“El” (“This Strange Passion”)
. . . a masterpiece from Bunuel’s “middle period” of the 1950s;
He centers his film around the “paranoia” of his main male character – Hichcock would later use “vertigo” to describe the actions of his main male character (Jimmy Stewart). There’s a useful thread at http://www.theauteurs.com/notebook/posts/449 comparing shots from Hichcock’s “Vertigo” and Bunuel’s “El”
>>VCI Entertainment released ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE on DVD in 2004. Not a great transfer, but it will suffice. It’s not one of Bunuel’s better movies, but it’s certainly more interesting than most adaptations of Defoe’s story.<<
And given it’s moderate level of strangeness, I wonder if this might not be an ideal film to introduce a novice to Bunuel. DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID would be another.
Here is something NEW that you may have never seen of Bunuel! Luis Bunuel’s “Death in the Garden” is available for the first time on DVD! It will not be released until 10-27-09, but this is very soon. I’m excited. This 35mm archive print is now beautifully re-mastered in HD DVD! The color is extremely vibrant and amazing!
“Death in the Garden” is EXCLUSIVELY DISTRIBUTED by Micrcocinema DVD. To order this DVD, and/or other Microcinema titles, please visit www.microcinemadvd.com.
I hope you become a fan of Luis Bunuel’s Death in the Garden Facebook Page too:
http://www.facebook.com/deathinthegarden
There will be a contest for the Facebook fans, and whoever wins will receive their very own copy of “Death in the Garden!”
The Exterminating Angel is exquisite.
What he said
Yeah, I love being inexplicably stuck in a room. ;)
happens to me all the time, Allison
Bunuel’s “Death in the Garden” is showing up on Amazon’s “upcoming releases”. I’ve added it to my “wish list”. It should be available next week and Amazon’s price for it is $18.50.
Belle de Jour is a fine place to start.
the one with the eyeball getting sliced open is cool too. he co-directed it
with some lame artist guy… the name escapes me right now for some reason omg
Bunuel spent the decade of the 1950s quickly cranking out films in Mexico; some are mediocre, a number are superb minor works: “Illusion Travels by Streetcar,” “The Brute,” “Abismos de Pasion” (a one-of-a-kind adaptation of “Wuthering Heights”), and “The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz.”
I want to take issue with this traditional accounting of Bunuel’s films. I think the 1950-1955 Mexican studio period is Bunuel’s strongest, containing seven astonishing masterpieces: “Los Olvidados,” "Subida al Cielo, " Susana," “Illusion Travels by Streetcar,” “Robinson Crusoe,” ’El" and “Archibaldo de la Cruz.” I do agree that Bunuel is the greatest of them all. He completely mastered experimental cinema, studio cinema, and “arthouse” cinema, the only director I know to have done so.
Un Chien Andalou and The Exterminating Angel. His book My Last Sigh is good as well.
While I think “Belle de Jour” is his best, “Death in the Garden” and “El” don’t get half as much attention as they deserve. Both are GREAT great movies.
just see ’em alll!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wouldn’t call the Mexican period his strongest, but he certainly created some terrific work. I think his last decade was his best. “Susana” is interesting, but it’s no masterpiece. The same goes for “A Woman Without Love,” which Bunuel himself correctly described as his worst. Not everything he touched turned to gold.
My personal favorite is “Simon of the Desert,” although “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” and “Un Chien Andalou” are very close also.
THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY, one of my favourite films, it goes highly recomended. And of course UN CHIEN ANDALOU.
These are my Bunuel standouts, though I don’t think I’ve ever come across a Bunuel film that disappointed me.
Las Hurdes a.k.a. Land Without Bread (1933)
Los olvidados a.k.a. The Forgotten Ones (1950)
Robinson Crusoe (1954)
Belle de jour (1967)
Los Olvidados and The Exterminating Angel are both must-sees!
A Bunuel film that you dont see posted on here, and one that is not spoken about too often is LA JOVEN / THE YOUNG ONE (1960). It was made, I believe, during his stay in Mexico but is only one of two films he produced in English.
This films is not your classic Bunuel fare, if you are used to the surreal, sublime or ridiculous. It is a very strong portrayal of race, rape and culture in 50’s America. If you are able to see this I would recommend it.
viridiana!
I loved Belle de Jour, Diary of a Chambermaid, and Viridiana!
Las Hurdes a.k.a. Land Without Bread (1933)
This, and not Le Chien or L’Age D’or, is the keystone to Bunuel’s career. Unfortunately, it’s not available on english-friendly dvd.
Gringo, I can see that point of view, because there’s a direct line between “Las Hurdes” to “Los Olvidados” to “The Brute” to “Nazarin” to “Viridiana” to “Diary of a Chambermaid” and no doubt some others. These are more real than surreal — perhaps, as some would argue, so real they become surreal, or at the very least nightmarish. They show humanity at its worst. But I think you could just as well say that “Un Chien Andalou” IS the keystone to Bunuel’s career, because surrealism always defined him more than social realism. It was surrealism to which he always returned, particularly in his great final decade.
Gran Casino (1947) and Susana (1951) are two of my favorites. Very clever, funny and inventive.
@Rodney: I consider Bunuel first and foremost a realist because there was no illusion blocking the way between his camera and his actors. The surrealist flourishes are like exclamation marks that exclaim the realism. Even in Phantom of Liberty, the costumes are just costumes because his camera pierces right through them. There is no illusion of being in the past.
Gringo, the more I read this statement the less I understand it. I don’t know what you mean by “no illusion blocking the way between his camera and his actors,” and I especially don’t see how it relates to “Phantom,” which is hardly what I would call a realistic film in any way. It’s an absurdist film.
I just want to say that I enjoyed reading this thread. I have watched my first Luis Bunuel film “Simon of the Desert” despite it not being complete and the producer running out of money in the end.
But just watching the special feature and reading the essay booklet really caught my attention and I was about to comb the Internet until I saw many of the recommendations and discussions about his work on this thread. Awesome!
I’ve wanted “Bele de Jour” for a long time. I was hoping for a Criterion release but saw that there is a version out by Miramax. Curious, if the European DVD releases are better than the Miramax release? Typically, some Miramax releases of classics I have seen have shoddy picture quality.
Thanks in advance.
I recommend strongly
HIM (EL)
SIMON OF THE DESERT (SIMON DEL DESIERTO)
SUSAN (SUSANA, DEMONIO Y CARNE)
Lester Burnham
“Belle de Jour.” Definitely. Often said to have inspired Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut.”