Product Description

This magnificent 19th century drama tells the story of Matilde Peñalver y Beristain - proud, beautiful and aristocratic, who falls in love with penniless soldier Adolfo Solis, though her mother Augusta is determined that she marry a rich man. After creating a rift between the two lovers, Augusta forces her daughter to marry Manuel Fuentes Guerra – honorable, handsome and heir to a vast fortune. Unhappy in her marriage, Matilde continues her romance with Adolfo, creating a triangle that threatens everyone involved, including Matilde’s unborn child.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9452 in DVD
• Brand: Lions Gate
• Released on: 2005-04-26
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 436 minutes

Amazon.com
The delirious passion and angst of Mexican telenovela Amor Real gets a condensed treatment on this concise DVD presentation. Amor Real tells the story of Matilde Penalver (Adela Noriega), a general's daughter in love with a common soldier named Adolfo Solis (Mauricio Islas), but who is tricked by her status-conscious mother into marrying a wealthy landowner Manuel Fuentes Guerra (Fernando Colunga). But Manuel has his own baggage--he's a bastard, only acknowledged by his father as the old man lay dying. When Matilde learns the truth, she and Adolfo try to run away, but Manuel catches her and carries her off to his hacienda, where their tempestuous marriage is tested all the more when Adolfo arrives in the guise of Manuel's new administrator. From there, the plot of Amor Real explodes in a dozen directions, including the romance of Matilde's unscrupulous brother and a wealthy spinster; the struggle within the household between Matilde and the housekeeper, who also loves Manuel; Adolfo's marriage to a young woman dying of tuberculosis; the scheming of Manuel's cousin to disinherit him; revolution; kidnapping; the murder of a priest; steamy sex; and much, much more, building to an epic conclusion.

Though at times outrageously melodramatic, Amor Real has the juggernaut plotting of a Victor Hugo novel--the many story threads are so skillfully interwoven and lurch from joy to disaster with such vigor that it's impossible not to get swept away. Making the experience even more dizzying is that this DVD is basically a high-points compilation, condensing 95 episodes into a 4 1/2 hour sprint. Between the careful editing and the charismatic cast, the story is easy to follow and giddy in its swiftness. Fans of the full series may find that this abridged version undercuts the pathos of the original, but for the uninitiated, it's a hugely enjoyable high-energy romp. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Wonderful story, great DVD!
I was unable to watch Amor Real (Real Love) while it aired on Univision, but I bought this DVD to get a gist of the story and thought that it is well edited considering that they reduced the 95 episodes into a 400-minute, film-like format full of highlights of the show. The love triangle between Manuel Fuentes-Guerra (Fernando Colunga), Matilde Peñalver (Adela Noriega) and Adolfo Solis (Mauricio Islas) is full of layers and intrigue that make this series far from the usual rosy and sweet love story that characterizes most Televisa productions. Mauricio Islas captivated me with his compelling portrayal of the very complex Adolfo Solis. I came to care about him more than the two leads. I also enjoyed the work of Ernesto Laguardia as the gambling addict, black sheep son (a nice departure from his usual good guy roles) and Kika Edgar as the sweet Catalina Heredia. Chantal Adere was great once again as the female antagonist and I enjoyed the addition of the beautiful Leticia Calderon as the tomboyish Jana De La Corcuera. And who could forget Mariana Levy? This is the last we'll see of this talented actress after her tragic demise just a few days ago. Also, I loved the storyline and its backdrop of the Mexican Revolution. The costumes, historical setting and picturesque views of the Mexican countryside are breathtaking. I thought the English subtitles were great as well. All in all, this is one of the best stories and one of the most lavish productions Televisa (Mexican television network/production company) has created in a long time and I wish I had made the time to watch the whole thing. The DVD extras are a keeper -- though I am not impressed with the fact that Mauricio Islas was not included in the Actors' Trajectory menu (and all because he now works for the competitive US-based network Telemundo). If you loved Amor Real, then you should add this DVD to your collection.

Let's be reasonable!
I, like so many of you, adored Amor Real when it was on TV, and a part of me would love to own the whole thing. However, the part of me that lives in the real world doesn't have the time or money to own a 120-hour soap on dvd. I have a friend who does dvd authoring for a living, and she said that the entire series would take up maybe 15-20 discs. If the 2-disc version costs $20 or $25, how much would a 20-disc version cost? Probably a lot more than anybody would want to spend, even if they could afford it. And it would take months to watch.
Besides, this version has English subtitles, so my friends, the majority of whom don't speak Spanish, can get in on the fun. Fabulous outfits aside, it's just no good if they can't follow the plot!
I personally would be thrilled to have a compact, affordable version of my favorite soap. Anything beyond this would be overkill.

una lastima
Quede bastante descontenta con la edicion de la novela. La historia original estaba tan bien escrita y contada; en cambio la version en DVD es dificil entender y en partes no tiene mucho sentido. Es cierto que no pueden poner toda la novela en el DVD pero los cortes fueron tan drasticos que destruyeron la obra original, una verdadera lastima