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ASIN : B0000560QI
Customer Reviews
'Land Without Bread' might be Bunuel's masterpiece (2004-05-02)  'Un chien andalou' (1928) is the best-known film on this video and is a fascinating work in its own right, but the real masterpiece here is undoubtedly 'Land Without Bread' ('Las Hurdes'). As great as most of Bunuel's subsequent films would be, this 27-minute 1932 work arguably towers above them all. Calling it a documentary would not do justice to its unrivaled breadth: among other things, this film asks the questions 'what is a documentary?' and 'what is the role of the documentarist?', and this prevents us from using definitive, short-circuiting labels. In fact, no label could conceivably express this film's power. The controversy surrounding this work has three main sources: 1) some of the sequences have apparently been staged by Bunuel; 2) the impersonal narration seems in direct contrast to the pain and tragedy that unfolds on the screen; 3) so is Bunuel's choice of using Brahms's Fourth symphony as background music. For these reasons, cinephiles have been disagreeing for over 70 years about Bunuel's treatment of human and animal misery in this film. For me, his audacious technique creates a space - a window - between the viewer and the plight of the Hurdanos; it is this space that somehow transfigures their misery, rather than merely exploit it (as some have suggested). The film becomes a true initiation for the viewer: it provides a difficult, troubling but potentially life-changing experience. In the end, Bunuel's intentions do not matter as much as the impact his film can have on those who see it; and for this viewer, he has carved a moving, mysterious and ineffable work.
At one time (2004-03-26) I find these films interesting for their period statements. At one time Un Chien Andalou was a statement about nothing. It is now, however, an exploration into metaphor that we never could never leave undiscovered. People may think they remain the same but their symbols are reused with new interpretations. This movie is like lost love rediscovered, forgetting the reason for the loss. Land Without Bread is such a racist, bigoted statement that it boggles the mind. Imagine a time when some human existence could be so distant that it was judged only appropriate for a carny sideshow. This movie is like a right wing view to a kill, totally without sensitivity or compassion. How we have changed.
bigyucca (2004-03-24) Good news for all Bunuel and Dali fans!! Un Chien Andalou DVD will release in April. The set will include the film, audio commentary, and a 15 minute interview with Luis Bunuel's son. It will most certainly be available on Amazon.com. If you'd like more information, you can email me at bigyucca68@yahoo.com
Any takers on the meaning of this film? No? (2003-12-31) Can't say I'm surprised really because neither do I! One guy on the video ( well my version of it ( which has two versions of the film ))says that this is a film about the sex-war and yada yada ya while another reviewer says this film is " indefinable "......so hold on if even a reviewer thinks this film is indefinable than what chance do we have of knowing......effectively zilch! We may have our own opinions on this film but the thing with this is that each is valid. If you hate this film for the basic fact that it didn't make sense.....you would be right because it effectively doesn't So why watch it? As funny as this may seem I don't really have an answer for that question. Blind fascination perhaps, that's all! As I was saying I have two versions of this. One that Bunuel used with the soundtrack of Wagner's Tristan Und Isolde, which you might find isn't fitting with the film ( perhaps that's the whole point ). The other soundtrack is made by Mauriccio Kagel which is far more experimental and more jarring to the person who watches the film. I don't know which version is used on the version that is sold to Americans.....neither do I know what the other film on the American version is like. I am only reviewing Un Chien Andalou - if I ever get the chance to review the other film I'll give my thoughts on that film as always
Un Chien Andalou/Land Without Bread/Film Without Purpose (2003-12-30)  Recently, I purchased and viewed my first Luis Bunuel film, Los Olvidados (The Young and the Damned). The film is very good, including some incredibly poignant and unforgettable images. I then decided to purchase and view one of his earlier works, likewise considered a masterpiece of film, Un Chien Andalou/Land Without Bread. This is awful. A mish-mash of mush! Its only redeeming quality is its brevity. Once again, here we have a film that is given much more credit than it deserves, and I'm starting to think that the reason this often happens is that: a) the movies are old and therefore deserve respect for being "groundbreaking" b) they are "enigmatic," which is the critically vogue term for "confusing," which is often the polite term for "stupid," which when inserted into the VCRs of sheltered and myopic film critics can be enigmatically transformed into "intellectual." What's more appalling than this film is the praise that is heaped upon it. So the eyeball scene is groundbreaking. So what? It's not all that! I suppose lifting up the blanket--twice--to view the dead baby was likewise groundbreaking. Try disgraceful. Un Chien Andalou/Land Without Bread is a mongrelization of meaningless movie-making that belongs on some dusty shelf in some vault catalogued for historical reference only. You've been warned.
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