reyna
, and Guillermo Rivas
. With a backdrop of the Mexican revolution
, the film recounts the story of horse wrangler-turned bandit Porfirio Alcalá y Buenavista who becomes the subject of a popularly known corrido
along with his four cousins, after being notoriously heroic for raiding rich landlords and helping the poor. Being each notable for having one eye as the result of an injustice, the five heroes meet two townswomen and a theater actor who helps them disguise for their various raids. As their last raid attack, they take vengeance to the man who caused their tragedy, and evade a revolutionary troops who call for peace after Porfirio Díaz
resigns and is exiled.
El ojo de vidrio, shot on location in Tayahua, was a box-office hit in Mexican theaters and a particularly distinctive for its imaginative use of mixing drama with comic relief within the main characters. The film's story and screenplay were written by Antonio Aguilar and Alfredo Varela, who also portrays the theater actor. The film is also notable for being 110 minutes long, which is not the average runtime for normal low-budget Mexican films. It spawned the sequel Vuelve el ojo de vidrio released the next year.
in 1991 by Million Dollar Video, and later in 2003 under the "Antonio Aguilar: Colleción Clásica". In 2006, Tekila Films digitally restored the film and released in the DVD
format, with bonus features such as scene selections and biographies.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
-epic
Epic
-Comics:* Epic Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics* Epic Illustrated, a 1980s anthology series published by Marvel Comics-Gaming:* Epic , a 1992 computer game* Epic , a series of wargames...
film directed by René Cardona Jr., starring Antonio Aguilar, Flor Silvestre
Flor Silvestre (actress)
Flor Silvestre , is a Mexican actress, ranchera singer, and comic book superhero. She is regarded as one of the great "folklóricas" of Mexican cinema, Silvestre is also one of the principal cinematographic and musical stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema...
, Manuel Capetillo, Eleazar García, Alejandro Reyna
Alejandro Reyna
Alejandro Reyna, also known as "el Tío Plácido", was a Mexican actor and singer. Reyna usually appeared in films starring Antonio Aguilar. Reyna received a starring role as "Plácido Buenavista" in El ojo de vidrio ....
, and Guillermo Rivas
Guillermo Rivas
Guillermo Rivas Rowlatt was a Mexican character actor known for portraying "El Borras" in the Telesistema Mexicano sitcom Los Beverly de Peralvillo .- Early life :...
. With a backdrop of the Mexican revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
, the film recounts the story of horse wrangler-turned bandit Porfirio Alcalá y Buenavista who becomes the subject of a popularly known corrido
Corrido
The corrido is a popular narrative song and poetry form, a ballad, of Mexico. The songs are often about oppression, history, daily life for peasants, and other socially important information. It is still a popular form today, and was widely popular during the Mexican Revolution and Nicaraguan...
along with his four cousins, after being notoriously heroic for raiding rich landlords and helping the poor. Being each notable for having one eye as the result of an injustice, the five heroes meet two townswomen and a theater actor who helps them disguise for their various raids. As their last raid attack, they take vengeance to the man who caused their tragedy, and evade a revolutionary troops who call for peace after Porfirio Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
resigns and is exiled.
El ojo de vidrio, shot on location in Tayahua, was a box-office hit in Mexican theaters and a particularly distinctive for its imaginative use of mixing drama with comic relief within the main characters. The film's story and screenplay were written by Antonio Aguilar and Alfredo Varela, who also portrays the theater actor. The film is also notable for being 110 minutes long, which is not the average runtime for normal low-budget Mexican films. It spawned the sequel Vuelve el ojo de vidrio released the next year.
Cast
| Actor | Character | Description | Sequel appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antonio Aguilar | Porfirio Alcalá y Buenavista | One-eyed revolutionary and former sharecropper who plans to stop the injustices, that include the death of his father, that run rampant during Porfirio Díaz Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N... 's presidency. He is in love with Coralillo and plans to marry her and retreat to a peaceful farm life. |
Yes |
| Flor Silvestre Flor Silvestre Flor silvestre is a 1943 Mexican film, directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. Is the first Mexican movie of Dolores del Río after her career in Silent and Golden Age's Hollywood films... |
María "La Coralillo" | Singer, daughter of a maderista, and a native of San José de Gracia San José de Gracia San José de Gracia may refer to: Mexico:*San José de Gracia, Aguascalientes*San José de Gracia *San Jose de Gracia, Jalisco*San José de Gracia, Michoacán... she is the love interest of Porfirio and the cousin of Cocorito. She is feisty, outspoken, and brave hence her nickname coralillo in reference to her dangerous personality such as the snake. |
Yes |
| Manuel Capetillo | Gumaro Buenavista | One-eyed General of Porfirio's army and his cousin, he is the bad-mouthed, impatient one of the four brothers. Whenever he wants to curse, Porfirio or his brothers whistle at him in order to prevent him from cursing. | Yes |
| Eleazar García | Chelelo Buenavista | One-eyed General of Porfirio's army and his cousin, he is the funny, dim-witted one of the four brothers. | Yes |
| Alejandro Reyna Alejandro Reyna Alejandro Reyna, also known as "el Tío Plácido", was a Mexican actor and singer. Reyna usually appeared in films starring Antonio Aguilar. Reyna received a starring role as "Plácido Buenavista" in El ojo de vidrio .... |
Plácido Buenavista | One-eyed General of Porfirio's army and his cousin, he is the logical, and oldest one of the four brothers. | Yes |
| Guillermo Rivas Guillermo Rivas Guillermo Rivas Rowlatt was a Mexican character actor known for portraying "El Borras" in the Telesistema Mexicano sitcom Los Beverly de Peralvillo .- Early life :... |
Jerónimo Buenavista | One-eyed General of Porfirio's army and his cousin, he is the slow-thinking, and shy one of the four brothers. He is in love with Cocorito, and plans to marry her. | Yes |
| Arturo Martínez | Melitón Barbosa | Brutal, rich hacendado whom Porfirio's father owes money, and then causes his death and leaves his son and nephews each without an eye. | Yes |
| Raúl Meraz | Capitán Mendiosabál | Federal army official whose regiment is located at San José de Gracia, and is infatuated with Coralillo and is friend to Don Ramíro and Señor de la Maza. | No |
| Luis Manuel Pelayo | Señor de la Maza | Fast-talking Spaniard horse rancher who is also raided by Porfirio. | No |
| Arturo Castro Arturo Castro Arturo Castro was a Mexican actor of film and television who appeared in a large number of minor roles from 1945 to 1976. He is perhaps best-known for his role as "Bigotón" in the Telesistema Mexicano sitcom Los Beverly de Peralvillo... |
Don Ramíro | Affluent cattle-rancher, raided by Porfirio. | No |
| Yuyú Varela | Socorro González "La Cocorito" | Hilarious cousin of Coralillo, in love with Jerónimo. | Yes |
| Alfredo Varela | Señor Fregoli "Fregolini" | Theatrical actor and makeup artist, he helps Porfirio with his and his cousins' disguises and also accompanies them to their various journeys. | Yes |
| Víctor Alcocer Víctor Alcocer Víctor Alcocer Gómez was a Mexican actor of voice-over, film, and television. He dubbed many American TV characters into Spanish, in the midst of them all, "Herman Munster" from The Munsters is one of the most recognizable.-Selected filmography:*Corazón salvaje *La Valentina ..... |
Bernardo Iglesias del Toro | Last cattle-rancher raided by Porfirio, and also reports him and orders to arrest Coralillo and Cocorito. | No |
Home entertainment releases
El ojo de vidrio was first released in VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in 1991 by Million Dollar Video, and later in 2003 under the "Antonio Aguilar: Colleción Clásica". In 2006, Tekila Films digitally restored the film and released in the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
format, with bonus features such as scene selections and biographies.