Perdita Durango (1997)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Álex de la Iglesia

Writers (WGA):

Barry Gifford (novel)
Barry Gifford (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

31 October 1997 (Spain)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Get On The Road

Plot:

A psychotic criminal couple kidnaps a random teenage couple. The woman rapes the male captive, and lets him watch his lover being raped by the man. They then plan to sacrifice the couple.

Plot Keywords:

Sacrifice | Rape | Buxom | Santería | Witch Doctor

Awards:

6 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Rosie Perez	...	Perdita Durango
Javier Bardem	...	Romeo Dolorosa
Harley Cross	...	Duane
Aimee Graham	...	Estelle
James Gandolfini	...	Willie 'Woody' Dumas
Screamin' Jay Hawkins	...	Adolfo
Demián Bichir	...	Catalina
Carlos Bardem	...	Reggie San Pedro
Santiago Segura	...	Shorty Dee
Harry Porter	...	Ford
Carlos Arau	...	Phillips
Don Stroud	...	Santos
Alex Cox	...	Doyle
Miguel Galván	...	Doug
Regina Orozco	...	Lilly

Also Known As:

Dance with the Devil (USA) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence including rape, sexuality, language and some drug content.

Runtime:

126 min | Australia:125 min | USA:115 min (R-rated version) | USA:121 min (unrated version) | South Korea:95 min | Hong Kong:118 min | Germany:125 min (DVD version)

Country:

Mexico | USA | Spain

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Finland:K-16 (cut) | Iceland:16 | UK:18 (2006 re-rating) | UK:18 (cut) (original rating) | Australia:MA (cable rating) (cut) | Australia:R (cut) | USA:R (cut) | Spain:18 | Argentina:18 | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:(Banned) | Netherlands:16 (video premiere) | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | South Korea:18 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Canal+ España

Trivia:

'J.J. Bigas Luna' was first slated to direct the film

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Shadow of the dolly and cameraman during the scene in the airplane junkyard.

Quotes:

Perdita Durango: [Perdita to Estelle, while Estelle holds a gun to her, threatening to shoot] If you really wanna do something, you just do it. But you don't think about it. That's the difference between you and me.
[Estelle gives Perdita the gun. Perdita then knocks Estelle to the ground and makes her kiss her foot]

Movie Connections:

References Batman (1989)

Soundtrack:

Flute Minuet Sonata C Major. BNV 1033

I hope Alex De La Iglesia is enjoying success with his films

I hope Alex De La Iglesia is enjoying some measure of success with his films, and apparently he must be somewhere because he's still making them. I think he's mostly unknown in the U.S. and that's sad because his films are pretty amazing, at least the 3 I've seen so far (Day of the Beast, Accion Mutante, and this) are. So, Perdita Durango (Rosie Perez) is a tough girl, of no fixed address and no particular occupation, who hooks up with Romeo, a guy with a weird haircut and a thing for Santeria. Romeo's cousin got him a gig driving a truck load of refrigerated fetuses to Las Vegas to a cosmetic company but first Romeo and Perdita have some business to take care of with a young couple they kidnapped from a border town. Hot on Romeo's trail is an apparently invincible DEA dude, played by James Gandolfini (the guy that's on the Sopranos, a show I've never seen) and this dude has been shot at, hit twice by vehicles, almost strangled, and still keeps on coming. There is an incredible amount of stuff crammed into the running time of this film but it all seems to work just fine. I think this is de la Iglesia's first English language feature, but it's a Mexican co-production. There isn't as much of the dark humor I have found in his other films but it's not gone entirely, it pops up here and there. Mostly this is just dark, though, and it is a rather disturbing little jaunt. Also notable is the inclusion of the late Screaming Jay Hawkins as the assistant to Romeo in his Santeria rituals. There's even some tunes by Southern Culture on the Skids thrown in for good measure. Not to mention, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass...!! This is an incredibly good film but not for the faint-hearted, it's not absolutely disgustingly gross but it sure pushes the envelope on bad taste at times. If you've seen other de la Iglesias films and liked them, then you'll definitely want to see this, but if you're not a convert yet this could be a good place to start. 9 out of 10.