Viridiana

"I can't take my eyes off of you." Don Jaime

☆☆☆☆☆ Masterpiece 

Viridiana (1961) is a virtuoso cinematic exploration of the duality of man and life.

Directed by Luis Buñuel.

Starring Silvia Pinal, Fernando Rey and Francisco Rabal among many others.


Buñuel is for me the quintessential maverick filmmaker. From Luis' first surrealist short film with Salvador Dali, Un Chien Andalou (1929) to his last film That Obscure Object of Desire, Buñuel never wavered from his iconoclastic, revolutionary filmmaking. Viewers of Luis' films are rewarded with a vast and varied oeuvre of masterpieces of celluloid. In Viridiana, Buñuel explores the duality of man and nature in a straight forward, non-surrealist fashion. On the one hand Luis shows us the face that every man and woman puts forward, on the other you see what lurks behind those men and women as life unfolds for them. Buñuel shows his characters and presents their stories in a non judgmental and humorous way. Characters are put into sticky situations and we get to see not only how they react to their predicament but how they change. Luis is like a lawyer who let's a judge pass judgement over their clients actions allows the viewers to come to their own conclusions on his characters and their actions within the story.

In the scene below carefully watch the dog on the opposite cart. Buñuel is playing with his audience to get them to pay attention to life's duality. The narcissistic, illegitimate son does a good deed and Luis shows through another passing dog tied to the back of a similar cart that life is not so simple. There are an endless parade of helpless creatures to save. Enjoy!

Film Scene

Trivia - Script originally approved by Spanish authorities, completed film banned by them and denounced by Vatican after winning Palme d'Or at films first screening.

Film Trailer

Original Script

Un Chien Andalou

"Dali and I made a silent film about our dreams." Bunuel

☆☆☆☆☆  Masterpiece

Un Chien Andalou (1929) is a silent short film masterpiece that revolutionized, scandalized, and forever changed cinema.

Directed by Luis Bunuel and co-written by Luis and Salvador Dali.

Starring Simone Marueil, Pierre Batcheff, Luis Bunuel and salvador dali among many others.

Bunuel and Dali showcased the potential of cinema to be more than just stories with narrative. It is a filmed with visuals and stories that don't make sense.

The key to understanding Un Chien Andalou is that it mirrors our dream world. Both Bunuel and Dali said they made it like their dreams. Luis was staying at Salvador's house in Paris. Bunuel told Dali about a dream he had of a cloud that sliced a full moon, like a razor slicing through an eye. Dali then told Bunuel about his dream of ants coming out of a hole in the palm of his hand. Dali suggested they start the movie right there. Bunuel asked his mother for a little money to make the short film. Dali and Bunuel wrote the screenplay while Bunuel acted and directed it. The film was completed in a few days. Luis and Salvador had only one rule; they would only film irrational images and not try to explain them. Just as their dreams had no logic or order so does their completed masterpiece.

I understand Bunuel on a spiritual level. When you watch Un Chien Andalou or especially Bunuel's later films, let the images Luis gives you, help you create your own story. Bunuel's images can mean anything you want them to mean, just like your dreams, which can be interpreted anyway you want. Make this irrational film, as rational as you would your dreams. Enjoy!

Film Scene

Trivia - The priest who is being dragged with the piano is Salvador Dali.

Film Trailer