BLACK GOD, WHITE DEVIL Blu-ray Review: Stop Swindling Me

Glauber Rocha's trail-blazing Western paints deserts and hinterlands in black and white. And red. Now available from the Criterion Collection.

What does 'revolutionary' mean to you?

Black God, White (orig Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol, 1964)
The film is now available in separate, two-disc Blu-ray and DVD editions, via the Criterion Collection.

If you're already familiar with Brazil's Cinema Novo movement and/or the work of filmmaker Glauber Rocha, feel free to press play and enjoy the new 4K digital restoration of a landmark work, now available with a new English subtitle translation. The film and several special features are on one disk, and the other special features are on the second disk, whether you purchase the Blu-ray or DVD edition.

If, however, you are like me and a complete newcomer to this period of Brazilian cinema, I suggest first spending 22 minutes watching the 2024 special feature titled Richard Pena, in which the professor emeritus and director emeritus of the New York Film Festival lays out a very good introduction to the film that you are about to watch.

I say this because I watched the first 50 minutes of the film and had no idea what was happening or why. (I am certified stupid and ignorant. Me glad me can type and can push buttons on remote control.) After watching Mr. Pena's learned overview/intro, I then turned on the audio commentary by restoration producer Lino Meireles, recorded in 2023, which, again, was extremely helpful, especially in the first 15 minutes, which even Mr. Meireles conceded is "boring."

From that point onward, though, the film catches fire. Ranch hand Manoel (heartthrob Geraldo Del Rey) does not take kindly to the insult when his boss not only refuses to pay him, but then starts to whip him. In turn, Manoel whips out his handy-dandy long sword and dispatches his boss; he races home, but is not in time to save his dear mother from death by the boss' minions.

Forced to go on the run, along with his dutiful but dubious wife, Rosa (Yoná Magalhães), Manoel and Rosa flee into the hinterlands of Northeast Brazil, a region that was economically depressed. There, Manoel is quickly captivated by a holy man who has dozens of followers among the poor residents, and devotes himself to a religious figure who is preaching rebellion and retribution among the people, attracting armed bandits who are already rebelling against the social order.

As noted, the film starts slow, but gains force and power as it goes. Glauber Rocha was in his early 20s when he made the film, so it reflects his fire more than any refined cinematic techniques, but the raw power and anger shines through. In addition to the film and the Richard Pena special feature, Disk One also includes Memoria do cangaco, a 29-minute from 1964 doc that includes interviews with two of the real-life bandits who were especially active in the 1930s, and also a Colonel who was charged with hunting them down; his method for meting out punishment and death is quite alarming. The doc also includes excerpts from a documentary that was made in 1936, featuring real-life footage of the bandits and their pursuers.

Disk Two, which I have not watched yet, features Glauber the Movie, Labyrinth of Brazil, a documentary from 2003, and Cinema Novo, a 2016 doc that takes a broader view of the movement, as well as the trailer. (I plan to update this post after watching both docs.) Both the Blu-ray and DVD packages include a print edition of an essay by Fabio Andrade.

Summary: Recommended. But maybe watch the special features first.