Conchita Buñuel said the costumes in the film were authentic. "We scoured the outlying districts of Madrid for them, particularly under bridges, giving poor people new clothes in exchange for their rags, which were then disinfected but not washed."
After years of living in Mexico, Luis Buñuel was persuaded to make his first film in his native Spain since 1936 by the vanguard of young contemporary Spanish film-makers who admired his work.
Initially banned in Spain and completely denounced by the Vatican.
The original ending of the film showed Viridiana knocking on her cousin's door, entering, and the door closing slowly behind her. This version was rejected by Spanish censors.
The script was initially approved by the Spanish authorities with a few minor changes. They had no opportunity to view the finished film until it played at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix. Nevertheless they were sufficiently horrified by what they saw to ban the film.
Voted best Spanish film by professionals and critics in 1996 Spanish cinema centenary.