Un Chien Andalou (1929)
Considered the most important film of French avant-garde film in the 1920’s as well as a reaction against it, An Andalusian Dog was written and directed by young Luis Buñuel and Salvadore Dali.
The surrealistic film is often described as a clash of images, rather than a montage. Its raw and free association, the progeny of automatic writing, precludes any sort of unifying aesthetic. But far from an utter relativity of meaning, the film provokes a shattering rent in the social fabric itself, with an insistence upon sex as inextricable from this action.
The film can perhaps only be examined through the lens of psychoanalysis or immediate sensory experience, if it is to be evaluated at all. However, the most famous image of the film, Buñuel himself slicing into an eye with a razorblade, is a violent reminder that things ought to be viewed differently, and that truth itself is constantly in flux, dying and being reborn.
Originally a silent film, a score was later added that included a selection of Richard Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde” and an Argentinean tango. DVD extras include interviews with Luis Buñuel’s son, Juan-Luis, film commentary by surrealism expert Stephen Barber, selections from a 1953 Buñuel speech, and imagery from graphic designer Dave Mckean.
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Grading
- Story A-
- Acting A-
- Visuals A-
- Originality/Innovation A
- Enjoyability A-
- Overall A-
- DVD Extras A-
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