Surrealism and Cinema

by Michael Richardson

Tracing the work of Luis Buñuel, Jacques Prévert, Nelly Kaplan, Walerian Borowcyzk, Jan Švankmajer, Raul Ruiz and Alejandro Jodorowsky, this book charts the history of surrealist filmmaking in both Europe and Hollywood from the 1920s to the present day. At once a critical introduction and a provocative re-evaluation, Surrealism and Cinema is essential reading for anyone interested in surrealist ideas and art and the history of film.

Genres: Film

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Ray Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly comprehensive and with a good analysis especially of Jan Svankmajer's work - but also sometimes containing some harsh subjective convictions that are seemingly used to dismiss certain filmmakers

Most obvious are the two sentences dedicated to David Lynch. Dismissing his work as non-surrealist seems strange, especially in the wake of Inland Empire which was released just after the publication of this book

[David Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe a bit too opinionated at times but all in all, a good overview of surrealist cinema. You will definitely come away with a good list of names to go away and research to broaden your knowledge. Even a definition of what is Surrealism in cinema seems just as far away as before I read this but I have a feeling that this elusiveness may be part of the design laid down by these filmmakers. More often than not, they defy expectations or characterisation and refuse to fit any genre mould.