Javier Bardem – Career Retrospective

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On 20th July 2015, THE GUNMAN arrives on DVD and Blu-ray. With an acclaimed academy award winning cast, including Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, Idris Elba and Ray Winstone, the film embraces all there is to love about Hollywood.

Possessing a chameleon-like ability to disappear into his characters, which frequently renders him unrecognisable except for his piercing eyes, it’s no wonder that Javier Bardem chose to pursue a career as an actor given his family’s long history in show business.

To celebrate this release, on digital platforms from 13th July, 2015 and on Blu-ray™ and DVD from 20th July 2015, courtesy of STUDIOCANAL, we’ve compiled a list of some of his most notable performances.



THE GUNMAN (2015)

Based on the novel The Prone Gunman by Jean-Patrick Manchette, this slick, action packed thriller features Javier Bardem (Felix) as one of the film’s main villains. After an attempt is made on Terrier’s (Sean Penn) life, he flies to London and then Barcelona to find out who wants him dead – and why. Perhaps Felix can shed some light on the reasons?

The Counsellor (2013)

The Counsellor is a British-American crime thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Cormac McCarthy. It stars Michael Fassbender as the eponymous Counsellor—who gets in over his head in a drug deal around the troubled Ciudad Juarez, Mexico / Texas border area—as well as Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt. Javier Bardem plays the role of Reiner, a charismatic entrepreneur by day and an underground drug kingpin by night. He lives a life full of extravagance, and little common sense, a weakness he fears will ultimately lead to his downfall.

Skyfall (2012)

The moments that elevate Skyfall from the efficient to the inspired can be attributed to one man: Javier Bardem, the hulking, 43-year-old Spanish actor whose incredible performance as Raoul Silva, a sniggering cyber-terrorist, makes him a convincing contender for best James Bond villain of all time.

Biutiful (2010)

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Biutiful takes place in grimy and crowded parts of Barcelona that are a world away from the city’s tourist attractions. Javier Bardem plays Uxbal, a mid-level gangster whose main business is dealing with the black-market labour of illegal immigrants. Bardem’s performance carefully combines muscular, charismatic physicality with an almost delicate sensitivity, and this blend of the rough and the tender gives Biutiful a measure of emotional credibility.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a tale of two women, Vicky (Rebecca Hall), and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson), who spend a summer in Barcelona where they meet an artist, Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), who is attracted to both of them while still harbouring feelings for his mentally and emotionally unstable ex-wife María Elena (Penélope Cruz). In this film Javier Bardem is able to display the wildly sexy, charismatic side he shows every once in a while in his roles, and he also justifies why many people say this is one of his best ever roles, thanks to director Woody Allen.

No Country For Old Men (2007)

The film stars Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, and Josh Brolin and tells the story of an ordinary man to whom chance delivers a fortune that is not his, and the ensuing cat-and-mouse drama as the paths of three men intertwine in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas. Javier Bardem plays a ruthless hitman who has been hired to recover stolen money which has found its way into the possession of Josh Brolin’s character. Bardem’s character of a ruthless yet moral assassin has earned a place in cinematic history alongside the most fearful villains ever to appear on screen.

Goya’s Ghosts (2006)

Goya’s Ghosts is a 2006 Spanish-American film, directed by legendary auteur Miloš Forman, and stars Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem and Stellan Skarsgård. In 1792, Spain reels amid the turmoil and upheaval of the French Revolution. Francisco Goya (Skarsgård) is a renowned painter, who, among others, does portraits for the royal family as the Official Court Painter to the King and Queen. The Spanish Inquisition is disturbed by part of Goya’s work. Brother Lorenzo Casamares (Bardem) is hiring Goya to paint a portrait and defends him, saying that his works are not evil, they just show evil. He recommends the Church step up the fight against anti-Catholic practices. He requests and is put in charge of intensifying the inquisition with some quite alarming results…

THE GUNMAN is available  on digital platforms from 13th July, 2015 and on Blu-ray™ and DVD from 20th July 2015, courtesy of STUDIOCANAL


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Alton loves film. He is founder and Editor In Chief of BRWC.  Some of the films he loves are Rear Window, Superman 2, The Man With The Two Brains, Clockwise, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Trading Places, Stir Crazy and Punch-Drunk Love.

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