Luis Buñuel

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There's never been a thread on him on ILE?

I just wanted to bump something to let people know that on May 5th, TCM is running the following (all times Eastern):

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7:00 PM -- Los Olvidados (1950) 80m.

8:45 PM -- Nazarin (1959) A priest leaves the clergy to go on a pilgrimage and learn about life. Francisco Rabal, Marga Lopez, Rita Macedo. D: Luis Bunuel. 94m.

10:30 PM -- Viridiana (1961) When she inherits a fortune, a young nun tries to help the poor. Silvia Pinal, Francisco Rabal, Fernando Rey. D: Luis Bunuel. 93m. LBX

12:15 AM -- The Exterminating Angel (1962) High society guests find themselves unable to leave the dining room after a posh dinner party. Silvia Pinal, Jacqueline Andere, Jose Baviera. D: Luis Bunuel. 92m.

2:00 AM -- Simon of the Desert (1965) A religious sage fights temptation from Satan himself. Claudio Brooks, Silvia Pinal, Hortensia Santovena. D: Luis Bunuel. 45m.

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I'm so excited I don't have to try and translate the Exterminating Angel torrent I have on my computer.

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 19:47 (twenty years ago)

Aw, hell yeah! (Derailing the topic myself.) Right before Los Olvidados is this:

5:30 PM -- Run Of The Arrow (1957) A bitter Confederate veteran joins a Sioux tribe to keep his war against the Union going. Rod Steiger, Sarita Montiel, Brian Keith. D: Samuel Fuller. C 86m. LBX

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 19:48 (twenty years ago)

i love the exterminating angel. is it out on dvd yet?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 19:53 (twenty years ago)

I haven't seen the two Mexican movies, but the last 3 are top notch Bunuel. Simon del Desierto is as funny as fuck, it's got some of his best one-liners.

― Failin Huxley (noodle vague), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 19:54 (twenty years ago)

can somebody tape Nazarin and Simon of the Desert for me?

when I saw "Viridiana," Sylvia Pinal was at the screening. So awesome.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:00 (twenty years ago)

For the first time in years, I wish I had cable.

― Ian Riese-Moraine. To Hell with you and your gradual evolution! (Eastern Mantra), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:15 (twenty years ago)

I HAVE CABLE BUT NOT TCM. fucking ridiculous. why doesn't my TIME WARNER basic include it? urgh.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:19 (twenty years ago)

also pls give me sundance and ifc and get rid of anything else except tnt, espn, espn2 AND GIVE ME BACK MSG AND FSNY SO I CAN WATCH ONE METS.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:33 (twenty years ago)

The Exterminating Angel is GREAT

― European Samuel Glickstein (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:35 (twenty years ago)

his movies are massively entertaining among other things

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:37 (twenty years ago)

(wink wink)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:39 (twenty years ago)

oh yeah

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

I love his films so much. I should leave work now and go watch as many of them as possible.

― milton parker (Jon L), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:53 (twenty years ago)

yes! please do!

― European Samuel Glickstein (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

Belle de Jour.

― Ian Riese-Moraine. To Hell with you and your gradual evolution! (Eastern Mantra), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:31 (twenty years ago)

It's all about L'age D'or and The Milky Way for me.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 00:15 (twenty years ago)

Eyeball slit. Yum.

― Ian Riese-Moraine. To Hell with you and your gradual evolution! (Eastern Mantra), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 00:16 (twenty years ago)

Fuggit - They're all great. Though I tend to think Belle de Jour is just a li'l bit overrated?

I'm gonna watch El tonight.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 00:17 (twenty years ago)

simon of the desert is really good, and it's hard to find! this is great news, thanks.

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 00:23 (twenty years ago)

i agree, belle du jour is probably the least interesting film i've seen of his.

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 00:23 (twenty years ago)

Belle du Jour is excellent but the sheer omnipresence of it in film study and, yeah, the "shock value" of parts of the story line are incredibly tame by today's standards...it kind of becomes like a reference point more than it is a film; it's hard not to be uninteresting (comparatively) with that to live up to.

― Allyzay Subservient 50s-Type (allyzay), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 01:20 (twenty years ago)

With me, the slightly over-praised Buñuel is Viridiana. Which means I'm only human because Buñuel is a supreme being (insert "atheist" quote here).

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 02:09 (twenty years ago)

Belle de jour has that great, defining moment when Deneuve looks through the hole in the wall at debauchery, scoffs "disgusting" and then, after a few moments of looking at the brothel madame to make sure her indignation registered, goes back for a second look.

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 02:11 (twenty years ago)

(I'll be mortified if I made that moment up in my memory.)

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 02:11 (twenty years ago)

It'd be great if you made that up! (I don't know if you did or not, I saw it about 6 years ago or whenever the re-release was and remember some individual scenes but not that in particular.) This thread has reminded me to add lots of Bunuel to my Netflix queue. My exposure has been pretty scattered and predictable: Chien/ Age, Olivados, Belle, Discreet Charm. I liked all of them, I need to see more.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 04:49 (twenty years ago)

(well crap, Netflix mostly has the ones I've seen, and I already had Diary of a Chambermaid on my list. I added That Obscure Object, but maybe I'll have to really try to watch TCM that night.)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 04:52 (twenty years ago)

Agreed, Viridiana never did all that much for me. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie on the other hand, is fantastic.

― The Yellow Kid, Wednesday, 20 April 2005 04:56 (twenty years ago)

i fucking love her sunglasses in belle.

― kacka thompson (kacka), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 04:56 (twenty years ago)

Both Un chien andalou and L'Age d'Or are on their way from Netflix. I've seen the one but not the other and am aroused.

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:14 (twenty years ago)

About time!

Belle de jour has that great, defining moment when Deneuve looks through the hole in the wall at debauchery, scoffs "disgusting" and then, after a few moments of looking at the brothel madame to make sure her indignation registered, goes back for a second look.
That did happen, yes.

― Ian Riese-Moraine. To Hell with you and your gradual evolution! (Eastern Mantra), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:19 (twenty years ago)

Belle du Jour is one of my favorites.

Stenc, I finally got the TW digital pckg (with IFC/Sund/TCM/BBCA) in January, and it's about $5 more a month than what it sounds like you have.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:28 (twenty years ago)

i dunno, i think belle de jour is still sort of shocking

i guess tristana, exterminating angel, simon of the desert, and el are my favorites.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:35 (twenty years ago)

although viridiana is pretty awesome as well

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:36 (twenty years ago)

oh and duh los olvidados

fuck he made a lot of good movies, as many as anyone, nearly

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:36 (twenty years ago)

MOVIE MARATHON AT MY PLACE

(at which i'll probably be the only one. oh well!)

― joseph (joseph), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 16:20 (twenty years ago)

That did happen, yes.

Whew. It's a relief to know that one of my favorite moments in any film ever wasn't just a figment of my poor recall.

Yeah, the only minor Buñuel I've seen is Mexican Bus Ride, and even that had a lot of great stuff in it.

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 17:37 (twenty years ago)

Personal Top 5 Desert Island Films:

The Phantom of Liberty
The Exterminating Angel
El (This Strange Passion)
That Obscure Object of Desire
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

Absolutely just as good:

The Milky Way
Belle de jour
Simon of the Desert
Los Olvidados
The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz
Viridiana (the back story on the film's production helped me enjoy the blasphemy)
Mexican Bus Ride (slow, with occasional explosions)
Land Without Bread
L'age d'or
Un chien andalou

never seen one I didn't like

― milton parker (Jon L), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 17:49 (twenty years ago)

I pretty much agree (but you should also see Nazarin, Susanna,El Bruto and Illusion Travels By Streetcar), but I've seen one maybe two I didn't like- one with Lucia Bose called Daybreak or something and the other with Gerard Phillipe or someone like him called maybe Death in the Garden.

I think the first time I posted on ILE was some Hitchcock thread where I ran afoul of both Doctor Morbius and Amateurist, the latter when I tried to say Hitchock and Buñuel both had long productive careers spanning from the silent era to the 60s.

― Ken L (Ken L), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 17:55 (twenty years ago)

mort en ce jardin is interesting but sort of discombobulated

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 18:00 (twenty years ago)

I think he blamed its problems on the finicky camerman.

― Ken L (Ken L), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 18:01 (twenty years ago)

should have put Nazarin on the list. but I was halfway towards cutting and pasting the entire filmography by that point.

Illusion Travels By Streetcar I should see again. I've never seen Death in the Garden, he dismisses many of the films from the mexican studio years as just work for hire / feeding the kids but I think he went out of his way to call that one bad.

I love his autobiography 'My Last Sigh' so much. You don't need to have seen the films, but if you do like the films, it's actually just as moving, especially the wind down at the end.

― milton parker (Jon L), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 18:09 (twenty years ago)

death in the garden wasn't exactly "work for hire"; it was a fairly prestigous mexican-french coproduction (with french and mexican actors) that led eventually to his return to france. it has some incredibly awesome things but parts of it are pretty bad.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 18:11 (twenty years ago)

"that obscure object..." is awesome - for any DC ilxors, the AFI in silver spring is showing great bunuel stuff right now, along with their tarkovsky-fest.

― peter smith (plsmith), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 18:14 (twenty years ago)

well it's sounding like I must see Death In The Garden.

― milton parker (Jon L), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 18:16 (twenty years ago)

He also did a version of Robinson Crusoe in English. I'm not sure if I've seen it, but I think it was pitched to the mass audience so doesn't get talked about much.

― nickn (nickn), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 20:57 (twenty years ago)

It's out on DVD. Has a dream sequence where a sick Crusoe speaks to his Dad and ... well, it's almost as alternately creepy and poignant as the dream in Los Olvidados . It's also a hell of an adaptation, even though clunky in parts.

Bunuel is my hero. I love the man.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Thursday, 21 April 2005 01:58 (twenty years ago)

Isn't there another English language one- The Young One? With DP Gabriel Figueroa.

― Ken L (Ken L), Thursday, 21 April 2005 13:35 (twenty years ago)

morbs thanks for the tw info, maybe when my roomies move out i'll get the digital package.

fuckin' a, if anyone needs a place in brooklyn, btw.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 21 April 2005 23:58 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...

i hope i'm not the only ilxor who's cinco de mayo plans include watching the ENTIRE tcm marathon.

― joseph (joseph), Friday, 6 May 2005 00:40 (twenty years ago)

(i do kinda wish i had some tequila or something though)

― joseph (joseph), Friday, 6 May 2005 00:40 (twenty years ago)

i don't know anyone with tcm!!!

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 6 May 2005 01:46 (twenty years ago)

wow los olvidados and nazarin are so so so so good

unfortunately i remembered i was invited to a party tonight so...viridiana and the exterminating angel will probably have to wait another time. but god. those two were incredible

― joseph (joseph), Friday, 6 May 2005 02:28 (twenty years ago)

amst find someone!! quick! viridiana's comin' on!!

― joseph (joseph), Friday, 6 May 2005 02:29 (twenty years ago)

The VCR has been rolling all night. I had to go climbing earlier this evening, and now I'm too exhausted to actually watch Angel.

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Friday, 6 May 2005 04:33 (twenty years ago)

wow i really, really shoulda stayed home and caught the two i missed. gah.

― joseph (joseph), Friday, 6 May 2005 04:41 (twenty years ago)

Glad I checked here, Simon of the Desert is coming up next (West Coast).

― nickn (nickn), Friday, 6 May 2005 05:49 (twenty years ago)

I just saw "The Young One" a few months ago. It's really good. I guess a lot of critics regard his Mexican movies as somewhat inferior, but after viewing "Nazarin" last night--one of the few Buñuel films I hadn't seen--I don't think so.

I love Jeanne Moreau, but "Diary of a Chambermaid" isn't all that great--it reminds me, somehow, of Chabrol, and not just because it's in French. But even mediocre Buñuel is pretty good.

― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Friday, 6 May 2005 16:59 (twenty years ago)

I like "Chambermaid", I think it's interesting when he plays with a (relatively) straight bat. The way the marching Nazis are cut at the end is as great as any of his images.

― TV's Mr Noodle Vague (noodle vague), Friday, 6 May 2005 17:51 (twenty years ago)

I saw "Chambermaid" once at MoMA, and Moreau introduced it!

It's better than the Renoir version (which is very odd and also worth seeing).

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 6 May 2005 17:55 (twenty years ago)

>The way the marching Nazis are cut at the end

even the slightly auto-pilot films have at least one bizarre sequence that stays with me for life... OTM about the marching, such a great way to end a film

― milton parker (Jon L), Friday, 6 May 2005 18:10 (twenty years ago)

oh man i've never looked at the tcm website. they showed "run of the arrow" yesterday :(

― g e o f f (gcannon), Friday, 6 May 2005 18:14 (twenty years ago)

I caught the end of it. It was really cool.

― Ken L (Ken L), Friday, 6 May 2005 18:20 (twenty years ago)

geoff, I taped Run of the Arrow last night. If you'd like to borrow my copy, say the word.

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Friday, 6 May 2005 19:03 (twenty years ago)

Argh, I need TCM so bad. None of the video stores around me have The Exterminating Angel and it's not out yet on DVD (like most of his films).

― Mike O. (Mike Ouderkirk), Friday, 6 May 2005 23:29 (twenty years ago)

TCM did a whole bunch of Edgar Ulmer films last year, and I got to see lotsa stuff I'd never been able to view before. They do make up, on occasion, for all the crap they normally show...

― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Saturday, 7 May 2005 03:43 (twenty years ago)

ten months pass...

It's a shame the Mexican films are mostly available on DVD. The production values are amateurish at best, but most have amazing moments.

-He made the best Wuthering Heights ever, in part because he had the wisdom to realize that on film the story would only work as a sudsy soap opera.

-Susana is a potboiler redeemed by some inspired camp touches and a heroine whose badness would make Barbara Stanwyck recoil.

-El is probably the most truthful depiction of machismo on screen. The denouement (in which the jealous hero tries to sew his young bride's vagina closed) is chilling and hilarious.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 23:04 (nineteen years ago)

it's a shame they're available?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 15:14 (nineteen years ago)

ha! *unavailable. Buñuel might have appreciated the typo.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 15:21 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, that caught me by surprise too. I guess he means unavailable. I think he's also being harsh about the production values. And, to top it off, "amazing moments" is kind of a backhanded compliment, because in many ways his Mexican stuff is his best work.

(xpost)

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 15:22 (nineteen years ago)

don't talk about alfred like he's not here!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 15:28 (nineteen years ago)

"The Criminal Life of Archibaldo De La Cruz" is soooo good.

― Chairman Doinel (Charles McCain), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 15:48 (nineteen years ago)

Yes. aka Ensayo De Un Crimen. I believe the actress in it, Miroslava (Stern), was having an affair with the famous Spanish bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin, husband of Lucia Bose mentioned upthread and father of Miguel Bose, Almodóvar star and Spanish pop singer. She killed herself shortly after making that movie.

I didn't know Alfred was gonna crosspost with me, s1ocki!

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 16:02 (nineteen years ago)

the typo's corrected.

re amazing moments: The older Mexican films (as opposed to Viridiana or The Exterminating Angel) often have indifferent-or-worse acting, crappy sound, and trashy scripts. But the surreal bits he injects go a long way to redeeming lots of them; and the three I mentioned above are really great.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 16:02 (nineteen years ago)

quick question:

In what language is That Obscure Object of Desire? It's showing later tonight in Paris and I'll only be able to understand it if it's predominantly in spanish with french subtitles. spoken french is about x10 harder to understand than written for me and my spanish is adequate... i might go see it regardless bc it's only 3 euros, but there's always, like, five movies every night i'm fiending to see...

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Thursday, 6 April 2006 13:40 (nineteen years ago)

Almost certainly French I would have thought

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 6 April 2006 15:13 (nineteen years ago)

It's French, although one of the actresses is Spanish and is (awkwardly) dubbed.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 6 April 2006 15:32 (nineteen years ago)

The male lead is Spanish too, but in this case the great Spanish actor is dubbed by a great French actor.

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Thursday, 6 April 2006 16:59 (nineteen years ago)

that movie is really great

― pssst - badass revolutionary art! (plsmith), Thursday, 6 April 2006 17:01 (nineteen years ago)

The male lead is Spanish too, but in this case the great Spanish actor is dubbed by a great French actor.

Fernando Rey also knew enough French to get by; he's dubbed in parts of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 6 April 2006 17:06 (nineteen years ago)

ah well.. i'll just try to get my hands on a criterion copy sometime.

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Thursday, 6 April 2006 17:19 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, Alfred, but sometimes they are finicky about the accent so they dub them anyway- I think this happened to Malkovich in the Raul Ruiz Proust movie.

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Thursday, 6 April 2006 17:52 (nineteen years ago)

Malkovich speaks French?!

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 6 April 2006 17:53 (nineteen years ago)

I think he lives in France most of the time.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 6 April 2006 17:59 (nineteen years ago)

I think William Hurt speaks it too.

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Thursday, 6 April 2006 18:01 (nineteen years ago)

(xxpost) Malkovich's French is one of the beauties of Time Regained . He sounds mildly brain dead, which I think totally fits the character he plays.

― Jay Vee's Return (Manon_69), Friday, 7 April 2006 02:42 (nineteen years ago)

five months pass...

Rewatching the Criterion version of The Phantom of Liberty. Minor Bunuel, but a few good skits; at worst it's like a funny uncle overextending a thin joke.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Saturday, 30 September 2006 00:33 (eighteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

Just re-saw Belle de Jour, didn't remember the kid gangster with the metal teeth at all... It's overrated; Eyes Wide Shut does madonna/whore fantasy much better (albeit from a male POV).

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 20 October 2006 17:57 (eighteen years ago)

Yes, but EWS doesn't have the buzzing box, Michel Piccoli, and sleighbell soundtrack.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:06 (eighteen years ago)

you know Manoel de Oliveira just made a semi-sequel?

http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.asp?ID=2538

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:16 (eighteen years ago)

The Phantom of Liberty? Anyone?

― xero (xero), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:29 (eighteen years ago)

Did you go and see Discrete Charm at FF, Morbius? I thought about it, but didn't make it.

― Ruud Comes to Haarvest (Ken L), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:32 (eighteen years ago)

Rescreened it a couple of week sago, xero. See above.

I saw Discreet Charm for the 10th time recently – surely the most deserving winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar of the last 40 years?

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:35 (eighteen years ago)

please don't give Eric another opp to club me with Babette's Feast.

No Ken -- they seem to rerelease Discreet Charm every 4 years now. And do YOU want to see Skidoo tnite? I couldn't decode yr email!

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:44 (eighteen years ago)

Sorry, no can do, gotta be somewhere. My real email is upthread.

― Ruud Comes to Haarvest (Ken L), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:48 (eighteen years ago)

I notice above that I have revised by opinion of Belle. Another tick on the anti-Kael side.

(I think it's Tristana I really like; must check that again)

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:52 (eighteen years ago)

Kael didn't like Belle de Jour as much as Simon of the Desert or Discreet Charm.

Is Tristana available on DVD?

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:55 (eighteen years ago)

nah, just VHS.

There's an imposing essay in that recent American critics' anthology that accuses Kael of utterly misunderstanding Bunuel, but I can't recall who wrote it.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 20 October 2006 19:09 (eighteen years ago)

Buñuel is one of the few directors she understood utterly! (the others are Hawks, early Antonioni, Bergman, Mazursky, Woody Allen, not many else). Her Simon review is also a Buñuel overview.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Friday, 20 October 2006 19:19 (eighteen years ago)

I think the argument was it was an oversimplification to see Don Luis as "detached," like a kinkier kritics' Kubrick.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 20 October 2006 19:24 (eighteen years ago)

four months pass...

Where do I start? I have discreet charm in my queue. Where to go from there? Any suggestions?

― Sock Puppet, Friday, 2 March 2007 21:50 (eighteen years ago)

I wish I could see Buñuel films for the first time.

The Mexican films are unflinching in their depiction of cruelty. Just ignore the appalling production values. I recommend: Los Olvidados, Viridiana, The Exterminating Angel, Simon in the Desert. If you can find Susana or Wuthering Heights on videocassette, they're well worth your time.

The French films are quite uneven, but Belle de Jour and [/i] That Obscure Object of Desire[/i] are worth your time.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 2 March 2007 22:00 (eighteen years ago)

What about The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie? Should I move that back, do you think? I'm doing a tour of canonized movies and directors and it may be a few months before I return to Bunuel.

― Sock Puppet, Friday, 2 March 2007 22:08 (eighteen years ago)

if you lived in chicago, i'd let you borrow my copy. :)

― kenan, Friday, 2 March 2007 22:20 (eighteen years ago)

No, it's essential viewing -- probably his best. I failed to mention it because you did.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 2 March 2007 22:43 (eighteen years ago)

Thanks!

― Sock Puppet, Monday, 5 March 2007 16:12 (eighteen years ago)

Just screened Robinson Crusoe after many years -- absolutely one of his best, although, as someone remarked upthread, clumsy in places. The sequence in which his dog dies made my eyes water.

It's also notable for being the only Bunuel film whose actor got an Academy Award nomination.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 11 March 2007 22:53 (eighteen years ago)

My prof was getting fired. On his last day of teaching, he put in an Ali G episode, and in the middle--surprise!--he'd taped "Un Chien." Then we watched the Peewee Herman Christmas special. That's my Bunuel story. The End.

― Abbott, Sunday, 11 March 2007 23:02 (eighteen years ago)

This past week I watched for the first time:

Illusion Travels By Streetcar : Lots of silliness as only 50's Mexican comedies could provide - especially in the one liners - and the premise is kinda lame, but Bunuel obviously had fun making this and it's contagious. Plus, he really had an eye for picking smoldering lead actresses who could barely act their way out of a sentence. As in

Susana : where the absolutely uber-sexy Rosita Quintana proceeds to seduce everyone in the household she has infiltrated (except for the ladies of the house and the farm animals) and then gets her comeuppance. Quintana can't act, but she takes over on looks alone. It also helps that most of the (male) leads are wooden as hell. They don't know what hit 'em. This one's also a lot of fun and Bunuel really goes for it all with gusto ( especially the shots of Quintana).

The Young One : In English. Feels sort of like the bizarro cousin of his Robinson Crusoe . You're dealing with the DEEEP SOUTH here: a black man on the run from a lynch mob takes shelter on an island/game preserve whose sole inhabitants are a young white girl and her guardian/rapist who also happens to be the island's racist gamekeeper.
This one has, for me, some of Bunuel's more unsettling scenes/imagery and, besides some clunky dialogue, is definitely one worth seeking out.

― Capitaine Jay Vee, Sunday, 11 March 2007 23:53 (eighteen years ago)

Susana is so blissfully preposterous (her miraculous escape from jail!) that it raises the question of whether Bunuel wasn't at his best making these shitty Mexican potboilers

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 12 March 2007 00:47 (eighteen years ago)

three months pass...

Just a reminder that The Exterminating Angel will be on TCM Imports this Sunday/Monday

― C. Grisso/McCain, Friday, 22 June 2007 20:09 (eighteen years ago)

Great poster I saw in mag the other day:

http://www.kinoart.net/layout/data/1733.jpg

― C. Grisso/McCain, Friday, 22 June 2007 20:52 (eighteen years ago)

that is an amazing poster. that one's definitely worth seeing

this one's the 50's must-see madhouse though, the ending really topples over into madness

http://www.postermandan.com/images/elLC2.jpg

― Milton Parker, Friday, 22 June 2007 21:22 (eighteen years ago)

I don't think he ever depicted the whole 'fear of women at the heart of violence' thing better than in that film, that one cuts closest

& curses, it's not on DVD

― Milton Parker, Friday, 22 June 2007 21:29 (eighteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

Caught Simon of The Desert the other night on TCM. Silvia Pinal=best cinematic Satan evah?

― C. Grisso/McCain, Wednesday, 18 July 2007 00:09 (seventeen years ago)

As Kael said, she's much more amusing as Satan than as the virtuous star of Viridiana, where she looked like she couldn't bear the weight of the smutty designs thrust on her.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 18 July 2007 00:24 (seventeen years ago)

Ahhh. She's only in Simon for a little bit so , for me, the dwarf steals the show. Still, she's hot as a nun (and ex-nun).

― Capitaine Jay Vee, Wednesday, 18 July 2007 02:56 (seventeen years ago)

She's a handsome devil. I find the ending really poignant, for some unknown reason. It's to do with the beauty of the mundane, I think, or sex over sterile fanaticism.

― Noodle Vague, Wednesday, 18 July 2007 08:34 (seventeen years ago)

As Kael said, she's much more amusing as Satan than as the virtuous star of Viridiana, where she looked like she couldn't bear the weight of the smutty designs thrust on her.

at least pinal is still alive, aside from every queen's favorite kael.

― hstencil, Wednesday, 18 July 2007 08:38 (seventeen years ago)

cheap shot i know, but seriously alfie reads like he never even saw the movie.

which puts him squarely in the kael tradition, i guess.

― hstencil, Wednesday, 18 July 2007 08:53 (seventeen years ago)

Um, I'm trying to say that she was dull playing the virtuous heroine. What's vague about that?

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 18 July 2007 11:05 (seventeen years ago)

Susana to be released on DVD by Facets in October

― C. Grisso/McCain, Monday, 23 July 2007 17:14 (seventeen years ago)

The vaults in Mexico must have got blown open, because Women Without Love is also coming soon, as is Gran Casino as part of a 2-disc with The Young One.

Meanwhile, one of the fanboys on the Criterion forum wrote the company and they dropped him some hints about a "Bunuel in Mexico" collection that's in the works. Ext. Angel, Simon and some other stuff are rumored. I think the rights to Los Olvidados currently tied up in court.

― C. Grisso/McCain, Friday, 27 July 2007 02:02 (seventeen years ago)

Haha, just got out my copy of My Last Sigh: Bunuel said WWL was easily his worst film. He doesn't mention the GC, unless it's under another name.

― C. Grisso/McCain, Friday, 27 July 2007 02:10 (seventeen years ago)

three weeks pass...

Facets also drops El Bruto in October

― C. Grisso/McCain, Friday, 17 August 2007 16:15 (seventeen years ago)

I love Bunuel. I feel warm fuzzies inside about Bunuel.

― Bimble, Sunday, 19 August 2007 23:52 (seventeen years ago)

Hey, Robinson Crusoe got a Region 2 release when I wasn't looking! Roll on pay day.

― Noodle Vague, Monday, 20 August 2007 06:42 (seventeen years ago)

Got me a movie ah ho ho ho
But I am un chien andalusia
I am un chien andalusia

Gonna grow up to be a Debaser

― Bimble, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 05:15 (seventeen years ago)

no.

― hstencil, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 05:29 (seventeen years ago)

two months pass...

Wow, didn't know that Katy Jurado was in El Bruto, which is now out on DVD. Susana has been bumped to the end of this month.

― C. Grisso/McCain, Wednesday, 7 November 2007 20:29 (seventeen years ago)

one month passes...

Susana now out.

― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 11 December 2007 17:01 (seventeen years ago)

I've just got Robinson Crusoe, haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

― Noodle Vague, Tuesday, 11 December 2007 17:02 (seventeen years ago)

seven months pass...

Two more from Mexico coming to DVD

― C. Grisso/McCain, Monday, 14 July 2008 00:47 (sixteen years ago)

Nazarin's been out for a while over here.

Robinson Crusoe is good, it's got some nice scenes - especially the fever-dream sequence - and pretty location shots. Luis did a good job of sending up Defoe's religious proselytizing whilst staying faithful to the story.

Can somebody pull their finger out and get Simon del Desierto on DVD soon please?

― Noodle Vague, Monday, 14 July 2008 01:01 (sixteen years ago)

at the amsterdam film museum last month they had a really great exhibition dedicated to los olvidados; tons of press from the movie's original release, excerpts from drafts of the screenplay, publicity photos, the movie itself running on a loop, etc.

it also really cannot be stated enough how wonderful his memoir is, i was recommending it to everyone i knew before i even finished reading it

― impudent harlot, Monday, 14 July 2008 02:33 (sixteen years ago)

Fucking Louis Bunuel.

That Obscure Object of Desire.

That's one of my fave movies ever. Peace and love.

― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Monday, 14 July 2008 02:36 (sixteen years ago)

xpost

By his memoir do you mean My Last Sigh?

― Noodle Vague, Monday, 14 July 2008 07:58 (sixteen years ago)

i just finished my last sigh!

amazing book!

― s1ocki, Monday, 14 July 2008 08:40 (sixteen years ago)

Need to read it.

― Noodle Vague, Monday, 14 July 2008 09:38 (sixteen years ago)

you really do... sucha delight.

― s1ocki, Monday, 14 July 2008 15:46 (sixteen years ago)

I own Nazarin on videocassette!

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 14 July 2008 15:49 (sixteen years ago)

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