THE ALMODOVAR ARCHIVES

PEDRO ALMODÓVAR: BORN TO MAKE FILMS

The trip from the countryside to the big cities, from the absence of the father and the protection of the mother. A man who was clear from the age of 10 that he wanted to belong to the cinematographic world.

Almodóvar's theory was a film library, based on watching movies in the weekly cinema series. His practice was done with a Super 8 camera he acquired after saving money working at a phone company.

Their own and strangers to his cinema, spectators have sat in theaters expecting to see the curtain of “A film by Almodóvar”, an advertisement that gives rise to a range of experiences and sensations.

SPANISH CINEMA

How do you define Spanish cinema? Sexy, subversive, colorful, controversial, passionate, provocative? He prefers to limit himself to one idea: cinema with messages of freedom and moral autonomy. It is not that his filmography is different, rather it is peculiar, it has textures, plot twists, conflicts and characters that belong to it.

THE CINEMA OF PEDRO ALMODÓVAR

Thanks to his work, "El inconformista Manchego" has become a hallmark of trust and his name synonymous with the visual richness, experimentation and eroticism of post-Franco Spanish cinema.

Almodóvar's fame has been consolidated without pretense on his part, with stories written by him that give us a mixture of film genres rich to see, that shakes the narrative with experiences that seem alive, real. Inspiration from classic North American cinema like ela, to melodrama or sitcom, everything always in his style.

On the film set of Kika (1993). Pedro Almodóvar rehearses with Rossy de Palma and Verónica Forqué. Photography by Jean-Marie Leroy © El Deseo. Photograph taken from "The Pedro Almodóvar Archives", edited by Paul Duncan ©, courtesy of Editorial Taschen ©.

UNIQUE CHARACTERS FROM A CINEMATOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE WITHOUT EQUAL

In a solemn way, Almodóvar depicts misadventures in moving pictures, often with a comic undertone, of junkies, nuns, housewives, prostitutes, transvestites and transsexuals.

This has earned him praise from critics, fellow filmmakers and actors, as well as being awarded at international festivals. Although he is still fully active as a filmmaker (in 2020 he released his first short in English called The Human Voice and before that Pain and Glory in 2019), Almodóvar's work on the set already allows him to occupy a place in history alongside other greats such as Luis Buñuel, Carlos Saura, Bigas Luna and Víctor Erice.

THE ALMODOVAR ARCHIVES

Photograph taken from "The Pedro Almodóvar Archives", edited by Paul Duncan ©, courtesy of Editorial Taschen ©.

For all cinephiles, this is undoubtedly an unprecedented monograph - worthy of the most beloved place or corner of the home - where Pedro Almodóvar has given TASCHEN full access to his archives, including unpublished images, such as personal photos that he collected during the shootings.

In addition to writing the captions for the photos, Almodóvar invited prominent Spanish authors to write introductions for each of his films and selected many of his own texts to accompany this visual collection through their works.

Learn more about the intimate world of films such as Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, Kika, Talk to Her and Volver.

Discover how colorful frames come to our eyes, whose bright and vivid color palette has been darkening over time

A GENIUS IN CINEMA HISTORY

Without a doubt, the rookie of the independent scene of the eighties has matured because of his emotional resonance, sophistication and quality, but above all because of his creative honesty. The distinctive and once marginalized world of Almodóvar has already entered popular culture.