''El ojo de vidrio'' (''The Glass Eye'') is a 1969 Mexican
revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
-
epic film
Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...
Manuel Capetillo
Manuel Antonio Capetillo Villaseñor (15 April 1926 – 5 May 2009) was a Mexican film actor, bullfighter, singer, and songwriter from Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos, Jalisco.
On 5 May 2009, Capetillo died of respiratory insufficiency, in Chac ...
,
Eleazar GarcÃa
Eleazar GarcÃa Sáenz (September 28, 1924 – August 24, 1999) was a Mexican character actor best remembered as Antonio Aguilar's comic sidekick. Eleazar originally is from a ranch called, El Rancho de Los Guerras, current municipality of ...
,
Alejandro Reyna
Alejandro Reyna, also known as "El TÃo Plácido", was a Mexican comic character actor and singer. Reyna usually appeared in films starring Antonio Aguilar. Reyna received a starring role as "Plácido Buenavista" in '' El ojo de vidrio''.
Bor ...
and Guillermo Rivas. With a backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, the film recounts the story of former horse wrangler and bandit Porfirio Alcalá y Buenavista, who becomes the subject of a popularly known ''
corrido
The corrido () is a popular narrative metrical tale and poetry that forms a ballad. The songs are often about oppression, history, daily life for criminals, the vaquero lifestyle, and other socially relevant topics. Corridos were widely popular ...
'' along with his four cousins, after being notoriously heroic for raiding rich landlords and helping the poor. Being each notable for having one eye as the result of an injustice, the five heroes meet two townswomen and a theater actor who helps them disguise for their various raids. As their last raid attack, they take vengeance to the man who caused their tragedy, and evade revolutionary troops who call for peace after
resigns and is exiled.
''El ojo de vidrio'', shot on location in
Tayahua Tayahua is a small provincial town in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas
, image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg
, map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico
, coordinates =
, ...
,
Zacatecas
, image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg
, map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico
, coordinates =
, coor_pinpoint =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type ...
, was a box-office hit in Mexican theaters and particularly distinctive for its imaginative use of mixing drama with comic relief within the main characters. The film's story and screenplay were written by Antonio Aguilar and Alfredo Varela, who also portrays the theater actor. The film is also notable for being 117 minutes long, which is not the average runtime for normal low-budget Mexican films. It spawned the sequel '' Vuelve el ojo de vidrio'', released the next year.
as Porfirio Alcalá y Buenavista "El Ojo de Vidrio": Former horse wrangler of Palo Quemado who, after a confrontation, became one-eyed as a result of the brutality of his boss, Barbosa. He is in love with Coralillo and plans to marry her and retreat to a peaceful farm life.
*
milk snake
The milk snake or milksnake (''Lampropeltis triangulum''), is a species of kingsnake; 24 subspecies are currently recognized. ''Lampropeltis elapsoides'', the scarlet kingsnake, was formerly classified as a 25th subspecies (''L. t. elapsoides'') ...
.
*
Manuel Capetillo
Manuel Antonio Capetillo Villaseñor (15 April 1926 – 5 May 2009) was a Mexican film actor, bullfighter, singer, and songwriter from Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos, Jalisco.
On 5 May 2009, Capetillo died of respiratory insufficiency, in Chac ...
as Gumaro Buenavista: One-eyed colonel of Porfirio's army and his cousin, he is the bad-mouthed, impatient one of the four brothers. Whenever he wants to curse, Porfirio or his brothers whistle at him in order to prevent him from cursing.
*
Eleazar GarcÃa
Eleazar GarcÃa Sáenz (September 28, 1924 – August 24, 1999) was a Mexican character actor best remembered as Antonio Aguilar's comic sidekick. Eleazar originally is from a ranch called, El Rancho de Los Guerras, current municipality of ...
as Chelelo Buenavista: One-eyed colonel of Porfirio's army and his cousin, he is the funny, dim-witted one of the four brothers.
*
Alejandro Reyna
Alejandro Reyna, also known as "El TÃo Plácido", was a Mexican comic character actor and singer. Reyna usually appeared in films starring Antonio Aguilar. Reyna received a starring role as "Plácido Buenavista" in '' El ojo de vidrio''.
Bor ...
as Plácido Buenavista: One-eyed colonel of Porfirio's army and his cousin, he is the logical, and oldest one of the four brothers.
* Guillermo Rivas as Jerónimo Buenavista: One-eyed colonel of Porfirio's army and his cousin, he is the slow-thinking, and shy one of the four brothers. He is in love with Cocorito, and plans to marry her.
* Arturo MartÃnez as Melitón Barbosa: Brutal, rich ''
hacendado
An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...
'' whom Porfirio's father owes money, and then causes his death and leaves his son and nephews each without an eye.
*
Raúl Meraz
Ra̼l Meraz Estrada (March 13, 1927 РApril 20, 1996) was a Mexican actor of film and television.
Selected filmography
*''Balajú'' (1944) - Pueblerino (uncredited)
*''La casa chica'' (1950) - Invitado a fiesta
*''La fiera'' (1956) - Josà ...
Luis Manuel Pelayo
Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...
as Señor de la Maza: Fast-talking
Spaniard
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...
horse rancher who is also raided by Porfirio.
* Arturo Castro as Don Ramiro: Affluent cattle rancher of San Isidro, raided by Porfirio.
* Yuyú Varela as Socorro González "La Cocorito": Hilarious cousin of Coralillo, in love with Jerónimo.
*
Alfredo Varela, Jr.
Alfredo Varela Jr. (born Alfredo Varela Catalá; November 30, 1912 – May 1, 1986) was a Mexican screenwriter and actor best known for his comic screenplays.
Selected filmography
* ''Here's the Point'' (1940)
* ''The Unknown Policeman'' (194 ...
as Señor Fregoli "Fregolini": Theatrical actor and makeup artist, he helps Porfirio with his and his cousins' disguises and also accompanies them to their various journeys.
*
VÃctor Alcocer
VÃctor Alcocer Gómez (March 23, 1917 – October 2, 1984) was a Mexican actor of film, television and voice-over.VHS in 1991 by Million Dollar Video, and later in 2003 under the ''"Antonio Aguilar: Colección Clásica"''. In 2006, Tekila Films digitally restored the film and released in the
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
format, with bonus features such as scene selections and biographies.