El norte = The north
(DVD)

Originally produced as a motion picture in 1983.

"Enhanced for 16:9 widescreen tvs" -- Container.

Container insert features an essay : Promised land / by novelist Héctor Tobar and Roger Ebert's 1983 review of the film.

Special features (disc 1): optional director's audio commentary; theatrical trailer (2 min.).

Special features (disc 2): "In the service of the shadows: the making of 'El norte'" interview featurette with Nava, producer and co-writer Anna Thomas, actors Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez and David Villalpando, and set designer David Wasco (60 min.); "Scouting in Chiapas"gallery of Chiapas location-scouting photographs; "The journal of Diego Rodriguez Silva" Nava's award-winning student film with optional director introduction (1972, 31 min.).

Cinematography, James Glennon ; editor, Betsy Blankett.

El norte: Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, David Villalpando, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Alicia del Lago, Miguel Gomez Giron, Jose Martín Ruano, Stella Quan, Eraclio Zepeda, Lupe Ontiveros, Trinidad Silva, Tony Plana, Diane Civita, Mike Gomez.

The journal of Diego Rodriguez Silva: Marco Antonio Rubio.

El norte: Enrique and Rosa are brother and sister Mayan Indian peasants, living in the mountains of Guatemala. When the village attempts to organize for better treatment, Enrique and Rosa are forced to flee as the Guatemalan army is sent in to punish the townspeople. Receiving clandestine help from friends and humorous advice from a veteran immigrant, they make their way to Los Angeles, hoping to make a new life as young, uneducated, and illegal immigrants.

The journal of Diego Rodriguez Silva: depicts the life of a fictional poet caught in a civil war and jailed, but then set free on the condition he leaves his country and never returns.

DVD format; Dolby digital mono.

In Spanish, Kiché and English with optional English and English SDH subtitles.