UN CIHIEN ANDALOU: Amazon.ca: Pierre Batcheff, Simone Mareuil, Luis Bu�uel, Salvador Dal�, Robert Hommet, Marval, Fano Messan, Jaume Miravitlles, Albert Duverger, Jimmy Berliet: DVD

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great film, lousy DVD, Feb 7 2005

By A Customer

This review is from: UN CIHIEN ANDALOU (DVD)

The movie is great, obviously: it's bizarre, dreamlike and fascinating.

However, this DVD release is very disappointing. There has been no attempt at restoring the film: the transfer is from a battered, wobbly, dirty print. Maybe that's forgiveable, but more disgraceful is a bit of video interfence two thirds of the way in which looks like it was caused by a chewed up videotape - this on a DVD release!! This is blatantly an over-hasty transfer.

The extras are disappointing - the commentator talks about the Surrealist movement of the 1920s, saying little specific about the film itself; indeed, he spends most of the time discussing Artaud, not Bunuel. Then there's an interview with Bunuel's son who talks about the village Bunuel came from; again, there's little about the movie. I'm all for leaving 'Un Chien Andalou' open to interpretation but that's no reason for saying nothing at all about it.

In summary, if you love the film, but already have it on VHS, there's no real reason to splash out on the DVD. You won't learn anything new, and do you really need chapter selection on a film this short?

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Amazon.com: 3.7 out of 5 stars (35 customer reviews)

63 of 68 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars deserves better treatment for DVD, Jan 1 2005

By Aging Punk - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: UN CIHIEN ANDALOU (DVD)

The Facets DVD of Un Chien Andalou is a disgrace. The frame was severly cropped at the top (some scenes feature actors lopped off at their foreheads). Contrast was boosted to the point where significant detail is lost. As if this weren't enough, there is a wide unsightly glitch running horizontally across the screen that lasts for 5 or so frames. Despite the interviews with Bunuel's son which are the only things worth the time here, I would avoid this disc. The film itself I think is great. It's a shame that a staple of art cinema has been handled so poorly for DVD.

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Great film, horrible DVD, Sep 15 2005

By Patrick J. Mccart "pjmccart" - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: UN CIHIEN ANDALOU (DVD)

The video is geometrically distorted, interlaced, has blown out contrast, almost no detail at all, and horrible sound. TransFlux Films should be ashamed for putting out such poor quality work, yet including a featurette on the cover designer.

Everyone should avoid this DVD and go for the BFI double feature with L'Age D'Or, which has a watchable Un chein andalou for a change.

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing Surrealistic Short, April 9 2005

By Westley - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: UN CIHIEN ANDALOU (DVD)

Luis Bunuel made his directorial debut with 1929's "Un Chien Andalou" -- a 17 minute short film. The film was made in collaboration with the great surrealistic artist, Salvador Dali; this pairing was repeated for the 1930 masterpiece "L'Age D'Or." Viewing the first tentative steps of two giants is obviously fascinating, which is enough to recommend "Un Chien Andalou."

As with other great surrealistic films, the plot, such as it is, does not make any sense. Of course, themes can be derived from the work, although surrealism essentially is meant to be non-thematic. Some of the images from "Un Chien Andalou" are shocking and justifiably famous -- most notably a scene depicting a straight razor slicing into a woman's eyeball. Yes, these scenes are somewhat disgusting but also amazing for a film over 75 years old.

The film has not been updated or cleaned up at all, so the DVD image is somewhat murky. Bunuel added a music track in 1960 to what was originally a silent film; the score works beautifully. The DVD extras include an interview with Bunuel's son in which he discusses "Un Chien Andalou" as well as his father's rather tumultuous relationship with Dali. An audio commentary by Spanish surrealism expert Stephen Barber is also included; unfortunately, this track is pretty much unlistenable as Barber drones on about the history of surrealism in a deadly dull manner. Skip the audio commentary and just enjoy Bunuel's work as is.

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