96 minutes / B&W
French; Spanish / English subtitles
Release: 2023
Copyright: 1972
THE FIRST YEAR is a jubilant record of the 12 months following the election of Chile’s first socialist president, Salvador Allende. Director Patricio Guzmán travels the country, meeting workers who no longer have to answer to the caprices of bosses, fishermen hoping to be freed from predatory capitalist middlemen, and Indigenous people rising up to reclaim their land.
Guzmán has a talent for capturing powerful emotions: the man with an arm mangled after a workplace accident remembering workplace humiliation. The excitement of young people greeting Fidel Castro on a state visit. The relief of miners no longer forced to work under unsafe conditions.
But not everyone is happy. The upper classes do their best to undermine the economy — and blame the results on Allende. By the end of the year, there are already signs of the counter-revolution to come.
Restored and digitized version under Patricio Guzmán’s supervision, this version features a short introduction to Chile and its history by documentary legend Chris Marker, who adapted the original film into French.
About the Blu-ray: THE FIRST YEAR is included on the 2-disc Blu-ray release of the newly restored BATTLE OF CHILE. Also includes a 12-page booklet with articles by J. Hoberman, Devika Girish and Michael Atkinson. The Blu-ray on sale here is the Standard Edition Blu-ray release. For the Limited Edition Slipcover associated with this release, visit VinegarSyndrome.com. Release date September 24 2024.
“A dual ode to the revolutionary potential of Latin America beyond Cuba and a celebration of decades of organizing in Chile. This is an active cinema for an active audience.” —Rosa Martinez, PopMatters
“Critics' Pick! Remarkable… throbs with jubilant energy.” —Devika Girish, The New York Times
“An interesting examination of Chilean politics before the 1973 coup… recommended for college courses in such disciplines as Latin American History, Labor Studies, and Political Science.” —Educational Media Reviews Online
Newly restored, and on Blu-ray for the first time ever! The epic chronicle of Chile's open and peaceful socialist revolution, and of the violent counter-revolution against it in 1973.
Patricio Guzmán | 2023 | 275 minutes | English subtitles
The epic chronicle of Chile's open and peaceful socialist revolution, and of the violent counter-revolution against it in 1973.
Patricio Guzmán | 1998 | 263 minutes | Spanish | English subtitles
Patricio Guzmán's landmark film The Battle of Chile(1976) documented the "Popular Unity" period of Salvador Allende's government, the tumultuous events leading up to the 1973 coup, and Allende's death. Guzmán has returned to show The Battle of Chile in his homeland for the first time, and to explore the terrain of the confiscated (but reawakening) memories of the Chilean people.
Patricio Guzmán | 1998 | 58 minutes | Color | Spanish | English subtitles
An explosive social revolution brought 1.5 million Chileans to their feet. It was the event Patricio Guzmán had been waiting for.
Patricio Guzmán | 2022 | 83 minutes | Color | Spanish | English subtitles
In Chile's Atacama Desert, Patricio Guzman studies distant galaxies, ancient civilizations, and the remains of the disappeared.
Patricio Guzmán | 2011 | 90 minutes | Color | Spanish | English subtitles
Patricio Guzmán (The Battle of Chile) tells Allende's story, from his youth in Valparaiso and his early career, to his presidency of Chile and death during the coup of September 11, 1973.
Patricio Guzmán | 2006 | 100 minutes | Color | Spanish | English subtitles
