Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: After an evening at the opera, the aristocratic Nobile invites guests for a lavish supper at his home on Providence Street. But as his guests arrive, his staff are desperate to leave, slipping away before even the meal is served. As the evening of polite small talk and light entertainment starts to drag, the guests find themselves inexplicably unable to leave-overstaying their welcome by days rather than hours-and the veneer of civility they have carefully nurtured begins to fall and their plight becomes serious. A scathing attack on the rites of the bourgeoisie, The Exterminating Angel is among Luis Buñuel's best and most highly regarded films. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Cannes Film Festival, ...The Exterminating Angel (UK) ( El Ángel exterminador )
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 62 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
One of Bunuel's best films, even if it could have been even better, if he would have waited ten years to produce it with greater actors and technique. But the problem here is that there are two very important scenes missing: the guests that will be unable to leave the party should have been seen entering the house twice (Yes, it's absurd, but it has a profound link with the fact that they can't leave.) This DVD unfortunately did cut both of the scenes, as if they were an error. Unforgivable.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This version of the film has been edited to remove a repeated shot; where the dinner guests enter the house at the start of the story. If you have never seen the film before you might not know that this DVD does not present the film as Bunuel intended.
The repeated shot in question is at the start of the film when we are shown the guests entering the grand hallway twice, separated by a shot of the maids sneaking out the front door. Not only is this very disorientating, it is also the start of a series of double takes and repeats throughout the narrative which are crucial to the denouement of the film. To my mind its absence make quite a difference.
Before I bought this Arrow DVD I emailed the company to ask if the reports of missing shots was true. They assured me that it was the correct version of the film and included the repeated shot - well it doesn't - the scene is missing. My correspondence with them would indicate that they are surprised to discover this as they thought the shot was included.
Further research has unearthed one plausible answer to its absence: possibly the owners of this particular print, having little knowledge or understanding of the film, assumed that the repeated shot was a lab error and had it cut out.
This is a no frills, no extras DVD taken from a reasonable quality print. The whites can get a bit hot but on the whole the rich B & W photography of the original is reasonably well transferred. But it's still a major disappointment because of the missing shot which does affect the balance of the film in my opinion.
The repeated shot in question is at the start of the film when we are shown the guests entering the grand hallway twice, separated by a shot of the maids sneaking out the front door. Not only is this very disorientating, it is also the start of a series of double takes and repeats throughout the narrative which are crucial to the denouement of the film. To my mind its absence make quite a difference.
Before I bought this Arrow DVD I emailed the company to ask if the reports of missing shots was true. They assured me that it was the correct version of the film and included the repeated shot - well it doesn't - the scene is missing. My correspondence with them would indicate that they are surprised to discover this as they thought the shot was included.
Further research has unearthed one plausible answer to its absence: possibly the owners of this particular print, having little knowledge or understanding of the film, assumed that the repeated shot was a lab error and had it cut out.
This is a no frills, no extras DVD taken from a reasonable quality print. The whites can get a bit hot but on the whole the rich B & W photography of the original is reasonably well transferred. But it's still a major disappointment because of the missing shot which does affect the balance of the film in my opinion.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
As a dinner party for wealthy arostocrats is beginning, the hosts are suddenly faced with an inexplicable mass walkout as one by one their staff leave, each with their own reason. As the evening draws to a close, equally inexplicably, none of the guests find themselves able to leave. Breaking all their social taboos they all sleep on the floor in the dining room, beginning to become violent, lustful and degenerate as the days wear on. A crowd gathers outside, and equally none of the trapped partygoers' friends or relatives find themselves able to get in.
This is a great story; it plays out like a film-length version of one of the older style "Twilight Zone" episodes, and also has the lovely sting in the tail that goes with it. There are some surreal moments as well, including the random appearences of a bear and sheep inside the house and a disembodied floating hand.
There are clear stabs here by the director at what he sees as the aloofness of certain social groups considering themselves more civilised then others; the aristocracy, the masons, and the church.
Filmed in the 1960s in black and white and with subtitles to the Spanish dialogue, none of this detracts from a great story and an engrossing film.
This is a great story; it plays out like a film-length version of one of the older style "Twilight Zone" episodes, and also has the lovely sting in the tail that goes with it. There are some surreal moments as well, including the random appearences of a bear and sheep inside the house and a disembodied floating hand.
There are clear stabs here by the director at what he sees as the aloofness of certain social groups considering themselves more civilised then others; the aristocracy, the masons, and the church.
Filmed in the 1960s in black and white and with subtitles to the Spanish dialogue, none of this detracts from a great story and an engrossing film.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Flawed Classic From The Master Of Surrealism And Satire
Made in Mexico, Luis Bunuel's 1962 film The Exterminating Angel is a sharply inventive satire on class and social convention. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Keith M
Re-issue please
One star for a masterpiece! - and one of Bunuel's most intriguing films - Why? Well, two other reviewers point out the lunatic editing that has been perpetrated on this film - it... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. Charles R. Day
Three Meals From Revolution...Surrealist Comedy From Mexico
I wonder what was Bunuel's conception of the ideal viewer or viewing party for this film. Something of a surrealist puzzle, it requires several viewings and sharp eyes to find the... Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2010 by Philoctetes
The best B&W art movie of all?
Bunuel is one of the greatest moviemakers of all times and this is his best work.
Mordant, funny, ironic verging on sardonic, yet occasionally sympathetic to the
plight... Read more
Mordant, funny, ironic verging on sardonic, yet occasionally sympathetic to the
plight... Read more
Published on 28 Oct 2009 by B. Moret
Take away logic and the servants...
This film was done after his belated and brief return to Spain to film his masterpiece'Viridiana'.This follow up made in Mexico shows how he dispensed with logic,removed... Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2009 by technoguy
Savages in the making.
Bunuel does it again - juxtaposing the superficiality and fragile characteristics of bourgoise society with the innate qualities of the beast that lies not very far from the human... Read more
Published on 8 May 2008 by Room For A View
Not as good as it could have been
I read a detailed review for this years ago. It sounded great. So as soon as I heard that it had been released on DVD I bought it.
It is good, but not great. Read more
It is good, but not great. Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2006 by BS on parade
Surreal and dark
I first saw this film about 10 years ago when i was at college and have been waiting a long time for it to come out on DVD. Read more
Published on 29 Aug 2006 by P. Sanders
The real purpose of Surrealism"
The first thing you should know about "The exterminating angel" is that its director, Luis Buñuel (1900-1983), is a Surrealist. Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2005 by M. B. Alcat
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
