Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Screenplay: Alejandro Jodorowsky, Roberto Leoni and Claudio Argento
Starring: Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Adán Jodorowsky, Guy Stockwell and Thelma Tixou
Country: Mexico, Italy
Running Time: 123 mins
Year: 1989
My introduction to the world of Alejandro Jodorowsky began one night when I decided to check out The Holy Mountain for the first time. I was absolutely knackered, but I’d heard excellent things and for the opening half an hour, I was incredibly impressed by the audacious visuals, the out-of-this-world feel of everything and thought it was great. However, if you asked me what I thought about the other 90 minutes, I’d have had very little to say because I fell asleep during my first viewing. It’s terrible, and for the longest time, it made me feel like his work might not be for me. But then I revisited The Holy Mountain a few years later (not exhausted, this time!) and fell in love with the entire film. Since then, I’ve rewatched it a few more times and consider it to be one of my favourite films ever made, as well as one of the best.Â
Apart from The Holy Mountain, the only Jodorowsky feature I’d seen was Fando y Lis which I thought was decent, but didn’t really captivate me in the same way as Holy Mountain, but I’ve still remained excited to check out more from the filmmaker. So when Severin announced that they were porting their US 4K limited edition of Jodorowsky’s other big cult film, Santa Sangre over here in the UK, I jumped at the chance to cover it. The big question is, what did I think about it?Â
I have mixed thoughts on Santa Sangre. Similar to The Holy Mountain, it’s a visual marvel and honestly might look even more impressive, thanks to the incredible cinematography, luscious colours that are presented throughout and the score that makes it feel out of this world. Narratively, it’s a different story entirely. Following Fenix, who grew up as a child in a travelling circus and eventually wound up in a mental hospital, as he commits murders in the name of his armless mother, the film’s narrative is something you could probably jot down in a few paragraphs at most. I get with Jodorowsky that an engaging narrative isn’t inherently what he’s always going for, and it’s more the spiritual journey that you take with the characters that matters most, but my issue with Santa Sangre is that I didn’t really care about anything going on.
The performances from the two actors who play Fenix (both as a child and an adult), both played by the director’s real sons are decent, and the supporting cast is also solid with what they’re given, but I never really felt like I cared why Fenix was enacting out these murders and with a runtime of two hours, the film became slightly tiring as it wore on. Deep down, I’m hoping that this is a Holy Mountain case where I’ll revisit the film in the future and completely love it and get the vibe it’s going for, but my first viewing of Santa Sangre was a challenging, frustrating one that never worked as well as I was hoping for. Still, it looks phenomenal and has the makings of a film that I could see myself loving in the future, but as it stands, it’s something I admire more than I actually enjoy.Â
Fans of Jodorowsky who haven’t seen this yet should still check it out, as it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. The blending of the classic coming-of-age tropes with a surrealist horror film are something that sound like a perfect mash-up for me on paper, but didn’t gel as well as I was hoping for them to. Judging from the general consensus from critics and fans, it’s a fan favourite so there’s a good chance it’s me out of the loop on this one but I’m not someone who loved it, unfortunately.Â
Film: 
Santa Sangre released on the 29th July via Severin Films on Limited Edition 4K UHD & Blu-ray. I viewed the film in 4K and was blown away visually. Despite the 4K disk not having a HDR grade (the film is presented in SDR), it’s one of the most impressive 4K discs I’ve seen in quite some time. Image quality is phenomenal and feels like a reference disc for those interested in home media. On the audio side, there’s English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS HD MA tracks, as well as dubbed Italian and Spanish 2.0 tracks. I viewed the film in English 5.1 and it sounded excellent too. Optional English subtitles are included. The following extras are included:
- 4K Ultra HD Disc featuring a 4K scan from the original negative supervised by Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Presentation of ‘Santa Sangre’ on Blu-ray
- Soundtrack CD
- FORGET EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN: The World of Santa Sangre — Feature length documentary with Co-Writer / Director Alejandro Jodorowsky, Actors Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Thelma Tixou, Sabrina Dennison, Adan Jodorowsky, Elenka Tapia, Teo Tapia
- New Blood – Alejandro Jodorowsky on the restoration of SANTA SANGRE
- Like A Phoenix – Interview with Producer Claudio Argento
- Holy Blood – Interview with Cinematographer Danielle Nannuzzi
- Mexican Magic – Interview with Executive Producer Angelo Iacono
- The Language of Editing – Interview with Editor Mauro Bonanni
- Innocence in Horror – Interview with Screenwriter Roberto Leoni
- Santa Sangre 30th Anniversary Celebration at Morbido Festival, Mexico City
- Audio Commentary with Alejandro Jodorowsky and Journalist Alan Jones
- Goyo Cárdenas Spree Killer – Documentary on the Real Life Inspiration for SANTA SANGRE
- Jodorowsky 2003 Interview
- Jodorowsky on Stage Q & A
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Director Commentary
- ECHECK – Adan Jodorowsky Short Film
- Simon Boswell Interviews Jodorowsky
- ‘Close Your Eyes’ Simon Boswell Music Video
- BLINK JODOROWSKY Short by Simon Boswell
- Theatrical Trailer
The audio commentary with Alejandro Jodorowsky and Alan Jones is a decent listen, taken from the old Anchor Bay DVD and has Jodorowsky recounting the shoot in the ways you’d expect, with Jones being a solid host. Worth checking out if you’re a die-hard fan.
New Blood is a feature exclusive to this release, where director Alejandro Jodorowsky discusses the restoration of Santa Sangre for this particular release. It’s a decent watch, with Jodorowsky mentioning how it felt like watching it with this new restoration was akin to seeing the film for the first time. It’s a lengthy piece at half an hour, but worth checking out.
The deleted scenes are sourced from a low-quality print and run for around 7 and a half minutes, featuring commentary from Jodorowsky as they play. It’s a neat inclusion.
FORGET EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN: The World of Santa Sangre is a feature-length documentary about Santa Sangre, directed by Severin’s David Gregory and runs for 96 minutes, covering all aspects of the production of Santa Sangre. It’s an excellently put together piece, and if you’re familiar with Gregory’s other documentaries, you’ll know what you’re in for here. Interviews with all of the key players, including Jodorowsky himself as well as most of the actors. A great watch.
Five interviews are included which are exclusive to the release, and I’ll cover them all in this section to save myself from repeating tons of information. First off, Like a Phoenix is a 38 minute interview with producer Claudio Argento, who goes in-depth and discusses the production of Santa Sangre and how different it was to other films of the time. Holy Blood runs for 42 minutes and follows the film’s cinematographer, Danielle Nannuzzi as he recounts his history in film and the look of the film. Mexican Magic is 36 minutes and has the executive producer Angelo Iacono giving his thoughts on the film and the production. The Language of Editing is a 21 minute interview with Santa Sangre’s editor Angelo Iacono who discusses the editing process and Innocence in Horror runs for 29 minutes and follows the screenwriter Roberto Leoni recounting his experiences writing Santa Sangre. These interviews alone take up almost three hours and will certainly satisfy fans of the film who wanted more after the feature length documentary included.
The Santa Sangre 30th Anniversary Celebration at Morbido Festival, Mexico City runs for ten minutes and is exactly what it sounds like on the tin. There’s a cast and crew reunion and almost works as a nice intro to the film, with some other interview clips spliced in too.
Goyo Cárdenas Spree Killer is a seventeen minute documentary that focuses on the real life inspiration behind Santa Sangre, Gregorio Cárdenas Hernández. It’s an interesting piece that explains how Jodorowsky came into contact with the killer by complete accident. An interesting watch!
The Jodorowsky 2003 interview runs for thirty three minutes and has Jodorowsky recounting his background, his studies, art forms and more over the course of the fascinating interview.
The Jodorowsky on Stage Q&A was filmed in London, 2002 and takes place after a screening of Santa Sangre. It’s yet another exhaustive interview that’ll please fans of the film, and it runs for almost twenty six minutes.
ECHECK is a short film from actor Adan Jodorowsky that runs for four minutes and feels like a throwback to the classic silent comedies, revolving around the Eiffel Tower. It’s cute. Presented with optional audio commentary.
Simon Boswell Interviews Jodorowsky is an archival interview that runs for eight minutes. Jodorowsky recounts a few stories, such as the Beatles almost collaborating with him on The Holy Mountain and more. It’s a fun inclusion.
Close Your Eyes is a music video from composer Simon Boswell and it’s a fun inclusion. The music video runs for almost six minutes.
BLINK JODOROWSKY is a short film by Simon Boswell and it runs for two minutes. Jodorowsky blinks as pretty music plays. Not much more to be said.
A theatrical trailer is included.
I wasn’t provided with the physical extras, such as the soundtrack CD, unfortunately but it looks to be a great collection of extras for fans of the film.
To say that Severin’s release of Santa Sangre goes above and beyond would be underselling how much effort was put into this set. While I might not have been head over heels for the film itself, this Severin release ranks as one of the most impressive physical media releases of the decade so far, covering every aspect one could possibly ask for and then some, with a killer restoration, tons of bonus physical goodies and even more. Fans of Jodorowsky or Santa Sangre need this in their collection immediately. A phenomenal release.
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