Luis Buñuel
![](https://tds-images.thedailystar.net/upload/gallery/image/arts/luis.jpg)
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish filmmaker active from the 1920s through the 1970s, having worked in Spain, Mexico and France. His first short “Un Chien Andalou”, made in the silent era, was often viewed as one of the best short films, and his last film “That Obscure Object of Desire” won him Best Director awards from the National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics. Six of Buñuel's films are included in Sight & Sound's 2012 critic's poll of the top 250 films of all time. Fifteen of his films are included in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?'s list of the 1,000 greatest films of all time, which is tied with John Ford for second most, and he ranks number 14 on their list of the top 250 directors. Buñuel was born in Calanda, Spain, on February 22, 1990. The oldest of seven children, Luis had two brothers and four sisters. Even as a child, Buñuel was something of a cinematic showman. He also excelled at boxing and playing the violin. Buñuel's interest in films was intensified by a viewing of Fritz Lang's Der müde Tod. In 1925 Buñuel moved to Paris, where he began work as a secretary in an organization called the International Society of Intellectual Cooperation. He became actively involved in cinema and theater, going to the movies as often as three times a day. Through these interests, he met a number of influential people, including the pianist Ricardo Viñes, who was instrumental in securing Buñuel's selection as artistic director of the Dutch premiere of Manuel de Falla's puppet-opera El retablo de maese Pedro in 1926. Buñuel died on July 29, 1983.
Buñuel's films were famous for their surreal imagery, including scenes in which chickens populate nightmares, women grow beards, and aspiring saints are desired by lascivious women. His work spans three languages, and nearly every film genre, including experimental film, documentary, melodrama, satire, musical, erotica, comedy, romance, costume dramas, fantasy, crime film, adventure, and western. Despite this variety, filmmaker John Huston believed that a Buñuel film is so distinctive as to be instantly recognizable. Even in the many movies he made for hire, such as Susana and The Great Madcap, he usually added his trademark of disturbing and surreal images. Buñuel never explained or promoted his work, remaining true to his early insistence on defying symbolic interpretation.
Awards:
Career Golden Lion in 1982 by the Venice Film Festival
FIPRESCI Prize – Honorable Mention in 1969 by the Berlin Film Festival
In 1977, he received the National Prize for Arts and Sciences for Fine Arts
At the 11th Moscow International Film Festival in 1979, he was awarded with the Honorable Prize for the contribution to cinema
Selected Filmography:
Un Chien Andalou 1929
L'Age d'Or 1930
Gran Casino 1947
El Gran Calavera 1949
Susana 1951
Tristana 1970
Cet obscure objet du désir 1977
Comments