Buena Vista Social Club
Traveling from the streets of Havana to the stage of Carnegie Hall, this revelatory documentary captures a forgotten generation of Cuba’s brightest musical talents as they enjoy an unexpected encounter with world fame. The veteran vocalists and instrumentalists collaborated with American guitarist and roots-music champion Ry Cooder to form the Buena Vista Social Club, playing a jazz-inflected mix of cha-cha, mambo, bolero, and other traditional Latin American styles, and recording an album that won a Grammy and made them an international phenomenon. In the wake of this success, director Wim Wenders filmed the ensemble’s members—including golden-voiced Ibrahim Ferrer and piano virtuoso Rubén González—in a series of illuminating interviews and live performances. The result is one of the most beloved documentaries of the 1990s, and an infectious ode to a neglected corner of Cuba’s prerevolutionary heritage.
Director-Approved Special Edition Features
- New high-definition digital transfer, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Audio commentary from 1999 featuring director Wim Wenders
- New interview with Wenders
- Interview from 1998 with musician Compay Segundo on his career and the world of Cuban music
- Radio interviews from 2000 featuring musicians Ibrahim Ferrer, Rubén González, Eliades Ochoa, Omara Portuondo, and others
- Additional scenes
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by author and geographer Joshua Jelly-Schapiro
New cover by Jon Contino
Director-Approved Special Edition Features
- New high-definition digital transfer, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Audio commentary from 1999 featuring director Wim Wenders
- New interview with Wenders
- Interview from 1998 with musician Compay Segundo on his career and the world of Cuban music
- Radio interviews from 2000 featuring musicians Ibrahim Ferrer, Rubén González, Eliades Ochoa, Omara Portuondo, and others
- Additional scenes
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by author and geographer Joshua Jelly-Schapiro
New cover by Jon Contino
Cast
- Compay Segundo
- Eliades Ochoa
- Ry Cooder
- Joachim Cooder
- Ibrahim Ferrer
- Omara Portuondo
- Rubén González
- Orlando “Cachaíto” López
- Amadito Valdés
- Manuel “Guajiro” Mirabal
- Barbarito Torres
- Pío Leyva
- Manuel “Puntillita” Licea
- Juan de Marcos González
Credits
- Director
- Wim Wenders
- Produced by
- Ulrich Felsberg
- Produced by
- Deepak Nayar
- Executive producer
- Nick Gold
- Director of photography and Steadicam operator (Cuba)
- Jörg Widmer
- Director of photography (Amsterdam)
- Robby Müller
- Steadicam operator (Amsterdam)
- Jörg Widmer
- Director of photography (New York)
- Lisa Rinzler
- Camera operator (New York)
- David Waterston
- Assistant camera (New York)
- Richard Rutkowski
- Steadicam operator (New York)
- Stephen Consentino
- Concert and studio recordings produced by
- Ry Cooder
- Concert and studio recordings executive producer
- Nick Gold
- Production sound
- Martin Müller
- Editor
- Brian Johnson
A scene from Buena Vista Social Club
