The fact that George Melies foresaw in 1902, that showing off scantly-clad women loading a bullet into a very large, very phallic chamber, would stimulate audiences. This in turn, would become a staple in Hollywood, and with this film, Bunuel and Dali try to do the same thing with "shock value". Forget the symbolism and imagery, That part is easy. It's the SHOCK VALUE baby. Shock value in 1928 no less.
There are two scenes actually. The famous eye ball scene (that one is easy) and the molestation scene, with flashes of nudity seen throughout. That is something you don't expect from a classic silent film. All this happening way back in 1928, topped off by a dead deer. It is the shock value that makes this film good. As soon as you see the razor blade scene you are hooked, because something in you kicks in and makes you want to know what the hell just happened. When you are exhausted by the images flashing across the screen, they throw in the attempted rape in the molestation scene. Add all this with the imagery and symbolism and the film accomplishes the ultimate goal by getting the viewer to think about the film hard. It stimulates thought and discussion.
I saw this film for the first time in college in the early 90s, but for the purposes of this review, I watched it three times. The best form of a story I was able to put together is, it is a story about a box with religious clothing in it, that travels through time and space. It acts as a portal between good and evil, and evil may have won in this case. Of course, I could be way off and the film could mean nothing. But, as I mentioned before, it stimulates the thought processes.
The easy part of this film is studying the use of symbolism (a Dali staple), imagery and montage. This film pioneered avant-garde, film-making and influenced many after it. It contains great uses of dissolves and editing for collage purposes. The only bad spot is the scene in the woods as they carry away the body. It has too many, bad jump cuts, however it is capped off with a beautiful shot at the very end of the scene. As a former film-student I really like this film, not really for what it is, but mostly for what it has accomplished since it was originally released. The best friend that this film has is the fact that it is from 1928.
9.1 (A- MyGrade) = 9 IMDB.
There are two scenes actually. The famous eye ball scene (that one is easy) and the molestation scene, with flashes of nudity seen throughout. That is something you don't expect from a classic silent film. All this happening way back in 1928, topped off by a dead deer. It is the shock value that makes this film good. As soon as you see the razor blade scene you are hooked, because something in you kicks in and makes you want to know what the hell just happened. When you are exhausted by the images flashing across the screen, they throw in the attempted rape in the molestation scene. Add all this with the imagery and symbolism and the film accomplishes the ultimate goal by getting the viewer to think about the film hard. It stimulates thought and discussion.
I saw this film for the first time in college in the early 90s, but for the purposes of this review, I watched it three times. The best form of a story I was able to put together is, it is a story about a box with religious clothing in it, that travels through time and space. It acts as a portal between good and evil, and evil may have won in this case. Of course, I could be way off and the film could mean nothing. But, as I mentioned before, it stimulates the thought processes.
The easy part of this film is studying the use of symbolism (a Dali staple), imagery and montage. This film pioneered avant-garde, film-making and influenced many after it. It contains great uses of dissolves and editing for collage purposes. The only bad spot is the scene in the woods as they carry away the body. It has too many, bad jump cuts, however it is capped off with a beautiful shot at the very end of the scene. As a former film-student I really like this film, not really for what it is, but mostly for what it has accomplished since it was originally released. The best friend that this film has is the fact that it is from 1928.
9.1 (A- MyGrade) = 9 IMDB.