Carlos Saura Atarés (4 January 1932 – 10 February 2023) was a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. With Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be among Spain's great filmmakers. He had a long and prolific career that spanned over half a century, and his films won many international awards. Saura began his career in 1955 making documentary shorts. He gained international prominence when his first feature-length film premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 1960. Although he started filming as a neorealist, Saura switched to films encoded with metaphors and symbolism in order to get around the Spanish censors. In 1966, he was thrust into the international spotlight when his film The Hunt won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. In the following years, he forged an international reputation for his cinematic treatment of emotional and spiritual responses to repressive political conditions. By the 1970s, Saura was the best known filmmaker working in Spain. His films employed complex narrative devices and were frequently controversial. He won Special Jury Awards for Cousin Angelica (1973) and Cría Cuervos (1975) in Cannes, and he received an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film nomination in 1979 for Mama Turns 100. In the 1980s, Saura was in the spotlight for his Flamenco trilogy – Blood Wedding, Carmen and El amor brujo, in which he combined dramatic content and flamenco dance forms. His work continued to be featured in worldwide competitions and earned numerous awards. He received two nominations for Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film for Carmen (1983) and Tango (1998). His films are sophisticated expression of time and space fusing reality with fantasy, past with present, and memory with hallucination. In the last two decades of the 20th century, Saura concentrated on works uniting music, dance and images.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 4, 1932
- February 10, 2023 (aged 91)
- Huesca, Aragón, Spain
- Director, writer and actor, also producer
- 16 on MovieCove · 62 credits in all
What are Carlos Saura's films like?
Across their 17 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Ideas and Society.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 1 · Earnest 15
A split, not a type: Light 6 · Serious 3 · Dark 8
A split, not a type: Grounded 7 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 6
Gentle 5 · Charged 8 · Intense 4
Steady 10 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 14 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0
Slow burn 15 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 7 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 2
A split, not a type: Easy watch 7 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 7
Resolved 11 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet3
- Tragic6
- Ambiguous5
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Carlos Saura's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (6).
Subscription and free streaming for Carlos Saura's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
62 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page; 23 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
The Kid in the Photo - Carlos Saura (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
Miradas del cine español (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
The Walls Can Talk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films
Goya, May 3rd (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Rosa Rosae. A Spanish Civil War Elegy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
J: Beyond Flamenco (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Matilde Coral, acariciando el aire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Argentina(2015)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Carlos Saura's FlamencoHoy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Flamenco Flamenco(2010)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
I, Don Giovanni (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Sinfonía de Aragón (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Fados (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Iberia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
El 7º día(2004)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Salomé(2002)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Bunuel and King Solomon's Table (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Goya in Bordeaux (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Tango(1998)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Little Bird (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Taxi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Flamenco (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Outrage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Cuentos de Borges (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Marathon(1993)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
El sur (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Sevillanas(1992)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
The King of Ads (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Oh, Carmela!(1990)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
The Dark Night of the Soul (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
El Dorado (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
El amor brujo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
The Stilts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Carmen(1983)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Antonieta (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Sweet Hours (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Deprisa, Deprisa(1981)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Blood Wedding (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Mama Turns 100 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Blindfolded Eyes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Elisa, My Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Cría Cuervos(1976)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Cousin Angelica (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Anna and the Wolves(1973)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
The Garden of Delights(1970)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Honeycomb (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Stress Is Three(1968)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Peppermint Frappé (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
The Hunt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
Weeping for a Bandit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Muere una mujer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
The Delinquents (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
The Little Apartment (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Cuenca (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
La tarde del domingo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
El pequeño Río Manzanares (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
El proceso (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Before Breakfast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Letter of Sanabria (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
La llamada (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Career shape
A full career of 62 titles from 1955 to 2026.
Film career
- 1959Screen debut· The Little Apartment
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Carlos Saura's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 73rd percentile, the median of all 16; across their 17 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 71st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th7
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
11 of their 16 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser11
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 78/100 and the pacing 44/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Carlos Saura work with?
People who share at least 2 of Carlos Saura's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Pablo G. del Amo shares the most, 8.
Writers
- Rafael AzconaShared titles: Oh, Carmela! (1990), Anna and the Wolves (1973), The Garden of Delights (1970)See all 3 shared titles with Rafael Azcona
Actors
- Geraldine ChaplinShared titles: Cría Cuervos (1976), Anna and the Wolves (1973), The Garden of Delights (1970), Stress Is Three (1968)See all 4 shared titles with Geraldine Chaplin
- Paco de LucíaShared titles: Flamenco Flamenco (2010), Sevillanas (1992), Carmen (1983)See all 3 shared titles with Paco de Lucía
- Eulàlia RamonShared titles: The King of all the World (2021), El 7º día (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Eulàlia Ramon
- Juan Luis GaliardoShared titles: Tango (1998), Stress Is Three (1968)See all 2 shared titles with Juan Luis Galiardo
Cinematographers and editors
- Pablo G. del AmoShared titles: Marathon (1993), Sevillanas (1992), Oh, Carmela! (1990), Deprisa, Deprisa (1981), Cría Cuervos (1976), Anna and the Wolves (1973), The Garden of Delights (1970), Stress Is Three (1968)See all 8 shared titles with Pablo G. del Amo
- Vittorio StoraroShared titles: The King of all the World (2021), Flamenco Flamenco (2010), Tango (1998)See all 3 shared titles with Vittorio Storaro
- Julia JuanizShared titles: El 7º día (2004), Salomé (2002), Tango (1998)See all 3 shared titles with Julia Juaniz
- Teo EscamillaShared titles: Carmen (1983), Deprisa, Deprisa (1981), Cría Cuervos (1976)See all 3 shared titles with Teo Escamilla
Producers
- Elías QuerejetaShared titles: Deprisa, Deprisa (1981), Cría Cuervos (1976), Anna and the Wolves (1973), The Garden of Delights (1970), Stress Is Three (1968)See all 5 shared titles with Elías Querejeta
- Antonio SauraShared titles: L'ombre de Goya par Jean-Claude Carrière (2022), Argentina (2015), Salomé (2002)See all 3 shared titles with Antonio Saura
- Andrés Vicente GómezShared titles: El 7º día (2004), Marathon (1993), Oh, Carmela! (1990)See all 3 shared titles with Andrés Vicente Gómez
- Guy AmonShared titles: L'ombre de Goya par Jean-Claude Carrière (2022), Argentina (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Guy Amon