Any Luis Bunuel fans here? (1 Viewer)

[Victor_c]

Luis Bunuel is remembered as a master of surrealistic films but his oevre his does include comedies, musicals and 'simple' drama's as well.
I have two questions:
1. Can Bunuel be considered as a humanist director, or an anti-humanist director?
2. What's your favorite(s) Bunuel film(s)?
My favorite Bunuel's are:
1. L'Age d'Or (1930)
2. Nazarin (1958)
3. La Voie Lactee (1968)
4. El Angel Exterminator (1962)
5. Los Olvidados (1950)
6. Le Fantome de la Liberte (1974)
7. Las Aventuras de Robinson Crusoe (1954)
8. Abismos de pasión (1954)
9. La Joven (1960)
10.Ensayo de un Crimen (1955)

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

My favorite Bunuel film is (and probably my favorite film overall) Belle De Jour. It is with that film in mind that I try to answer question #1.
I think he is a humanist director. If you take BDJ, for example, it may strike you that this isn't the case. It shows a striking indifference towards women and a portrayel of people at their weakest. But, underneath, the subtle context is that devotion and passion is what drives the human race. It is our searching for these things that keep our existence worthy. Bunuel is able to capture the struggle and the uncertainty of that search perfectly. He opens the inner doors to our hearts salvations and lays them out for us to digest. It isn't always pretty or easy, but it is truthful.
Bruce
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[Brook K]

I would agree with Bruce's assessment. We see it again in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeosie where Bunuel pokes fun at the decadent lives of the priveleged classes, but is really saying that humans need to pursue goals of value and worth and to create something meaningful to give our lives purpose. That we are not just a function of our simplest and basest pursuits, i.e. sex and eating.
As yet I've only seen 3 of his films, my order would be:
1. Belle De Jour
2. Tristana
3. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeosie
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[Ike]

I saw Discreet Charm of The Bourgeoisie recently, and I now am extremely anxious to get my hands on more of his films. The only other DVD he has out, if I'm correct, is Diary of a Chambermaid, also by Criterion. I almost am tempted to pay the $20 for the VHS for Un Chien Andalou (sp?).
[Edited last by Ike on September 03, 2001 at 07:44 PM]

 

[Tim Raffey]

I'll resist from answering the first question as I haven't seen many of his most acknowledged films (thought I do look foreward to getting more and more aquainted with his work).
But of the 3 Bunuel films I've seen, I'd rank them:
1. Simon of the Desert
2. Un Chien Andalou
3. The Milky Way

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

The only one I've seen is La Charme Discrete but it's one of my absolute favorites...
Todd.
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[Jun-Dai Bates]

I've only seen a handful of Buñuel films, but in the spirit of things, I'll rank them:
1. Los Olvidados
2. Un Chien Andalou
3. La Charm Discret de la Bourgeoisie
4. Las Hurdes
I like them all. I will be seeing two more shortly, and I'll probably like those too.
I won't even try to answer the first question.

 

[Pascal A]

I believe that Luis Bunuel is Donald B.'s favorite filmmaker, so I'm sure that he'll have a few words to say about him.

What's your favorite(s) Bunuel film(s)?

I like Bunuel's mature films best. My favorite is That Obscure Object of Desire, followed by Belle de Jour.
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[Ted Todorov]

I love Bunuel. For those of you looking for insight (not to mention a great deal of entertainment) beyond the films themselves, do yourself a favor and read his autobiography, My Last Sigh. The best book by a filmmaker that I have ever read.
The documentary included with the Discrete Charm DVD is also excellent.
Ted

 

[Dave L]

Been a Bunuel fan for a long time. "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" is possibly my favorite, although "Nazarin" and "The Exterminating Angel" are not far behind.

 

[Tim Raffey]

I saw Viridiana the other night and loved it for the same reasons I loved Simon of the Desert, and quite liked The Milky Way. To me, it was the work of a humanist director. The beggars inhumanity was shown in such a grotesque way that Bunuel couldn't have been condoning it. I guess I'd place it third (behind Un Chien..., ahead of The Milky Way).
I've got Belle de Jour to watch in the next couple days, then Discreet Charm of the Bourgeois and The Obscure Object of Desire. After that, I think my resources are exhausted for the time being.

 

[Ben Motley]

BAM! Anybody seen this yet? DVDPlanet has it up for pre-order, and lists it as a November release (knowing Criterion we'll see it in Feb. or March though

). There is no mention of it at official site http://www.criterionco.com,
Can't wait!
p.s., sorry, in my excitement I didn't realize this was the artwork for the video version. DVDPlanet had distorted it to dvd keepcase proportions, and I didn't notice it said International Collection on top instead of Criterion Collection. But no matter, it IS still the Criterion dvd version that is up for sale.
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[Edited last by Ben Motley on September 13, 2001 at 10:39 AM]

 

[Pascal A]

CriterionDVD has an existing thread on the 11/3 release of That Obscure Object of Desire.
Excerpted from Ashirg's comments:

Luis Bunuel's final film explodes with eroticism, bringing full circle the director's lifelong preoccupation with the darker side of desire. Bunuel regular Fernando Rey plays Mathieu, an urbane widower, tortured by his lust for the elusive Conchita. With characteristic subversive flare, Bunuel uses two different actresses in the lead -- Angela Molina as a Spanish Coquette and Carole Bouquet, a sophisticated French beauty. Drawn from Pierre Louys' 1898 novel La Femme et le Pantin, That Obscure Object Of Desire is a dizzying game of sexual politics punctuated by a terror that harkens back to Bunuel's brilliant surrealistic beginnings.
16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.66:1) Transfer
French Mono
English Dubbed Mono
Optional English Subtitles
Video Interview with Screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere
Excerpts from Jacques de Baroncelli's 1929 silent La Femme et le Pantin, an alternative adaptation of the novel on which Bunuel based his film
Reprinted interview with Bunuel
Theatrical Trailer
39.95

Note: The MSRP is now $29.95.
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