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.

CONTENTS:

1. Six Surrealist Films from the 1920s 
Le Retour A La Raison (1923); Entr'acte (1924); Emak-Bakia (1926); L'Etoile De Mer (1928); Un chien andalou (1929); and L'Age d'or (1930).

2. The Cinema of Luis Bunuel

3. Other Films That Capture the Surrealist Spirit

SIX SURREALIST FILMS FROM THE 1920S

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Description: Directed by René Clair, Entr'acte was originally made to fill an interval between two acts of Francis Picabia’s new ballet, Relâche, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris in 1924.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

 
 
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.


THE CINEMA OF LUIS BUNUEL

Luis Bunuel is perhaps the greatest surrealist filmmaker, and one of the most important directors in cinema history.  His career spanned a half century, from his early surrealist masterpieces Un Chien Andalou and L'Age D'Or made with Salvador Dali, to his award-winning films of the 1970s, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Phantom of Liberty.  Below you will find a full filmography.  For further information on Bunuel, click here .

Un Chien andalou (An Andalusian Dog) (1929) France [Click here to read script]
L'Age d'or (The Golden Age) (1930) France
Las Hurdes (Land Without Bread) (1932) Spain
Gran Casino (1946) Mexico
El gran calavera (The Great Carouser) (1949) Mexico
Los olvidados (The Young and the Damned) (1950) Mexico
The Devil and the Flesh (Susana/Demonio y carne) (1950) Mexico
The Daughter of Deceit (La hija del engano/Don Quintin el amargao) (1951) Mexico
A Loveless Woman (Una mujer sin amor) (1951) Mexico
Mexican Bus Ride (Subida al cielo) (1951) Mexico
The Brute (El bruto) (1952) Mexico
Robinson Crusoe (1952) US
El (This Strange Passion) (1953) Mexico
Illusion Travels by Streetcar (La ilusion viaja en tranvia) (1953) Mexico
Wuthering Heights (Abismos de pasion) (1954) Mexico
River of Death (El rio y la muerte) (1954) Mexico
The Criminal Life of Archibaldo Cruz (Ensayo de un crimen) (1955) Mexico
Cela s'appelle l'aurore (1955) France–Italy
La Mort en ce jardin (Death in the Garden) (1956) France–Mexico
Nazarin (1958) Mexico
La Fievre monte a El Pao (1959) France–Mexico
The Young One (La Joven) (1960) US–Mexico
Viridiana (1961) Spain–Mexico
The Exterminating Angel (El angel exterminador) (1962) Mexico
Diary of a Chambermaid (Le Journal d'une femme de chambre) (1963) France–Italy
Simon of the Desert (Simon del desierto) (1965) Mexico
Belle de jour (1967) France–Italy
La Voie lactee (The Milky Way) (1969) France–Italy
Tristana (1970) Spain
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie) (1972) France
The Phantom of Liberty (Le Fantome de la liberte) (1974) France
That Obscure Object of Desire (Cet obscur objet du desir) (1977) France–Spain


OTHER FILMS THAT CAPTURE THE SURREALIST SPIRIT

Luis Bunuel   Highly recommended Bunuel fimals 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.   

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.