La Duena (One Disc Double Sided), I watch lots of telenovelas but have not wished to own one on dvd - for the sake of one's emotional health, one should limit one's intake of melodrama enhanced by scenery-chewing actors... Recently, though, I indulged my long-lived, sadly unrequited crush on Cuban actor Francisco Gattorno and bought a copy of La Duena, the Mexican soap that made him a star (believe it or not, he looks even better in his most recent novela, "La Viuda de Blanco" (2006-2007), than he did 12+ years ago when he made "La Duena." Age definitely becomes him...).
La Duena (One Disc Double Sided), But I must say that though I can't compare it to the original, it's obvious that it's been horrifically butchered by some very untalented editors for conversion to dvd. The story line remains intact and easy to follow for the most part, but it's SO chopped up. And what's most annoying is that they even cut the love scenes (o mejor dicho, esp. about this novela, "I secretly love you but I wish I didn't cuz I'm so mad at you" scenes) absurdly short...
I think La Duena, in its original form, was a good telenovela. It was very popular on Televisa in Mexico. As in most telenovelas, the rural setting is gorgeous. The main character, Regina (Angelica Rivera), is left at the alter by her two-timing, gold-digging fiance Mauricio, and runs away to her hacienda, Las Cascabeles, to heal her wounds. But she's very angry, bitter, and unhappy, and it's not long before everyone at Las Cascabeles, and in town, San Ignacio, is afraid of her. Except for her very handsome and strong-willed neighbor, Jose Maria Cortez (Gattorno, who else?), who suspects she's hiding real heartache and falls in love with her despite her very prickly exterior.
It seems to be the concensus of cyber-critics that all of the DVDs of telenovels are very poorly done. Too bad. So - buyer beware...
La Duena (One Disc Double Sided), But I must say that though I can't compare it to the original, it's obvious that it's been horrifically butchered by some very untalented editors for conversion to dvd. The story line remains intact and easy to follow for the most part, but it's SO chopped up. And what's most annoying is that they even cut the love scenes (o mejor dicho, esp. about this novela, "I secretly love you but I wish I didn't cuz I'm so mad at you" scenes) absurdly short...
I think La Duena, in its original form, was a good telenovela. It was very popular on Televisa in Mexico. As in most telenovelas, the rural setting is gorgeous. The main character, Regina (Angelica Rivera), is left at the alter by her two-timing, gold-digging fiance Mauricio, and runs away to her hacienda, Las Cascabeles, to heal her wounds. But she's very angry, bitter, and unhappy, and it's not long before everyone at Las Cascabeles, and in town, San Ignacio, is afraid of her. Except for her very handsome and strong-willed neighbor, Jose Maria Cortez (Gattorno, who else?), who suspects she's hiding real heartache and falls in love with her despite her very prickly exterior.
It seems to be the concensus of cyber-critics that all of the DVDs of telenovels are very poorly done. Too bad. So - buyer beware...
