Cheap El Che - Investigating a Legend (DVD) (Che Guevara) Price

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Customer Reviews of El Che - Investigating a Legend

Everything you ever wanted to know...
Trust me, this documentary is worth the price and then some. For those who don't know much about Che Guevara, it's perfect, an engaging and thorough synopsis of his entire career, with a pretty good explanation of the background of his political theories. For those who think they already know the man's complete life story (like me, at least before I watched "El Che"), it's packed full of interesting facts that aren't usually included in condensed tellings of his biography. Examples: Certain difficulties he faced during his various official terms in Cuba; some additional reasons that the Bolivian mission was doomed from the start; insight into his relationship with Fidel, which is still under debate by historians. This film contains extensive (and I mean EXTENSIVE) firsthand film footage of absolutely everything it covers, plus the added bonus of interviews with Fidel. It only strenghtened my admiration for Che and my belief that the world lost a genius and a true revolutionary idealist when he died. My only wish is that the narrator have been a bit less melodramatic and drippy at certain points, as Che's life is enough of a saga in and of itself. But it's really a small price to pay. Definitely watch this one!

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Kalfon's version of Guevara
This is the film version of French biographer/diplomat Pierre Kalfon's book "Che -- Ernesto Guevara, a Legend of the Century" (as yet unavailable in English, though Amazon sells the French & Spanish versions.) Made by Canal +, it is certainly the best thing available in video on the subject for English-speaking audiences. Beginning with the famous Carlos Puebla "Hasta Siempre, Commandante" song, it covers his military/political life with reasonable thoroughness and restraint, giving a strong, clear-eyed picture of the public man while still managing to remain sympathetic overall. It has quite a bit of good footage of Che as well as interviews with various friends and associates (esp. the then recently defected Col. Dariel Alarcon Ramirez, aka "Benigno", who served with Che in the Sierra Maestra all the way through to the bitter end in Bolivia), though Che's US TV interviews and his memorable appearance on "Face the Nation" are missing. But at the very least, this film has the guts to point its finger at Castro as Che's ultimate betrayer, something Jon Lee Anderson, in his massive and massively footnoted bio, couldn't bring himself to. However, the tone here comes off a bit stodgy and superficial with very little info or insight into Che as a human personality. Also, as one earlier reviewer put it, the BBC-ish narration is indeed a little "corny" (though said reviewer should be made aware that when the narrator compares Che to "Rambo", he is not referring to the movie super commando but to the French poet Arthur Rimbaud, famous for his wandering.) Overall this is by no means the definitive last word on Che, such a documentary film has yet to be made. But take it all around it rates a very solid 4 stars.

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El Che Vive
This DVD contains a fairly detailed account (for a film) of the life of Che Guevara, it follows him from his Argentine birthplace to his eventual death in Bolivia. It also contains many interviews from people who either knew Che personally or had even fought against him. In once instance there is even an old interview with a CIA agent in Bolivia as they are tracking down Che. If you want to learn about Che Guevara but for some reason do not have the time, or do not want to put forth the effort, to read his biography, then this DVD is the perfect alternative. The film is also great if you have already read one of his biographies and are looking for an audio/visual companion.

In addition to Che's biography, the viewer is also treated to a short film about a man who takes a similar Motorcycle trip as Che did. He follows the exact same path and tries to see what Che saw. Of course many of what Che saw on his trip was missing at the time of the filming, but the viewer can get and idea of what the Argentina/Chile portion of the trip was like for him.