New Restoration Trailer for Luis Buñuel's Él Showcases a Story of Obsession

      One of the highlights of last year's Luis Buñuel retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art was my first viewing of Él, an engaging story of obsession that clearly influenced Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. Janus Films is now set to give the newly restored 1953 classic a proper screening, starting at Film Forum on March 14, and they've released a new trailer and poster.

      Here’s the summary: “As one of the most peculiar and unsettling films from his often-overlooked Mexican era, Él is Luis Buñuel’s sharp exploration of paranoia, jealousy, and sexual obsession—a nightmarish narrative of love turned awry that anticipates the major themes found in his 1960s and ’70s works. Weaving in his own personal struggles into an adaptation of Mercedes Pinto’s autobiographical novel, Buñuel portrays the story of Francisco Galván de Montemayor (Arturo de Córdova), a pious, middle-aged bachelor who becomes infatuated with Gloria (Delia Garcés). After ending her engagement with another suitor, Gloria begins to sense that something is gravely wrong with Francisco, whose polished exterior conceals profound insecurities and a volatile temper. As he descends into madness, Francisco instills fear in Gloria for her safety—with neither her family nor the church providing any sanctuary. Él is one of Buñuel’s most visceral critiques of religious and social hypocrisy, marking the surrealist master’s significant foray into dark melodrama, where society offers no solutions to the chaotic impulses of the irrational id.”

      This 4K restoration was created from a duplicate positive preserved by Películas y Vídeos Internacionales at the Filmoteca de la UNAM. The color grading was overseen by Gabriel Figueroa Flores, and the restoration work was finalized at L’Immagine Ritrovata in 2022. The Film Foundation expresses special gratitude to Guillermo del Toro and Daniela Michel.

      Check out the trailer and poster below.