The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz

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The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz

Released May 19, 1955

1h 31m

Comedy

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92%

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12 Reviews

93%

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1,000+ Ratings

The wealthy Archibaldo (Ernesto Alonso) is a potential serial killer. This might be the result of a childhood incident: his governess (Leonor Llausás) caught him trying on some of his mother's clothes and scolded him. He wished the governess dead, and she was immediately killed by a stray bullet from a revolution raging outside the window. Conflating violent death with sexual desire, the adult Archibaldo plots to murder numerous women, but his elaborate schemes are constantly thwarted.

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Basil Wright

Sight & Sound

This is what makes Archibaldo so fascinating. It expresses one simple story idea. It goes straight ahead, sequence by sequence, and it never loiters or takes a wrong turning.

Mar 18, 2020

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

Against a background of revolution and restoration, Catholic mysteries and aristocratic manners, Buuel unfolds, in images akin to Freudian X-rays ...

Jun 30, 2014

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

Though it's 22 years late in arriving, The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz is the only new movie in town about which I can say that it mustn't be missed.

Rated: 5/5

May 9, 2005

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Jas Keimig

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

The fantasy murder sequences are disconcertingly surreal.

Dec 8, 2021

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Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

The central work of Buuel's career, a midpoint between the early savagery and the later urbanity

Dec 16, 2013

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Perhaps the lightest and most purely playful film of Buuel's career. It's an oddly charming black comedy dressed up as a kind of thriller.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 10, 2008

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S R

I saw this since it had good reviews and was on HBO's TCM list. This movie was unusual and interesting. It was almost half baked in conception, but it still manages to make you think. Was it as good as a psychological Hitchcock? Not quite, but it was still unique and praiseworthy, despite its inconsistencies.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/03/23

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Audience Member

Luis Buñuel dando càtreda de como hacer un buen film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Audience Member

An enjoyable - yet perfunctory - dark comedy that does have an interesting protagonist (with murderous desires that tell a lot about the nature of his misogyny) but makes me think that Buñuel probably only made it because he didn't have anything better to do at the time.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Audience Member

Buñuel celebra, sin restricciones, con humor e inclusive introspección, un relato sumamente profundo y analítico de la represión del verdadero impulso primitivo del humano que anhela el acto criminal, con el carisma y detalle que solo su dirección pueden ofrecer, complementada con un espectacular e interpretativo guion, que convierten este drama criminal en un festín psicológico, superado, únicamente, por la magnífica y deleitante presencia de Ernesto Alonso como el peculiar protagónico.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

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Audience Member

Rasúrese usted con máquina, Señor de la Cruz

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

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Audience Member

M-F 8.4 [Luis Buñuel] [Mx]

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Luis Buñuel

Director

Ernesto Alonso

Archibaldo de la Cruz

Miroslava

Lavinia

Rita Macedo

Patricia Terrazas

Carlos Martínez Baena

Priest

Leonor Llausás

The Governess

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Synopsis

The wealthy Archibaldo (Ernesto Alonso) is a potential serial killer. This might be the result of a childhood incident: his governess (Leonor Llausás) caught him trying on some of his mother's clothes and scolded him. He wished the governess dead, and she was immediately killed by a stray bullet from a revolution raging outside the window. Conflating violent death with sexual desire, the adult Archibaldo plots to murder numerous women, but his elaborate schemes are constantly thwarted.

Director: Luis Buñuel
Producer: Alfonso Patiño Gómez
Screenwriter: Luis Buñuel, Eduardo Ugarte, Rodolfo Usigli
Distributor: Water Bearer Films, Dan Talbot, New Yorker Films
Production Co: Alianza Cinematográfica Española
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): May 19, 1955, Original
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Mono

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