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BUNUEL, LUIS.
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Life & career of Spanish filmmaker. Style, themes, critical reviews.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Life & career of Spanish filmmaker. Style, themes, critical reviews.
Paper Introduction:
LUIS BUNUEL
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the cinema of Luis
Bunuel in general and two of his films in specific: "Los Olvidados" (Mexico 1950) and "Viridiana" (Spain 1961). Special attention will be paid to the Spanish cinema and the Mexican cinema and how they influenced this film maker and his art.
In order to best frame this commentary, we should give a brief overview of Bunuel and his place in the Spanish-speaking film world. Luis Bunuel was born in Calanda, Spain on February 22, 1900, and he died in Mexico City on July 29, 1983. He led a long life, and most of it was devoted to making motion pictures.
After receiving his degree from Colegio del Salvador in religion, entomology, and zoology, he went on for an advanced degree in agricultural engineering and the natural sciences at the
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When he enrolled in the University of Madrid in 1917, Bunuel took uphis interest in politics and literature, and he soon met famous artisticfigures who would influence him greatly such as Salvador Dali, FedericoGarcia Lorca, and Rafael Albertini. . 37). 35). There isno question that Bunuel was always influenced by both the Mexican cinemaand the Spanish cinema, yet in the final analysis he remains a trueoriginal whose influences are so broad and so eclectic that it is hard tocall him an exponent of any one specific culture, critical theory, orstyle. Because of this, Viridiana stays on Don Jaime's estate, which sheshares with his illegitimate son, Jorge. It showed that Bunuel was indeed an auteur because he could create a filmwithin the Spanish cinema and have it reach international audiences. 427). Stanley Kauffmann noted of "Viridiana" that "bearing down always onthe film is a ruthless disgust, a view of man as more self-deceiving thanevil, a belief that all he needs to do is reduce his delusory aspirationsand settle for what he is and has, and his life will be sane and healthy"(Kauffmann, 1967, p. Bunuel pointed out that "it was Surrealism which showed me that lifehad a moral direction which men cannot but follow . Also, one other influence that the Mexican cinema had on Bunuel and"Los Olvidados" was that the film received poor distribution when it wasreleased. It also reminds us that Surrealism need not be a bleeding-watchbore" (Denby, 1973, p. In saying this Sarris comes up with a very important point. There was always a Spanish element to hiswork, especially when he was collaborating with fellow countrymen such asSalvador Dali and Federico Garcia Lorca. Other critics were also impressed with how the film had used theelements of Mexican culture and the Mexican cinema to explore a subjectthat was taking root in America: juvenile delinquency. Confessions of a cultist. Hewas never to deny his cultural heritage, and at the same time he knew thatthe single most over-riding influence on his work was Surrealism. In 1967 he directed "Belle deJour." In 197 he followed this with "Tristana." Then came another filmthat was a major cause celebre on the international cinema scene. From1933 to 1935 Bunuel dubbed dialogue for Paramount in Paris and Warner Bros.in Spain. Sadoul, Georges, editor. (1991). "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" was released in 1972, andeven though the director was now in his 7 s the film proved to be as wittyand as humorously frivolous as anything he had ever done. Manyfilm scholars feel that this is because of Bunuel's focus on his ethnicsubject and his concentration on proletarian concerns. Pauline Kael said of the film that "some of the images have greatpoetic force, and at times they have an erotic humor that one hasdifficulty explaining, even to oneself" (Kael, 1982, p. "Un Chien Andalou" (1928) was created along with Salvador Dali inorder to shock the bourgeois with its imagery. It was Bunuel's third Mexican film, "Los Olvidados," that shows howmuch the Mexican cinema had influenced him. After receiving his degree from Colegio del Salvador in religion,entomology, and zoology, he went on for an advanced degree in agriculturalengineering and the natural sciences at the University of Madrid, finallyattending the Academe du Cinema in Paris. 6 ). This film, along with "L'Age d'or" (193 ), helped to get Bunuel acontract with MGM, but he turned this down after visiting Hollywood. LUIS BUNUEL The purpose of this paper is to analyze the cinema of LuisBunuel in general and two of his films in specific: "Los Olvidados" (Mexico195 ) and "Viridiana" (Spain 1961). 1 5). The film had a dream-likequality and its mise en scene included a woman's eyeball being slashed by arazor, and dead donkeys lying on top of pianos, being hauled away bypriests. Viridiana travels to meet her uncle, Don Jaime, who is amazed at howmuch she looks like his dead wife, who had died on their wedding night.Don Jaime convinces his servant Romano to drug Viridiana, and he intends toseduce her. . Monaco, James, editor. Part of the way that the Mexican cinema influenced Bunuel during thisperiod was in the style of "Los Olvidados." Being away from the commercialconstraints of a place like Hollywood, Bunuel was free to experiment withform. What is most striking about Bunuel when one returns to his work like"Los Olvidados" and "Viridiana" is his ability to combine surrealism withneo-realism in such a poetic way. No one will ever forget the eye slash of "Un Chien Andalou" justas no one will ever forget the genius of Luis Bunuel, who emerged from theSpanish cinema and Mexican cinema to create international masterworks. His example was that "it seems too symmetrically ironic tosynchronize a beggar's orgy with Handel's 'Messiah.'" Later Sarris remarkedthat "Bunuel's blend of the real and the surreal, the grotesque and theerotic, the scabrous and the sublime never quite fits into any criticaltheory" (Sarris, 1971, p. He led a long life, and most of it wasdevoted to making motion pictures. . As World War IIprogressed, Bunuel had to leave his job in America because he was aCommunist, and so he wound up in Mexico in 1946. (1971). Sarris, Andrew. (1982). From 1935 until the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the filmmaker produced popular musical comedies in Spain. Most critics agreed that the film was the direct descendant ofBunuel's "L'Age d'Or" as well as "The Exterminating Angel" and "Belle deJour." In 198 Bunuel collaborated with Jean-Claude Carriere, hisscreenwriter since 1963, on his autobiography, which was titled My LastSigh. The Encyclopedia of Film. What isinteresting about this work is that it shows that Bunuel is a product ofthe Spanish cinema, but his primary influences here are commercial neo-realism, horror films, and American comedies. In order to best frame this commentary, we should give a briefoverview of Bunuel and his place in the Spanish-speaking film world. Bunuel died in 1983, but he had left such a large body of work thatit is clear that he will remain a major force in the cinemas around theworld for many years to come. under the titleof "The Young and the Damned," was an "examination of how the poor prey onone another . New York:Perigee Books. New York: Simonand Schuster.----------------------- 9 The film was set on the outskirts of Mexico City, and it featured awide variety of young people who were committing crimes, tormentingcripples, being arrested, and being killed by the police. When he left Madrid for Paris in 1925, however, he wasalso influenced by the German cinema of Fritz Lang and his "Destiny." Herealized what his vocation would be, and several years later he made hisfirst major statement in the Spanish cinema. Jacques Prevert called "Los Olvidados" a tale of "loving and lovelesschildren, of adolescent destroyers and the destroyed" (Sadoul, 1972, p.258). It was also a greatstep forward into the marvelous and the poetic" (Denby, 1973, p. So instead of revolting images andoutrage there was a sophisticated mischief that Bunuel took in portrayingthe hypocrisy and inanity of the privileged classes. From this point in his career, as was stated earlier in the paper,Bunuel did much of his finest work. Berkeley:University of California Press. By following its plot it is possible to see manyof the obsessions that Bunuel had, and how he dramatized them as acatharsis for himself. New York: DeltaBooks. The film was episodic, and it featured six friends whose attempts athaving dinner together were always being interrupted when food eluded them. New York: Holt,Rinehart and Winston. In 1961 he was invited backto Spain to film "Viridiana," and here he fell under the spell of theSpanish cinema once again. LuisBunuel was born in Calanda, Spain on February 22, 19 , and he died inMexico City on July 29, 1983. The one masterwork on this subject, it stands apart from the genre"(Kael, 1982, p. Dictionary of films. In other directors' hands, thistechnique would seem gimmicky, but with Bunuel it had the feeling of beingthe best way that he could express the deep convictions that were insidehis soul. "Viridiana" featured a screenplay by Bunuel and Julio Alejandro, andit is complex in nature. He made documentaries aswell as features, and his finest work was produced in the two decades afterhis 6 th year. Outside of Mexico the film was essentially unavailable. Toward the end of his life Bunuel was able to pay homage to both theSpanish cinema and the Mexican cinema for giving him roots in his work. 5 1 nights at the movies. (It) is the most horrifying of all films about juvenilecrime. Bunuel is considered to be the founder of surrealist cinema, and hewas a master in both the silent and sound eras. He was noted for one time saying that "Religiouseducation and Surrealism have marked me for life" (Monaco, 1991, p. Bunuel fades out his film with images of Viridianarejoining Jorge and his new mistress, Ramona, for a game of cards. "The Exterminating Angel" was made in1962, and it added to the Bunuel mystique. Consequently he introduced dream sequences and surreal images at keymoments, in what was otherwise a very straightforward realist narrative. During the conflictBunuel served the Republican government, and he helped to compile newsreelfootage to make a documentary. Bunuel could work in the surrealist mode as well as the realist orneo-realist style, but he usually stayed fairly close to his subjectmatter, which revolved around social satire of religious, bourgeoisculture, and Fascism. When the Fascists took over, Bunuel moved from Spain to New YorkCity, where he got a job with the Museum of Modern Art. 85). Pauline Kaelobserved that the film, which had been released in the U.S. By 1955 Bunuel was in Europe, directing international (and, in somecases, more openly political) motion pictures. It gave him internationalattention with its mixture of styles, ranging from surrealism to neo-realism. Film 72/73. Special attention will be paid to theSpanish cinema and the Mexican cinema and how they influenced this filmmaker and his art. Kael, Pauline. During this time Bunuel was influenced by the Spanish cinema as wellas the avant garde. Viridiana invites a group ofbeggars to come live in the workers' quarters, as she hopes to save themthrough her prayers. But when Viridiana and Jorge leave for a period oftime, the beggars have an orgy, which they continue when Viridiana returnsby raping her. A world on film. What wasinteresting about this film was that Bunuel took his usual themes, yet agehad mellowed him to a great extent. References Denby, David, editor. Kauffmann, Stanley. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. (1972). Andrew Sarris felt the film was well worth analysis, yet he wonderedhow a director who seemed so disconcertingly obvious could turn out to beso complex. Vincent Canby thought the film was one of Bunuel's best in theSpanish cinema, and he remarked that it was "so free in form and yet solucid and wise that it could give the Surrealists a whole new lease onlife. 351). After growing up in Calanda, a small village in the Spanish provinceof Aragon, Bunuel attended a Jesuit school and received educationaltraining that had not changed since the 18th century. (1967). But he becomes inhibited and he cannot go through with it,though the next morning in an effort to keep her with him, Don Jaime tellsher that he has seduced her. (1973). .
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