Luis Buñuel Articles

One of the things I like best about Luis Buñuel's films is their clinical subversiveness. From Susana to Viridiana, from Nazarin to The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Buñuel relentlessly attacks social conventions and mores without ever resorting to cheesy sentimentality, feel-good phoniness, or crappy life-affirming situations. Perhaps that's why Buñuel isn't nearly as revered today as many of his lesser contemporaries. Buñuel's 1974 effort [...]

EL LABERINTO DEL FAUNO / PAN'S LABYRINTH (2006) Direction and screenplay: Guillermo del Toro Cast: Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil, Álex Angulo, Manolo Solo Oscar Movies Recommended Ivana Baquero, Pan's Labyrinth "If you expect to get laid after this screening," Guillermo del Toro told the midnight (actually, closer to 1 a.m.) audience at the AFI FEST Los Angeles 2007 premiere [...]

Joe Dallesandro, Maria Schneider in Jacques Rivette's Merry-Go-Round (Photo: Des Filles des Garçons) Maria Schneider Obit Pt.2: Ingmar Bergman – LAST TANGO IN PARIS "About Homosexuals" In fact, bouts of mental illness and drug addiction, and even a suicide attempt — Daniel Gélin had similar problems in his life — helped to prevent Schneider from forging ahead professionally. Compounding matters, she also feared being typecast [...]

Ingrid Bergman, Gary Cooper in Sam Wood's For Whom the Bell Tolls (top); "The Last Supper" scene in Luis Buñuel's Viridiana (middle); Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider in Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris (bottom) The ludicrous censors at the Motion Picture Association of America and their precursors at the Production Code Office have always had counterparts in other countries. Whether for political, religious, social, economic, [...]