Review of Un Chien Andalou (1929) by Peter H — 08 May 2011

Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali's UN CHIEN ANDALOU [1928]: Out of all of the Short Films made since the start of cinema none have become more infamous than the 1928 short Surrealist masterpiece UN CHIEN ANDALOU [ English translation AN ANDALUSIA DOG] by the notorious filmmaker Luis Bunuel and the legendary artist Salvador Dali. This film is legendary for two reasons the first reason being the slicing of a woman's eye with an old fashioned cut throat razor and then seeing the wound ooze with black liquid. And the second reason why this film is a legendary short film is for this films lack of any conventional logic behind its random and miscellaneous imagery and the desire to figure out this films meaning.

UN CHIEN ANDALOU has been analyzed by Film Historians, Art Historians, Film Critics and a fair few Movie buffs and admires of the Visual Arts and all have come up with various "Meanings" for this film. Even though this film's director the legendary Luis Bunuel made very clear in his writings that "No idea or image that might lend itself to a rational explanation of any kind would be accepted" and that "Nothing in the film symbolizes anything" despite that many meanings for UN CHEIN ANDALOU are still thrown around.

To comment on this films meaning is nothing more than a pointless effort in the context to Bunuel's statements about UN CHIEN ANDALOU.

With well over a month's absence from posting a review on this site for various reasons, I have chosen to again start reviewing a film with Bunuel's & Dali's warped Surrealist Masterpiece UN CHIEN ANDALOU. And trust me to pick a film of this type and to review it is not an easy thing to do after an absence of writing a review for a stretch of time.

But however reviewing the legendary UN CHIEN ANDALOU for me personally is somewhat of a labour of love due to it both appealing to two of my interests, Cinema and the Visual Arts. So in my first review for nearly a month I'm going to not give MY interpretation of this film non-existent meaning of bunch of irreverent surrealistic imagery but I'm going to give a oddly structured review-essay that covers a basic overview of the art movement Surrealism, how Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali came up with the idea with this film and in the second half my thoughts and feelings on this bizarre but brilliant juxtaposition of images called a short film.

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THE FIRST HALF.

Surrealism, Bunuel, Dali and UN CHIEN ANDALOU.

For the ones reading this review and being not familiar with the 20th century Art movement of Surrealism and who were Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali it's going to be a bit hard to understand what I'm going on about in the next half of this review. For the ones who know what Surrealism and who were Bunuel and Dali were, just feel free to skip to my view on this film in the next half. So following is quick overview of the background Surrealism, and UN CHIEN ANDALOU.

SURREALISM, A BRIEF OVERVIEW: As one of the numerous Western art movements that broke away with tradition in the first half of the 20th century. Surrealism was born out of the 1924 SURREALIST MANIFESTO by French Poet Andre Benton which spoke about The Liberation of the Unconscious mind through Art and Literature. The basic aims and principals of the Surrealist movement was that both art and Literature asserted the dream world of the unconscious had a reality that was superior to the realm of the senses.

Within the Surrealist Visual Arts such as Painting had its roots influenced by the Dada style and incorporated Sigmund Freud's emphasis on the unconscious mind. These surrealist paintings, photographs and films were a juxtaposition of dreamlike scenes presented odd, bizarre, absurd, irrational and hilarious images that showed objects and figures in an unnatural way that in the realm of the senses made absolutely no logical sense. Like in some surrealist paintings depicted things like Melting Clocks over tree Branches, Giraffes on fire, Tiny Steam Trains entering an empty room through a fire place and shoes with feet growing on the tips all had irrational logic in the realm of the senses.

With the likes of Surrealist Film also depicted odd, bizarre, absurd, irrational hilarious and also horrifying images. Films like RETURN TO REASON [1923], the film I'm talking about UN CHIEN ANDALOU, L'AGE D'OR [1930] and Bunuel's later films like THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL [1962], THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE [1972] all contained elements of the surrealist style like the odd imagery combined with some form of story or narrative in the film . With the likes of the film in question (UN CHIEN ANDALOU) is one of the early and most famous of all Surrealist films (and unlike other films) deliberately has no real form of narrative to it and no meaning. But to all film buffs reading this review, isn't the entire basic point of cinema to at lest to make a film with some form of narrative and with more of the greater films to inform or convey at least a basic message?

With the two warped artistic masterminds behind this short film the influential Art House and surrealist director Luis Bunuel and the legendry 20th century Artist Salvador Dali in most of their work conveyed an ideas, messages, themes or narratives. Bunuel's later films like THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE [1972] took swipes at the ailing European upper classes through a vague narrative and surreal images and most of the paintings by Salvador Dali do covey ideas and messages behind their images. But back before their later work started to covey meaning both Bunuel and Dali were two improvised Spanish artists who came to Paris around mid to late 1920's when the surrealist movement was taking root in Europe.

According to legend Bunuel told Dali about a dream he had were the moon was sliced in half by a passing cloud "Like a Razor Blade slicing Through an Eye". Then Dali responded with describing a dream were he saw a hand crawling with ants from a wound and it was with these two wild dreams that formed the basis UN CHIEN ANDALOU. With the writing of the film both Dali and Bunuel that there was only one rule to the writing of the film that 'No idea or Image that might lend itself to a rational of explanation of any kind would be accepted' and with the two dreams of both artists UN CHIEN ANDALOU was born. Which over 80 years later still perplexes almost everyone who views this film and wants to make sense out of images like a man pulling pianos with dead donkeys and priests attached.

THE SECOND HALF.

My Impression of UN CHIEN ANDALOU.

Well that's more than enough about the background to this film what do I the review honestly think about one of the most warped Silent films of all time? With some understanding of surrealism and having seen a few brilliant but odd films UN CHIEN ANDALOU reminds me why I love the JUPITER AND BEYOND sequence at the end of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY [1968]. The ending of that great film is visually amazing but in context to the prior narrative has a sudden destruction of the films rational logic and is replaced by surreal but beautiful imagery with the possibility of some form of meaning behind the images. But with UN CHIEN ANDALOU I like this film for similar reasons to the ending of 2001. I'm left in a daze by this films juxtaposition of imagery like the horrific opening were Bunuel slices open the eyeball with the razor and intercut with the moon being cut in half by a cloud, the hand crawling with ants, the sequence were the man tries to feels up the woman but after begin rejected drags a bizarre cargo of piano's, dead donkeys and priests. However unlike 2001 film which has a meaning that no one knows or can understand, with UN CHIEN I understand this films aim of deliberately confusing the viewer.

For a movie that has no rational, logic or narrative this one film I can really comment too much on. I find this film to be an important step in the development in cinema. The films that have been made with a surreal use of imagery and scenes like the ongoing work of David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky, some mainstream films with the sudden use of surreal images and most oddball art films played in Art Galleries throughout the world today, UN CHIEN ANDALOU made it all possible with it becoming the turning point in Art House cinema.

Do I admire this films importance? Yes I do. Do I admire this films bizarre uses of Images? Yes. Do I like UN CHIEN ANDALOU? Yes I do in fact this has become another favourite film in my ever-growing love of all films great, bad and good. But can I comment too much on the film? No I can't for its deliberate lack of logic, meaning and reason. And more importantly do I understand UN CHIEN ANDALOU? No I don't understand this film with any meaning, Hench over 80 years later Bunuel and Dali's film still perplexes someone who understands the whole aim of the film. My rating is a solid 100% for this odd work of art.