MovieChat Forums > Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (1972) Discussion > To someone who's never seen Bunuel, is t...

To someone who's never seen Bunuel, is this the place to start?

posted 14 years ago by nihilistic_tyranny
4 replies | jump to latest

I have actually never seen Bunuel...
So, which do you think is his best film, what's a good one to see first, and how many of his films are great?
This is actually somewhat shameful for me...
I've seen every Hitchcock film (yes, all forty-something) every Lynch film (including every episode of Twin Peaks twice) a ton of Takashi Miike and Sion Sono films, lots of Bergman, most of Haneke, some Truffaut, some Kieslowski, most Gus Van Sant, a few Pier Paolo Pasolini, all of Solondz, all but the newest of Wes Anderson, most PTA, all Cohen Brothers but Blood Simple, every single freaking Cronenberg film, plenty of Romero, most Larry Clark, plenty of Roman Polanski, all Harmony Korine (except his newest, Trash Humpers,) quite a few Chan-Wook Park, some Cassavettes, about half of Woody Allen, Noe...
So you can see just how diverse my taste in film is.
I love Asian films but as you can see I'm not quite as familiar with European cinema (well, though I listed quite a few Euro directors I've seen less of their films than I have of others, so maybe that list is a bit inaccurate.)
I've seen a lot of freaking movies...but no Bunuel.
I've heard Viridiana and Discreet Charm are good, I'm familiar with Un Chien Andalou's premise and notoriousness, and Belle Du Jour's plot description reminds me a bit of a mix of Hitchcock's Marnie, Polanski's Repulsion, and a touch of Bergman's Persona.
So...where should I start?

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[–] publiusdiamond 14 years ago

You cite an impressive repertoire so I'd say this was probably a good place to start. For the less initiated then I'd say Belle De Jour or El Angel Exterminador.

[–] ilpohirvonen 14 years ago

I've always liked to start getting to know a director chronologically. It's not the best way for everyone, because the first ones might be the worst! since it is good that a director progresses. But I personally like this way. I've did it with Godard, Truffaut and Tarkovsky at least. But then there are many with whom I didn't do it. And if one's not familiar with European cinema I think Bunuel's not the best choice to start with - he's one of the greatest directors of all time. Even that one can simply watch Belle de jour as a evocative drama it has so many layers within. If I were you I'd start watching older European films first such as Jean Renoir, Jean Vigo, Jacques Tati, Jean Epstein etc. But that's just my opinion. If I were you I'd start from Un Chien Andalou, or if the chronological way seems dull; I'd start with Belle de jour.

[–] OliverBagshaw 14 years ago

I think this film would be a fair place to start, really. It seems you're familiar with films that are not exactly "easily accessible." A lot of the filmmakers you have mentioned are some of my favourites, and hopefully with that, you might have a similar experience as to I with this film - I found it hilarious in areas and always rather interesting: it was the first Bunuel film I watched. I wouldn't recommend it to many people unless if I was truly confident in that they would appreciate it.

[–] sonnythefat 8 years ago

Start with belle de jour. Hint.1/4 second shot is the base of the film. Discrete charm is more fun .
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