2 January 2008

Anyone who's done an art course will be familiar with the work of Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí, who designed some of the world's most extraordinary buildings, interiors and parks. If the idea of a film about even an architect of Gaudi's stature sounds like a dry affair, then Hiroshi Teshigahara's acclaimed 1984 Antonio Gaudí will change all that. Teshigahara's body of work includes some of the most aesthetically audacious films of the second half of the twentieth century, including Otoshiana (The Pitfall, 1962) and the celebrated Suna no onna (Woman of the Dunes, 1964). Here the artistry of the two men melds in a unique, enthralling cinematic experience. Less a documentary than a visual poem, Teshigahara's Antonio Gaudí takes viewers on a tour of Gaudí's truly spectacular architecture, including his massive, still-unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia cathedral, in Barcelona. With camera work as bold and sensual as the curves of his subject's organic structures, Teshigahara immortalizes Gaudí on film.

Antonio Gaudí has been announced for a US DVD release in March by Criterion with the following features:

• New, restored high-definition 1.33:1 digital transfer with mono 1.0 sound;
• New video interview with architect Arata Isozaki;
• Gaudí, Catalunya 1959, a short film by Hiroshi Teshigahara featuring footage from his first trip to Spain;
• Monitor: Antonio Gaudí (1961), a short film essay by director Ken Russell;
• VITA, a short film by Teshigahara on the sculpture work of his father, Sofu Teshigahara;
• Original theatrical trailer;
• New and improved English subtitle translation;
• A booklet featuring a new essay by art historian Dore Ashton, and reprinted writings by Hiroshi and Sofu.

Antonio Gaudí will be released by Criterion on 18th March 2008 at the SRP of $39.95.