The Discreet Charm is the first Luis Bunuel film I've seen. I just watched it and really enjoyed the comedy and filmography. Yeah. I was just wondering which films of his people would recommend seeing next because he has so many. Or if it doesn't really matter. Thanks
shareI havent seen many of his either, but you should try his short film "Un Chien Andalou". It seems to be his most famous film.
shareThe film most similar to The Discreet Charm is That Obscure Object of Desire.
shareGo for The Phantom of Liberty and The Exterminating Angel.
shareHi,
I agree with the last poster, The Phantom of Liberty and The Exterminating Angel are similar in sensibility to this film. I haven't seen Obscure Object yet.
All of his films that I've seen are amazing...I think if you watch Chien Andalou as your next Bunuel film, you may be disappointed because it is very different, it was his first film and he was only exploring his style, but hadn't matured it yet (though it is a good film too.)
Some other personal favourites of mine are Viridiana, Tristana, Los Olvidados, El Bruto. They're all good. Also, Belle de Jour is fascinating, especially if you're a fan of Kubrick. Eyes Wide Shut was heavily influenced by Belle de Jour.
Good stuff
jjinx
I also thing that Pedro Almodovar has a similar way of storytelling, and after I saw this film, I immediately thought of him. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is one of my favourites...
That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it...
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The Discreet Charm is in my view Bunuel's funnest and perhaps best movie, but all of them have similar elements--scorn for the church and bourgeoisie, most of all. One of Bunuel's earliest, Los Olvidados, made a big impact on me; but be aware that it is not comic. You really can't go wrong with anything Bunuel made after (and including) Viridiana. The previous poster wisely stated that although the early shorts are very famous, they are quite different than the features he made from about 1960 on.
sharego and rent:
El ángel exterminador
Nazarín
Él
Viridiana
Los olvidados
Simón del desierto (not sure this one is available on DVD, though)
Cet obscur objet du désir.
Even weirder and definitively more surreal stuff:
Un chein andalou
L'âge d'or
Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well I have others
i just watched the phantom of liberty, and i liked it more than discreet charm. It might not be as funny(even though there are some very funny parts) but i think it is just better paced and very well put together.
shareI also found The Phantom of Liberty to be better structured. It's difficult to say with Bunuel, though. I'm going to watch The Milky Way next.
shareI recommend Simon Del Desierto which imo represents the pinnacle of his career.
sharei'm surprised no one here has mentioned l'age d'or. it was one of the first bunuel films i have seen and i still consider it one of the best. i would also highly recommend the phantom of liberty, exterminating angel, and simon of the desert.
shareI also would agree with the recommendations of THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY and EXTERMINATING ANGEL--along with THE MILKY WAY--as being the most similar to DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE and logical follow-ups, as such. I've only seen these once each a few years back but I remember them being in a very similar vein and from roughly the same time period.
A Buñuel film that I personally enjoyed, although it's quite dissimilar to DISCREET CHARM, was DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID. It stars the lovely Jeanne Moreau (from Truffaut's JULES ET JIM and Louis Malle's ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS) as the titular character and is a crime-drama that, while lacking the surreal imagery and comic touches of the aforementioned films, is rife with his usual sociopolitical commentary, along with sexual manipulation, murder, and perversion. It's definitely an interesting anomaly in Buñuel's filmography. This could be due to DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID being a collaborative adaptation--with screenwriter/actor Jean-Claude Carrière--of a novel from 1900; a novel by Octave Mirbeau which had previously been adapted by French master-director Jean Renoir in a 1946 Hollywood production.
Thank you everybody for very informative posts. I really appreciate your recommendations.
"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy."
--Anne Frank
Don't miss "La vida criminal de Archibaldo de la Cruz", "Susana" and "Él", all made in Mexico by Buñuel. Superb stuff.
shareI think no one has mentioned Robinson Crusoe yet . It's the only movie Buñuel ever shot in English and the only one that got an Oscar nomination for the acting ( I suppose the two things are strictly related ). It's needless to say that it's the best adaptation the novel has ever received . Anyway , all Buñuel movies deserve to be seen IMO . Next to Charme , my faves are "Viridiana" , "The Exterminating Angel" , "Un Chien Andalou" and "The Milky Way" .
shareI think no one has mentioned Robinson Crusoe yet . It's the only movie Buñuel ever shot in English
Thanks for the correction. Strange that I didn't know about this one. It must be because of the low profile cast.
shareDefinately seek out un chien Andalou which is Bunuels first film. It's quite bizarre but great nontheless. His later films are the most similar to The discreet charme (which is my favorite of his after 17 other movies). I'd recommend to watch Belle de jour and That Obscure object of desire next. You should not think of that Obscure object as a comedy like The Discreet charme. It's more of a Drama with subtle comedic hints. The most alike The discreet charme is The Phantom of Liberty but it got some pacing problems. Some of the scenes do drag in my opinion. It's still really good though (but not near discreet charme).
Another movie that is quite alike Discreet Charme is The Exterminating Angel. It's superb but it's a drama unlike the discreet charme.
Everything from Bunuels 60-70 period is well worth watching.
From his mexican period the 4 main ones are: Los Olvidados, Nazarin, El and The criminal Life of Archibaldo De la Cruz. However Los Olvidados and Nazarin are better than the two others while they are not surreal at all.
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You see things; and you say Why? But I dream things that never were and I say Why not?