Director: Carlos Saura
Screenplay: Mario Camus, Carlos Saura and Daniel Sueiro
Starring: Manuel Zarzo, Luis Marin, Óscar Cruz, Juanjo Losada, Ramón Rubio, Maria Mayer, Rafael Vargas, Carmen Sánchez
Country: Spain
Running Time: 84 min
Year: 1960
BBFC Certificate: 15
Spanish director Carlos Saura is one of Spain’s greatest filmmakers, having made some real cinematic gems over half a century of award-winning filmmaking. After starting out working in documentaries, Saura moved into feature films, directing the likes of Cria Cuervos (1975), Mama Turns 100 (1979), Carmen (1983) and Tango (1998). The latter three films were all nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.
Saura’s fictional filmmaking career began with his feature debut Los Golfos, released on an essential new limited edition Blu-ray in the UK by Radiance Films. Los Golfos, known as The Delinquents or The Hooligans, follows Julián (Manuel Zarzo), Ramón (Luis Marin), Juan (Óscar Cruz), El Chato (Juanjo Losada), Paco (Ramón Rubio) and Manolo (Rafael Vargas) who live in the down-trodden outskirts of Madrid, Spain, in 1960.
They long to make it big in Madrid’s city centre, and the film charts their efforts to take hold of their lives and make a name for themselves but get caught up in petty crime. Only one, Juan, seems destined to succeed in this ambition, initially working as a porter at Legazpi fruit market. The gang concoct a heist to raise money illegally to help Juan with his true aim to become a successful and renowned bullfighter. The story builds to a gripping finale when a taxi driver recognises one of the gang as a thief and the law descends on the gang, and Juan has his first dramatic bullfight.
Los Golfos was the first Spanish film to be made entirely on location, with the movie showcasing the Madrid of 1960, particularly some of the areas off the beaten track, and where poorer people resided, as well as the aforementioned former Legazpi market and the huge cemetery. The city, as can often be the case when so much of a film is shot on location, is like a character in its own right.
We don’t see the landmarks that tourists flock to, but rather the cattle markets, car parks and other less photogenic areas. It’s a startling reality to witness, with some really downbeat areas showcased, which highlight the desperation and plight our leads find themselves in and why they long for different lives.
Juan Julio Baena’s cinematography showcases the city well, finding beauty in the locations and architecture, and also shooting characters from some interesting angles and always finding a way to use depth of field to create a richness of detail. There’s a fantastic tracking shot towards the beginning, for example, that really showcases the location where the gang live.
The story is told in an almost documentary style, helped by that on-location filming, and very much reminded me of the neorealism that Italian cinema was famed for in the years leading up to its release. We see the gang try to survive by performing petty thefts, building up to the heist. It’s a quite confrontational work, not mincing its words in its dialogue or shying away from the challenges many people face in life, particularly if they are not as privileged as the more upper classes.
The cast is made up of non-professional actors, who are all fabulous. You wouldn’t think they weren’t professionally trained and its testament to their talent, and that of director Saura at getting such performances out of his cast in his debut feature. It’s a male-dominated film but Maria Mayer as Visi, a potential love interest for several characters but who falls in love with Juan, is excellent in the main female role.
The film suffered a troubled release thanks to censorship troubles, well documented in the extras on the disc, with scenes and dialogue removed. Thankfully this release presents the film as it was originally intended, with censored footage restored. Its trouble with the censors is fascinating, and well worth delving into the extras to uncover.
Los Golfos is a blistering debut from Carlos Saura, who would become one of the most important directors in the history of Spanish cinema. It is a gripping tale as old as time – of humans trying to better their lives – set against the backdrop of 1960 Madrid. Featuring startling cinematography, a great sense of place thanks to on-location filming, and some marvellous performances from untrained actors, it’s a fabulous slice of Spanish cinematic neorealism.
Film: 
Los Golfos is released on limited-edition Blu-ray by Radiance Films on 15th September 2025. The transfer is from a 2024 restoration in 4K, which is truly wonderful. The black and white cinematography looks outstanding, there’s plenty of rich detail and the startling cinematography is showcased really well. The audio and subtitles are also great.
Limited edition Blu-ray features:
Restored in 4K in 2024 by Filmoteca Española in collaboration with Films 59 at Digital and Electronic Systems laboratory from the 35mm acetate negative, 35mm prints and other intermediate photochemical materials. Restoration supervised by Javier Rellán and Patricia Uceda. Funding provided by ICAA/Ministerio de Cultura
Introduction by author and former director of Filmoteca Catalunya Esteve Riambau (2025, 22 mins)
Interview with filmmaker and curator Ehsan Khoshbakht on Los Golfos, its influences and makers (2025, 17 mins)
Censored scenes – scenes affected by censorship are presented alongside notes from the censorship committee and Carlos Saura (2025, 13 mins)
Two early short films by Saura: La llamada, about a solider leaving for war (1955, 7 mins) and La tarde del domingo, about an oppressed live-in maid (1957, 34 mins)
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Vincent Wild
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Mar Diestro-Dópido, reprints of original documents including committee notes on the script and a detailed breakdown of the restoration process
Esteve Riambau, who is an author and former director of Filmoteca Catalunya, offers a fantastic start to the small but perfectly formed package of extras provided on the disc by Radiance. This introduction runs for 22 minutes and gives a marvellous array of detail about the making of the film and its release. Riambau touches on the Spain of the time the film was made and the censorship it faced. An essential watch.
Film curator Ehsan Khoshbakht’s piece is equally illuminating. Running for 17 minutes, Khoshbakht’s interview gives a good overview of the film, as well as what influenced Saura to make it and some background on the director and others involved in the production. Khoshbakht highlights the locations and marvellous attention to detail, as well as how the film showcases the Madrid of the time. It’s an excellent extra.
A 13-minute look at the scenes that were affected by censorship is equally valuable, particularly the notes from the director and censorship committee, which are provided as text and incredibly illuminating. Also included is one second of filming that was cut, and which has not been added into the film due to the poor quality of the footage.
Two short films from Saura are also included. The first runs for seven minutes and is called La Llamada, translated as The Call. The 1955 piece is a silent short film which sees a solider being woken by his wife to answer the call of war. The second is the 34-minute La tarde del domingo, translated as Sunday Afternoon. This is Saura’s undergraduate thesis short film, made in 1956-57, about an oppressed maid living with a middle-class family. This one features a voiceover and location filming, with Saura, like in Los Golfos, looking at the less privileged inhabitants of a city. Both short films, whilst in less than stellar shape, are very interesting pieces and incredibly welcome inclusions on the disc, showcasing the early ability of director Saura.
I wasn’t provided with the booklet for this review, unfortunately.
Radiance Films continue to provide essential releases of a wide range of quite wonderful films. Since they launched with their first releases at the start of 2023 the label has mixed famed titles with lesser-known movies and they’ve introduced me to a wealth of directors and films that had either been on my periphery or which I knew nothing about. Los Golfos continues that trend – it’s a film I knew very little of, from a director I’ve heard plenty about. The release is excellent with a fabulous audio-visual presentation, several short films and a couple of really insightful extras. Highly recommended.
Disc/Package: