Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Un Chien Andalou


"Un Chien Andalou" was the brainchild of Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel and artist Salvador Dali and is the highly influential harbinger of surrealist filmmaking. Designed to shock, the twenty minute short is constructed like a nightmare, featuring illogical, nonlinear, and now famous imagery, which includes a man with ants on his hands and the jarring eyeball slashing scene. Even its title has no significance or relevance towards the plot. From subsequent short films and music videos, through low-budget and experimental films, and up unto the films of David Lynch and the like, you can see this short's weird and immeasurable influence.