A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless mother - the leader of a strange religious cult - and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name as he becomes ... Read allA former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless mother - the leader of a strange religious cult - and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name as he becomes "her arms".A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless mother - the leader of a strange religious cult - and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name as he becomes "her arms".
- Awards
- 1 win & 9 nominations
Mary Aranza
- Fat Prostitute
- (as Ma. De Jesus Aranzabal)
Jesús Juárez
- Aladin
- (as Jesus Juarez)
Joaquín García Vargas
- Box-Office Attendant
- (as Borolas)
Edgar E. Jiménez Nava
- Monsignor's Chauffeur
- (as Edgar E. Jimenez Nava)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlejandro Jodorowsky's sons Adan Jodorowsky & Axel Jodorowsky both play the part of Fenix at different ages.
- GoofsWhen the elephant is dying, all the close-ups of its trunk bleeding show the trunk to be clean. All the long shots of the elephant show it's trunk covered in blood.
- Crazy credits[over the final freeze-frame] I stretch out my hands to thee: my soul thirsts for thee like a parched land ... Teach me the way I should go, for to thee I lift up my soul. - Psalms 143.6, 8
- Alternate versionsThe US has two versions available on video: the R-rated version, which runs about 120 minutes, and the NC-17 version, which is about 123 minutes (the one released uncut in Britain and other European countries). The differences between the two are hardly noticeable except for two scenes - the first scene being the dismemberment of the mother. In the NC-17 version, there are extra cuts of blood and gore spraying on the walls, and then we also see a few extra shots of blood spurting out of the father's neck shortly after he commits suicide (we see this from behind; a startlingly un-explicit shot to be considered NC-17 material). The other scene is even more noticeable. The death of the prostitute is much more explicit in the NC-17 version: we see many shots of her being graphically stabbed in the back and chest with loads of blood literally dumping out of her wounds. Then, we briefly see the knife stab through the back of her neck and poke out the front - all in one explicit shot. Practically the entire scene is missing in the R-rated version.
- SoundtracksCaballo negro
Composed by Dámaso Pérez Prado
Featured review
"We Are Not Afraid Of You!"...
Alejandro Jodorowsky's SANTA SANGRE is a beautiful, bizarre, sometimes shocking film. It's the story of a mental patient named Fenix (Axel Jodorowsky), and his journey through both his past, tragic life in the circus, and his present existence, both in and out of the institution.
These two lives come crashing together in a nightmare of blood-soaked revenge, involving Fenix's mother, Concha (Blanca Guerra). There has never been a mother / son relationship like this! There is also Fenix's lost, childhood friend, Alma (Sabrina Dennison), who represents the only real light in Fenix's life or in this film. Just about every scene in this movie is packed with vibrant, off-kilter images and characters.
Part horror, part mystery, part love story, and all... astonishing. Throw in black comedy and satire as well. Like ten movies in one, the only way to describe it at all is to say that Jodorowsky has captured dreams within dreams, and brought them to the screen. In SANTA SANGRE, the entire world is a dark circus, played out in stark, visceral vignettes.
Whether you adore it or abhor it, you will never forget it...
These two lives come crashing together in a nightmare of blood-soaked revenge, involving Fenix's mother, Concha (Blanca Guerra). There has never been a mother / son relationship like this! There is also Fenix's lost, childhood friend, Alma (Sabrina Dennison), who represents the only real light in Fenix's life or in this film. Just about every scene in this movie is packed with vibrant, off-kilter images and characters.
Part horror, part mystery, part love story, and all... astonishing. Throw in black comedy and satire as well. Like ten movies in one, the only way to describe it at all is to say that Jodorowsky has captured dreams within dreams, and brought them to the screen. In SANTA SANGRE, the entire world is a dark circus, played out in stark, visceral vignettes.
Whether you adore it or abhor it, you will never forget it...
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- azathothpwiggins
- May 29, 2019
- How long is Santa Sangre?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $787,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 3 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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