Review of Un Chien Andalou (1929) by Charles R — 05 Oct 2013

A vastly influential short film, and yes, it's *that* one where they show the eyeball being sliced ("Slicing eyeballs, whao-oh-oh-oh! - Frank Black). For fans of Lynch and laudinum. 5/5 Most of the events that transpire sound far more grotesque than the film actually portrays them - the infamous eye-slicing scene actually transpires on a starry moonlit veranda, bearing none of the insidiousness that usually would accompany such a brutal act of violence.

But lest the eyeball scene steal the show, Luis Bunuel and Dali dive headfirst into a maddening absynthian trip that pairs Buster Keaton-esque physical comedy with outlandish imagery that defies all explanation, scored by Wagner and chintzy tangoes.

All in all, this is a film of epic, RANDOM absurdity, and yet it still remains easily accessible and oddly mesmerizing, and most definitely worthy of its notorious influence amongst the weirdos of American classic cinema.