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Un chien andalou (1929)
Un Chien Andalou (1929): A Pioneering Dive into Cinematic Absurdism and Avant-Garde Brilliance
I can confidently assert that "Un Chien Andalou" is one of the most renowned and organically avant-garde films ever created in the history of cinema, especially within the broader context of Underground Film. Who has never witnessed the iconic scene featuring a razor (or a knife?) slicing a woman's eye (as most are aware, an actual cow's eyeball was used in its creation)? This iconic moment places Buñuel and Dalí's film in the category of classic cinema, although the general consensus among scholars, film aficionados, and art critics is that it belongs to the broader conceptual framework of "predecessors of underground film." More specifically, it was celebrated in the late 1920s as a definitive work of "avant-garde" cinema, both in terms of aesthetics, form, and production methods. Alternatively, its thematic elements were well-established, drawing from the surrealism movement and other forms of art dating back to the preceding decade, particularly within the realm of fine arts, not within cinema itself.
This is precisely why platforms like Letterboxd and IMDb firmly classify "Un Chien Andalou" as an avant-garde film in their synopses. Its place in this category is not solely due to its primary innovations, as preceding it was René Clair's "Entr'acte" (1924), which, though different in some aspects, can be categorized as experimental and somewhat aligned with the Russian montage style. "Un Chien Andalou" more accurately fits the avant-garde category within cinema, while "Entr'acte" could be seen as experimental, leaning towards Dadaism rather than Surrealism. This perspective places Clair's film within the experimental>avant-garde>underground>cult sequence. On the other hand, Buñuel and Dalí's work is characterized by a coherent plot, yet it deliberately avoids adhering to any logical sequence, similar to the practices of Dadaists. Its significance lies not only in its disconnected scenes but also in the surreal situations involving both living and deceased animals and individuals. It is, in many ways, the precursor to what I would refer to as the "absurdism" in cinema, primarily known for its major influence on the emergence of the "Theatre of Absurdum" in the 1960s Warholian times.
Additionally, "Un Chien Andalou" prompts further reflections on the contrast between European and American cinema. It stands as a testament to the fact that it is not an avant-garde creation hailing from Hollywood or American cinema. It should also be viewed as a significant work of art from that era.
Entr'acte (1924)
innovate, aesthetically confrontational and certainly avant-garde
I watched Entr'acte (1924) during my first encounter with underground films, specifically in its avant-garde subgenre from the 1920s. This film, along with Buñuel-Dali's Un Chien Andalou (1927), immediately captivated me. Concurrently, I was studying Maya Dere's films, which inspired me to start creating my own underground/amateur/experimental short films between 2012 and 2015.
In Sheldon Renan's book on Underground Film, Entr'acte is considered one of the most impressive avant-garde films ever made. Renan labels it a "predecessor" of the underground film movement, which was then categorized as avant-garde. Entr'acte truly deserves this recognition because, considering the etymology of the term, it was undoubtedly a film ahead of its time. It stood apart from the mainstream Hollywood productions that dominated the era. René Clair, Man Ray, and Marcel Duchamp were acutely aware of the offerings to the strict bourgeois elite in Paris during a ballet concert. In the interlude between acts, they courageously introduced surrealist and dadaist ideas in film, challenging the norms of the time. This act demonstrated that Europe, particularly France, could also pioneer something revolutionary in this art form, breaking away from the conventions of Hollywood and mainstream cinema.
I would like to point out a particular scene in Entr'acte that could be interpreted as a metaphor for this subtle opposition to mainstream Hollywood and commercial films. In this scene, a man in Entr'acte fires a bullet from a shotgun directly at a balloon, which releases a dove. This imagery serves as a metaphor for liberation from the rigidity of standards not only within hegemonic Hollywood but also in cinema at large. It symbolizes the beginning of a new era, marked by the freedom to experiment with various forms and aesthetics. This period reached its peak in the 1960s, embracing a wide range of films that, while diverse in aesthetics, shared the spirit of freedom to explore cinematic possibilities. These filmmakers and artists, along with their successors, played a crucial role in advancing film techniques, many of which were developed specifically for their unconventional creations.