Selena-10th Anniversary Special Ed (1997)

"Selena is sensational!  Bill Diehl, ABC Radio Network
"Terrific fun! A celebration of life.  Jeffrey Lyons, WNBC-TV
"...deserves a standing ovation.  Jules Peimer, WKDM-Radio
"Lopez offers a dynamic, star-making turn...  Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"...Lopez performs with sizzling stage presence...  Mike Clark, USA Today

Editor's Note A celebration of the life of Tejano princess Selena Quintanilla Perez, the rising star who was gunned down by the president of her own fan club in 1995. Amid the racial tensions and economic hardships of 1980's South Texas, the daughter of a Mexican immigrant (himself a failed doo-wop singer) grows up to be a sensation in the blossoming Tejano scene before meeting a tragic end. Light on insight, this biopic revels rather in Selena's on-stage achievements. Selena's father is credited as an executive producer to the film.

	Constance Marie
	Edward James Olmos
	Jennifer Lopez
	Jon Seda
	Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. - Executive Producer
	Cary White - Production Designer
	Dave Grusin - Original Music By
	Ed Vega - Art Director
	Edward Lachman - Cinematographer
	Gregory Nava - Director
	Gregory Nava - Writer
	Nancy Richardson - Editor
	Robert Katz - Producer

A celebration of the life of Tejano princess Selena Quintanilla Perez, the rising star who was gunned down by the president of her own fan club in 1995. Amid the racial tensions and economic hardships of 1980's south Texas, the daughter of a Mexican immigrant (himself a failed doo-wop singer) grow up to be a sensation in the blossoming Tejano scene before meeting a tragic end. Light on insight, this biopic revels rather in Selena's on-stage achievements. Selena's father is credited as an executive producer to this film. USA Today
"...Lopez performs with sizzling stage presence..." -- 3 out of 4 stars 03/21/1997 p.1D

New York Times
"...Pleasant to watch....The movie's concert sequences have a fluency and bounce that match the music..." 03/21/1997 p.C16

Entertainment Weekly
"...Played with verve, heart, and a great deal of grace by [Lopez]..." 03/28/1997 p.47

Los Angeles Times
"...SELENA makes full use of Lopez's charisma..." 03/21/1997 p.F1

Chicago Sun-Times
"...SELENA succeeds, through Lopez's performance, in evoking the magic of a sweet and talented young woman..." 03/21/1997 p.35

ReelViews 9 of 10
Going into Selena, I didn't know or care much about the life of the late Tex-Mex singer, whose death in 1995 came just as she was attempting to break into the mainstream American pop market...Then along came this movie, and, sitting in a darkened theater, watching Selena's story unfold, my perceptions changed. I not only cared, but understood a measure of the tragedy that had stricken her fans...This movie will serve to further elevate her name and advance her legend. Had she lived, she would have turned twenty-six this year, and people would have said that her whole life was in front of her. But Yolanda Saldivar's gun wrote the final chapter to that book two years ago. Now, there is a beginning, a middle, and, sadly, an end. And, as told by Gregory Nava, with an assist from the Quintanilla family (who were heavily involved in the production), Selena is a shining story. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
``Selena'' brings freshness and heart to the life story of a little girl from Corpus Christi, Texas, who had big dreams and was lucky enough to realize almost all of them before her life was cut short...``Selena,'' written and directed by Gregory Nava (``El Norte,'' ``My Family''), places her firmly inside a close, loving family. From the very beginning, ``Selena y Los Dinos'' was a family act, guided by her father, Abraham (Edward James Olmos), and including sister Susie (Jackie Guerra) on drums and brother Abie (Jacob Vargas) on guitar...``Selena'' succeeds, through Lopez's performance, in evoking the magic of a sweet and talented young woman. And, like Nava's ``My Family,'' it's insightful in portraying Mexican-American culture as a rich resource with its own flavor and character. - Roger Ebert