"Although the surrealists didn't consider themselves terrorists, they were constantly fighting a society they despised. Their principal weapon wasn't guns, of course; it was scandal."
-Luis Bunuel
Here at Slaves of the Extraordinary, we are all about pushing boundaries, forward thinking and visual imagery. So, today we are going to pay homage to the brilliant short film that did exactly this; Un Chien Andalou.
Un Chien Andalou, a surrealist film produced by director Luis Bunuel and artist Salvador Dali, is one of the best known surrealist films of the 10920’s avant-garde movement. Neither the title nor anything else in the film was intended to make sense. To describe the movie is to simply list its shots, as the film has no plot or coherent storyline. Bunuel had stated that "No idea or image that might lend itself to a rational explanation of any kind would be accepted. We had to open all doors to the irrational and keep only those images that surprised us, without trying to explain why." Thus, Un Chien Andalou was created in the hope of administering a revolutionary shock to society.
"For the first time in the history of the cinema, a director tries not to please but rather to alienate nearly all potential spectators." - critic Ado Kyrou,
It is simply a film that needs to be experienced. Un Chien Andalou is possibly the most potent example of avant garde cinema and remans the most famous short film ever made. In 16 minutes the duo turned the world of cinema upside down and completely changed it forever. It remains hypnotising, breathtaking, and perfectly shocking to this day. Bunuel and Dali showed the world that art does not need to follow convention. Boundaries are broken to pave the way for innovation. They proved that extraordinary is the way forward.
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