SURREALIST FILMS

Over the years, there have been numerous films that have captured the surrealist spirit, from the early experiments of Luis Bunuel and Man Ray, to the later works of directors like Federico Fellini, Andrei Tarkovsky, Lindsay Anderson and Bertrand Blier, to name just a few.

Here are some of the key surrealist films made in Paris during the 1920s:

(For a list of other films by contemporary directors that capture the surrealist spirit, click here .)

1. Le Retour A La Raison (1923)

Director: Man Ray
Running time: 3 minutes; B&W; silent

 
Two stills from Man Ray's Le Retour A La Raison.

CLICK HERE to view Le Retour A La Raison on YouTube.

2. Entr'acte (1924)

Director: René Clair
Script: Francis Picabia, René Clair
Photo: Jimmy Berliet
Music: Henri Sauguet
Cast: Jean Börlin, Inge Frïss, Francis Picabia, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Darius Milhaud, Erik Satie, Mamy
Country: France
Language: French
Running time: 22 min; B&W; silent

 
Stills from Rene Clair's Entr'acte.  Left: Marcel Duchamp & Man Ray play chess.
Right: Francis Picabia leaps beside a cannon.

Description: Directed by René Clair, Entr'acte was originally made to fill an interval between two acts of Francis Picabia’s new ballet, Relâche, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris in 1924. 

A few of the scenes include: Two men approach a canon and fire it. Rifle-range dummies sway in the wind. A dancing ballerina turns into a strange bearded man. Two men (Marcel Duchamp & Man Ray) on a roof-top terrace play a game of chess. A funeral procession, moving in slow motion, follows a coffin pulled by a camel.

CLICK HERE to watch Entr'acte on UBUWEB.

3. Emak-Bakia (1926)

• Director: Man Ray
• Script: Man Ray
• Photo: Man Ray
• Cast: Kiki of Montparnasse (Girl with painted eyes), Jacques Rigaut
• Country: France
• Language: French
• Running time: 18 min; B&W; silent

5. Un chien andalou (1929)

Director: Luis Bunuel
Script: Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali
Photo: Albert Duverger
Cast: Pierre Batcheff; Simone Mareuil; Luis Bunuel; Salvador Dali
Country: France
Language: French
Running time: 16 minutes; B&W; silent

 
 
Four stills from Luis Bunuel's masterpiece Un chien andalou.

CLICK HERE to view Un chien andalou on UbuWeb.

6. L'Age d'or (1930)

Director: Luis Bunuel
Script: Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali
Photo: Albert Duverger
Cast: Lya Lys; Gaston Modot; Max Ernst; Pierre Prevert
Country: France
Language: French
Running time: 63 minutes; B&W; silent

   
Four stills from Bunuel's infamous L'Age d'or.

CLICK HERE to view L'Age d'or on YouTube.


OTHER FILMS THAT CAPTURE THE SURREALIST SPIRIT

Luis Bunuel is perhaps the greatest surrealist filmmaker.  Highly recommended are: The Criminal Life of Archimbaldo de la Cruz; Viridiana; The Exterminating Angel; Simon of the Desert; The Milky Way; The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie; and The Phantom of Liberty.  For a full list of Bunuel's films, click here. 

Federico Fellini directed several films that capture the surrealist spirit, including La Dolce Vita; 8 and a Half; and City of Women.

Andrei Tarkovsky, although a devote Catholic, was a great admirer of Bunuel.  His films were often dream-like and deeply spiritual.  Among his greatest masterpieces are The Mirror and Nostalgia.

Jean-Luc Godard directed a series of films during the 1960s that blended the Marxist ideology of Brecht with the frantic energy and anarchism of Surrealism.  Highly recommended are Weekend; Pierrot le fou; and Two or Three Things I Know About Her.

Lindsay Anderson created a trilogy of films,  if...; O Lucky Man; and Britannia Hospital, that capture the surrealist spirit.

Alain Resnais directed a number of psychological studies, often exploring life from an internal perspective, and examining the mysterious qualities of memory.  His best known films are Hiroshima Mon Amour; Last Year at Marienbad; and Mon oncle d'Amerique.

Bertrand Blier directed a few films that are highly surrealist in nature, including Buffet froid and Menage.

Peter Greenaway's Drowning by Numbers has a surrealistic flavor.

Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet collaborated on Delicatessen and a handful of other films that feature an abundance of surrealist imagery and humor.

A few other directors who have, at times, captured the surrealist spirit: David Lynch; Terry Gilliam; Marco Ferreri; The Cohen Brothers (especially Barton Fink); Roman Polanski (especially The Tenant); to name just a few. 


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