Mariano Ozores, the filmmaker who triumphed with the 'destape', dies.
With more than 90 films, he was one of the most prolific directors of Spanish cinema.
BarcelonaDirector and screenwriter Mariano Ozores, one of the most prolific in Spanish cinema, died this Wednesday at the age of 98 at his home. He left behind a legacy of 96 films, mostly comedies. Born in Madrid in 1926, he began working in his parents' theater company at the age of 17. "I'm self-taught. Going from theater to theater, visiting towns and cities, helped me understand what audiences laughed at and how they did it," said the director, who never cared much about the distasteful reviews he received from critics. His film career began in 1952 with the screenplay for the film Hey, how crazy!His beginnings coincided with the first broadcasts of TVE, where he was the programming director. He also directed series and programs such as Telefunken AirportOzores also worked on two films that glorified the dictatorship: Dying in Spain and Franco, that man.
The 'uncovering'
With the arrival of the democratic transition, Ozores joined the cinema of the uncover. It was during this time that he achieved some of his greatest successes. He did so with the duo Fernando Esteso and Andrés Pajares, with films such as The bingo players (1979) –it was the highest-grossing film of the year–, The energetic ones (1979) and The pimps (1981). He was tireless. In one year, in 1982, he was able to shoot six films.: There are only two fathers, Christopher Columbus by profession… discoverer…, The first divorce, Everyone on the ground, The son of care and The socialists are coming!
His last stage as a director was in the 80s, with titles such as This is a robbery (1987), We are almost all the Treasury (1988), National nonsense (1990), Jet Marbella Set (1991) and National hit (1993). In the early 90s he also directed two series on TVE: Mechanical Workshop (1991), with Antonio Ozores, María Silva and Leticia Sabater, and The sexologist (1993), which was withdrawn from TVE amidst great controversy because some sectors considered it sexist. It ended up being broadcast in its entirety on Antena 3.
Ozores, who received the Honorary Goya in 2016, cared above all about making the audience laugh. And, in that sense, he was a perfectionist. On occasion, he had explained that he went to the cinema with a tape recorder to record laughter and analyze which jokes worked best. "I wrote what I liked, because I am an audience first and foremost, and a director second," he used to repeat.
