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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 17800
Released: August 16, 2005 |
| Our Price: $10.98 |
| Used Price: $6.63 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
In the 1950s, two Cuban brothers come to America to seek fame and fortune as musicians.
Description of The Mambo Kings:
This period drama is hot, hot, hot. Stylish and sexy, it is adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, by Oscar Hijuelos, the story of two brothers who flee from Cuba in the early 1950s, heading for New York. Hoping to make a name for themselves as famous musicians, the duo face hardships and painful discoveries along the way. Armand Assante is the older of the two, with a smoldering Antonio Banderas as his younger, more impetuous brother. (In his first English-speaking role, Banderas delivered all of his lines phonetically.) The pulsating, sweaty energy of the first half of the film is not sustained throughout. Partly this is because a movie about the rise and fall of minor celebrities has been done to death. Even when the action slows down, however, the story does not bore. There is too much sensuality and vitality exuded by both Assante and Banderas. --Rochelle O'Gorman
The Mambo Kings Reviews:
Great movie 
2009-11-27 - Calling all Antonio Banderas fans..here's one you gotta have in your collection. Great story line about 2 brothers coming from Cuba to America in search of the American dream. Great story line and the music just makes you want to get up and Mambo!
A must have to own
2009-10-10 - Cuban rhythms aren't my favorite, however, the stirring performances of Assante and especially Banderas wrap the viewer in the period, the music and the pain of lost love. This was Banderas' first movie in the US, what a treasure he is, he expresses more in his eyes and face than most actors do with words and full body physicality. The scene with Assante (Cesar) and Banderas (Nestor) when Banderas finds out the love of his life (Maria) did love him and sacrificed herself to save him was so touching it brought tears to my eyes, the viewer can feel the heart pain of Nestor, the loss of everything important to him, the total despair of knowing deep in his soul the love of his life was gone forever. Assante as Cesar did an excellent job of playing the dominant older brother, the one with the dreams of fame and success. Nestor, the younger brother, was the talented one of the two, Cesar felt Nestor needed to be both protected and pulled along with Cesar's dream for the two; he couldn't help treating Nestor like a kid ignoring Nestor's own dreams. So strong was Cesar's ego and personality that Nestor's dreams were totally overshadowed by the desire of the older brother for fame and fortune. In the end, Cesar realizes Nestor was the talent, the soul of the two brothers.
The music in this movie is beautiful, especially the signature song, the haunting Beautiful Maria of My Soul--such a song of the heart and lost love. Both Assante and Banderas are talented musically, Assante is excellent on the drums; Banderas has a beautiful voice and the harmony of the two was very nice on Beautiful Maria of My Soul. Assante's final rendition of the song was touching and his best in the movie. Banderas is a tremendously talented actor, his brooding dissatisfaction in the direction of his life is palatable; the pain he displayed in his eyes in the last scene with DeLores when both knew the marriage was over just pierced the heart. The emotions exchanged as the eyes of the two brothers met when Cesar celebrated the final achievement of playing the Palladium (totally arranged by Nestor) spoke volumes without the exchange of a word. This is a movie to watch several times, the depth of acting especially from Banderas is appreciated more and more with each viewing.
Passionate
2009-09-24 - I first saw this movie on cable Televsion, and "fell in love" with the performances of two of Hollywoods most "sexiest men!"...It was an even more pleasant surprise that they could sing so beautifully.What "chemisty and passion"...This movie has it all!I just had to "own it!!"
The Best (and only) Mambo Movie I've Ever Seen! 
2009-03-16 - Excellent "mambo" music and colorful characters made me rate this a "five-star" after the first viewing. After several looks, the novelty - how many mambo movies are there? - wore off and it settled into a still-good "four stars" film. One thing: it's always fun to watch.
Armand Assante was particularly good in here and I was intrigued with Maruschka Detmers, a new face which at times looked striking. Since she resides in France and hasn't made many, if any, English-speaking films, we here in North America haven't really seen her since this film. Assante and Antonio Bandaras are the two leads, however, sharing the spotlight with the music. Both actors are excellent, maybe the best roles of their careers.
The story moves best the first 40 minutes with a lot of that "hot" music but then gets a little melodramatic afterward. However, I found it interesting all the way through with a nice tale of brotherly love and devotion.
For all you "Ricky Ricardo" fans of "I Love Lucy" television: if you want a real feel of Latin Americans-in America during the 1950s, check this film out
In The Name Of The Mambo, The Rumba And The Cha-Cha-Cha
2008-06-10 - While the film THE MAMBO KINGS is not as detailed or insightful as Oscar Hijuelos's novel THE MAMBO KINGS PLAY SONGS OF LOVE which won the 1990 Pulitzer prize it is still an excellent entertaining film. The most striking feature of the movie is how well it makes 1950's Cuban American life in upper Manhattan live again complete with wonderful mambo and other Latin music of the period and even a visit from Desi Arnaz (played by his son with amazing accuracy).
The two Mambo kings are the Castillo brothers - Cesar and Nestor - musicians who fled Havana after a bloody dispute with a nightclub owner. Cesar is the ambitious older brother played perfectly by Armand Assante. Assante magically captures Cesar's sleazy good looks and coarse confident charisma. As one character in the film says of Cesar "He thinks he is the last Coca Cola in the desert." Nestor is played with surprising sensitivity by Antonio Banderos and he is the song writer and trumpet player for the Mambo Kings. Nestor longs for Cuba and the girl he left there, Maria, though he also rather touchingly constantly reads a book entitled FORWARD AMERICA apparently written by one of the Vanderbilts. Both men find significant others in the US with an American blond bombshell who sells cigarettes in one of the clubs becoming Cesar's best girl while Nestor eventually marries another Cuban immigrant, the shy but beautiful Delores, who aspires to be a teacher.
The boys have some early success in New York but mostly because of Cesar's temper and pride fall on hard times and are reduced to working as butchers by day and playing for Bar Mitzvahs, weddings and strippers by night. Eventually they get a break from Desi Arnaz who lets them play on his hit TV show I LOVE LUCY. In a fun bit Assante, Bandearas and Arnaz Jr. are inter-cut with footage with Lucille Ball from the original classic show. But lasting happiness and success are not in the cards for the brothers.
MAMBO KINGS is an important film as it preserves the dance, music and culture of the Latin communities in NYC in the 50's. Legendary Tito Puente appears as himself and salsa queen Celia Cruz plays an interesting character on the mambo scene and demonstrates her singing and dancing talents and both add to the authenticity of the film. This well made movie will be appreciated be most discriminating film fans.
