User reviews

The film is a touching drama added with historic elements , excellent mood piece and adequate performances . The movie creates a canvas upon a turbulent period from XVII-XIX century . The painter (1746, born Fuentedetodos and deceased 1828,Burdeos) Francisco De Goya (as little boy played by Jorge Sanz), quintessential Spanish artist , becomes involved with kings , duchesses , villagers and the Spanish Inquisition . This is a melodrama involving 18-19th century famed Spanish painter named Goya married to Pepa Bayeu (Jeannine Mestre). It's a slow vision of Saragossan painter Francisco Goya Lucientes' waning days in Madrid , as he wanders through Madrid streets and watches the citizen uprising against Napoleon troops . It portrays his relationship to his mentor Francisco Bayeu (Gerardo Malla) and with historic personages as Carlos IV (Jose Bodalo) , his wife Maria Luisa (Antonella Lualdi) , the scheming favorite Godoy (Carlos Larrañaga) who married Countess of Chinchón (Verónica Forqué) and his famous model , Duchess of Alba (Laura Morante) for the title painting . As Goya observes events, dances , parties , fights , inquisition trials that inspired his work along with his existence at ¨Quinta Del Sordo¨. With the encroachment by Napoleon Army , the French King Jose ¨Pepe Botella¨ takes over kingdom , but subsequently takes place the French defeat and restoration of the Spanish monarchy with Fernando VII (Fernando Valverde) , after the victory by general Wellington (Jack Taylor) . When Fernado arrives in Spain some people yell "Vivan Las Cadenas!" (Long live the chains!) , this salute was coined in 1814 by Spanish monarchists when Fernando VII was restored to the throne with absolute powers, thus abolishing the Constitution of Cadiz, which was established by Napoleonic authorities. In 1820 happens an upheaval in Cabezas San Juan by General Riego (Jose Antonio Ceinos) and the Constitutional triennium (1820-1823) , but he is taken prisoner and executed by hanging . As the highlights of the movie result to be when are brought to life scenes of known paintings as ¨portrayal of Carlos IV family¨, ¨The charge of Mamelucos¨, ¨The trails of Inquisition¨, ¨Los Caprichos¨ and many others .

This is a costumer based on facts but predominates the slow-moving melodrama . The picture relies heavily on lovely relationship between Goya and Duchess of Alba . The flick weaves a deep relation between and Duchess of Alba/Laura Morante and Goya/Enric Majo who painted the famous Majas . As two of Goya's best known paintings are The Nude Maja (La Maja Desnuda) and The Clothed Maja (La Maja Vestida). The most popularly cited models are the Duchess of Alba, with whom had an affair, and Pepita Tudó, mistress of Manuel Godoy ; Godoy subsequently owned them . The paintings were never publicly exhibited during Goya's lifetime . They were owned by Manuel Godoy, the Prime Minister of Spain during Carlos IV kingdom and a favorite of the Queen, María Luisa . In 1808 all Godoy's property was seized by Ferdinand VII after his fall from power and exile . The flick displays an interesting showing the means are manufactured the famous Goya's engravings and paintings : ¨The war disasters¨ , ¨bullfighting¨ , ¨Caprichos¨, among others . Besides , recreating historical happenings such as ¨Riot on May 2 , 1808¨, ¨Charge of Mamelucos¨ and ¨Execution on mountain of Principe Pio¨. Glamorously and sumptuously photographed by Fernando Arribas . Scenarios are luxurious and impressive , being very well designed , the sets including palaces , rooms , interiors and outdoors are mesmerizing . Being lavishly produced by also filmmaker Antonio Isasi Isasmendi who wrote the screenplay along with Antonio Larreta . Evocative musical score by Xavier Montsalvatge based on music by Boccherini . Other films dealing with Goya's life are : ¨The Naked Maja¨(1958) by Henry Koster with Anthony Franciosa and Ava Gardner ; ¨Goya¨ by Nino Quevedo with Francisco Rabal ; ¨Los Desastres De Guerra¨ TV series (1983) by Mario Camus with Francisco Rabal as Goya , Sancho Gracia as Juan Martín 'El Empecinado' , Bernard Fresson ; and the best is ¨Goya in Bordeaux (1999) by Carlos Saura with Francisco Rabal and Maribel Verdu as Duchess of Alba that is a highly theatricalized vision of exiled painter.

This Spanish TV series was professional and stylistically directed by Jose Ramon Larraz , filmed with a pervasive melancholy that does for slow drama . The recently deceased (2013) Larraz started in cinema world by casual way when he meets the famous director Josef Von Stenberg running a cinematographic course in Brussels . Larraz was a director of horror and erotic films and former comic book illustrator and fashion photographer . Worked in England as Joseph Larraz, and in Spain, using the pseudonym Joseph Braunstein . Larraz subsequently shot horror classics , cult obscurities, euro-trash , and even some Sexploitation . As he filmed his first movies in England , plenty of terror , suspense and sex , such as ¨Whirlpool¨ (1970) , ¨Deviation¨(1971) , ¨La Muerte Incierta¨(1972) , ¨Scream or die¨(1973) and ¨Symptoms¨ with Angela Pleasence and Peter Vaughan . He also shot soft-cores and then Jose Ramon returns Spain filming horror and semi-exploitative movies such as ¨Estigma¨ , ¨Ritos Sexuales Del Diablo¨, ¨Al Filo del Hacha¨ and ¨Descanse en Piezas¨ , imitating the American Slashers of the 70s and 80s . His most successful film was¨Vampyres¨ about bloodsuckers who get victims to pull over hitchhiking . And in TV this ¨Goya¨ , rating : Above average

The life and times of Francisco de Goya y Lucientes served as the base material for this memorable 6-episode miniseries. Appropriately produced by TVE and filmed on historical locations, it is an spectacle of interest not just for art lovers or Goya connoisseurs but for anyone into well-crafted drama. A painter who begun himself a revolution of proportions, Goya was a witness of the Napoleonic wars and of a nation in arms resisting the aggression with undismayed heart and soul. He was that ancient paradox of the artist: An extremely sensitive individual who was also a bullfighting aficionado. He was a womanizer in his own aesthetic and impassioned way; he was friends with kings and poets, and a victim of social and political prejudices. He was an exhaustively troubled man: Deaf, neurotic, literally mad. Goya was no saint and his richly contrasted self is what makes him a hell of a subject for a movie or a television project. This one succeeds in honestly portraying him and making a valuable statement on the origins of his essential oeuvre.