Chien Andalou

Rating:
Summary: Must own --- because its cheap
Review: Bunuel and Dali's famous surrealist short "Un Chien Andalou" (1929) is probably indescribable except to say that its collage of images - inspired by everything from Freudian dream logic to fervent anti-clericalism - still has the power to shock initial viewers and provide endless delight for diehards. Sadly, the producers of this DVD haven't really bothered to do more than provide a passable transfer of the film - the music is poorly synched and the print they've employed here is worn. (There is a nice video interview with Bunuel's son as a form of compensation, I suppose). Because the film is short and the disc cheap - and this is such an enjoyable film after innumerable viewings - I still recommend it but it'd be better if those who hold the rights to this film, "L'Age D'Or" and other surrealist masterpieces would lease them to Criteion so that a proper restoration and release could take place.

Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Dadaist Film
Review: Chien's reputation is far greater that those who've actually seen the film. Yes, it opens with the infamous eye-slicing, which, even now, isn't the easiest thing in the world to watch. This was done, as Bunuel explained many times, simply to shock. To jar 1928 people who fully expected, as most films would, the camera to move away at some point. Keeping in mind that the Dadists were the original "punks" a la the later 1970s (Sex Pistols, Clash, Damned) this urge to shock makes perfect sense.
Beyond that, Chien is, especially at first viewing, an adventure in strangeness and bizarre images. Some are strange purely for strangeness' sake; others are Bunuel's railing against something (organized religion burdened by putrefaction, for example). This is another one of those films you can read about til doomsday, but you absolutely must experience it first. See what you get out of it, then see if you agree with not only the available formal reviews/interpretations, but the 1,001 amateur ones that are sure to begin accumulating here before very long. Quite deliberately not a film for everyone -- (after all, the Dadaists would read poetry with pistols tied to their heads and not consider the evening a success until they were pelted with vegetables and fruit). An essential film for any student or collector.

Rating:
Summary: A waste of money
Review: Don't throw your money on this DVD. The film is only 17' long and the extras are worthless. This pictures should have been paired with any other Bunuel film to make an item worth of its price.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Work.
Review: Here we have one of the greatest of all short films and one of the greatest documentaries. First, "Un Chien Andalou," which is a hypnotic, visceral and a masterpiece of surrealism by one of the masters, Luis Bunuel. "Un Chien Andalou" embodies the words that display Bunuel's work: Beautiful, dark, graphic, shocking and brilliant. The opening shot, one of the greatest and most memorable is a stroke of shocking genius. Some have attacked "Un Chien Andalou" because it literally makes no sense, even Bunuel gave credit to that. But it's not supposed to. "Un Chien Andalou" is instead meant to be some sort of dream experience, a nightmare or collection of dream sequences put on film. And the result is brilliant because here Bunuel displays that dreams truly can make it into cinema, no matter how shocking or disturbing. The second brilliant work here, "Land Without Bread" is absolutely eye-opening and is always involving and interesting. Bunuel brilliantly takes us through the hell that is Las Hurdes and the surrounding lands. Among the great, graphic images brilliantly documented here are the one showing a wedding custom which involves riders tearing the head off a rooster hanging from a rope across a street, the one of a goat violently falling down a hill and one showing a donkey killed by bees, then eaten by wild dogs. "Land Without Bread" is hard-hitting, as it should be. Bunuel brilliantly captures the atmosphere of this land and it's primitive people. The scenery is artistic in it's own fashion, no matter how poor or medieval. Both these films are masterworks by a genius who has left his mark on the cinema for all time. To understand the work of Luis Bunuel, you must see "Un Chien Andalou" and "Land Without Bread."

Rating:
Summary: Two Great Masterpieces.
Review: Here we have two great works by one of the greatest of all directors. First, there is Luis Bunuel's "Un Chien Andalou." It was his first film in collaboration with the notorious surrealist painter, Salvador Dali. Watching "Un Chien Andalou" is a whole experience in itself. It is a masterpiece of the cinema because not only is it the only true surrealist movie, it is a perfect example of dreams put onto film. It makes no sense, but that's the point. "Un Chien Andalou" (French for An Andalusian Dog) is like the rememberences of a dream (or nightmare) put on film. Indeed, Bunuel and Dali wrote the script based on their dreams. This is also a great example of superreal, brilliant and shocking cinema. The first scene (indeed one of the most famous opening scenes ever) is brilliant because it keeps you watching after it has shocked you. This movie also has style and shows Bunuel's brilliance for film composition. It is both graphic, violent, merciless, and beautiful. It has images you will never be able to shake, which is a true mark of great cinema. The next movie here, "Land Without Bread," is one of the best of all documentaries. Bunuel brilliantly takes us through a hell on earth. Here too there are surrealist images that stay with the viewer, even more so because they are real. "Land Without Bread" doesn't soften the material on its subject, it does a perfect examination and tour of the poorest region in Spain. And it's interesting to note that Bunuel edited this movie on a kitchen table with a knife and a magnifying glass. "Land Without Bread" is a graphic experience that's effective and stands as a great documentary. Few directors have filmed a poor, harsh region like Bunuel does here. "Un Chien Andalou" and "Land Without Bread" are brilliant examples of Bunuel's eye for ingenious cinema that looks at reality unblinkingly. These two films are good examples of why he is the greatest of all film surrealists.

Rating:
Summary: some of you guys are too harsh
Review: I gave this dvd 4 stars because it's so personal and complete. The interview with Bunuel's son is very intimate, and I did enjoy the commentary.The print is short of immaculate, but it's no better or no worse than the BFI's version. It's in my top 5 list of dvds for 2004.

Rating:
Summary: Just be happy that it's available!!!!!
Review: I had a copy of this film a long time ago. I brought it over to a friends house to watch and her VCR ate it. The VCR started working again but 2 months later it ate my copy of Forbidden Zone by Richard Elfman. It only liked to eat my movies that were out of print just to get a rise out of me...it made me sooo mad!!! I later convinced her that it needed to be destroyed and she agreed!! I threw it out her apartment window and missed the dumpster on purpose just to see it shatter!! Yeah...anyways...
I'm just glad that I have a copy of Un Chien Andalou now on DVD!! The images have stuck in my memory for years and I'm glad I have an opportunity to finally watch it again!! The movie is only 17 minutes long...but the price is worth it for the movie and the interview with Luis Bunuel's son describing his father and Salvador Dali. By the way, Forbidden Zone has just been released on DVD recently too!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Dave McKean
Review: In response to the critic review, Dave McKean is obviously inspired by the film, and is a great artist himself.
You may know him from cd covers by the following bands...
Fear Factory (demanufactue, obsolete etc), Dream Theater, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Dominion, Kreator, Front Line Assembly, Testament, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Counting Crows, Alice Cooper.

And also from his comic book cover artwork for 'Sandman', and 'The Dreaming'.

Anyone wanting more info on Dave McKean's artwork check out...
http://www.dreamline.nu/
or his official site...
http://www.mckean-art.co.uk/

Great to see Un Chien Andalou on dvd too by the way :-)

Rating:
Summary: This is the Pixie's song Debaser
Review: Ok you should know that it is a real eye and that's why it looks so real! But it's a mule's eye. Made with Salvador Dali this is one cool movie, based on dreams they's had and some misreadings of Freud and I think a few French cinematic puns...it still has the power to shock. Land without Bread....done in the clinical form of some kind of documentary you tour the Hurdas provence of Spain which had only just been opened up to the rest of the world and is so poor that some peoplel have never seen bread. Is it a black comedy? Should you laugh or cry or both. This relly is worth a look.

Rating:
Summary: small but wonderful package
Review: So the film is only 17 minutes in length? Who cares. It's quality here, not quantity, that matters. The viewer is assaulted with a barrage of iconclastic images - the severed eye, dead donkeys, etc. - that haunt the mind indelibly. Anyone whose attended film schoool has seen Un Chien Andalou. It's not jusy a 'artsy' masterpiece, but it's a lesson in visual storytelling and editing. Luis Bunuel has influenced many great directors, including David Lynch and Pedro Almodovar. The bonus feature included in this DVD, Slice of Bunuel, is excellent. Juan Luis Bunuel (Luis's son)sheds some interesting light on the film, his key point being - I believe - Un Chien Andalou was meant to defy interpretation. This is why this film begs to be watched repeatedly. I guess it's natural to imbue things with one's own special meaning, even if this film was meant to have no meaning at all.