refers to Rebeca's childhood, when she was unable to sleep until her mother entered her bedroom and Rebeca managed to hear the sound of her mother's heels as she left, walking down the hallway. The inaccuracy of the English translation of the title affected the reception of the film, as the English High Heels suggests stylish comedy, whereas the Spanish Distant Heels conveys a feeling of family melodrama. The Spanish title Distant Heels is a reference to Raoul Walsh's film Distant Drums (1951). Release High Heels, Almodóvar's ninth film, was co-produced by El Deseo and Ciby 2000 and released in Spain in October 1991. It was enormously successful in Spain. By the end of 1991, it had attracted an audience of more than 1.5 million, and eventually it came second, in terms of box-office takings, to Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) among Almodóvar's films released up to that point. High Heels has been released on DVD in Region 2, but never issued in Region 1 (US). It received a multi-region DVD release in Mexico in November 2012. Critical reception Spanish critics' reaction was hostile, on the whole. Writing in Dirigido Por, Antonio Castro felt that Almodóvar's desire to create a more straightforward narrative had merely led to a greater loss of vigor. Angel Fernandez Santos, in El País, concluded that, in comparison with Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life (1959), which he regarded as an Everest, High Heels was a mere hill. In Expansión, Eduardo Torres-Dulce was firmly of the opinion that Almodóvar had had his day. David Thomson of Sight & Sound concluded that in general, High Heels did not measure up to much of Almodóvar's earlier work. For him, the homage to the other films – including Autumn Sonata – "is counter productive, for it merely suggests the inferiority of High Heels". The film was very successful in Italy, and reviews were both heartfelt and moving. In France, the film was a huge success. It did not fare as well in other countries, such as Germany, where Almodóvar's films have not been well understood. He commented, "My films move very freely and to understand them one must simply allow one's intuition and sensibility free rein... I've never been asked so many irrational questions as in Germany". It was less successful in the United States than many others of Almodóvar's films. As with Tie Me Up!