L'Âge d'or (1930)

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

In order to understand this film one should know something about the history first.One should be aware of the miseries inflicted by man on another man due to reasons which I dare not mention here. It is not just cinema it is a STATEMENT,& GREAT BUNUEL was one of the very few who could make it. No other director in the profound history of cinema can ever touch a subject in this intricate yet absurd way.well, surrealism is often included in most of his films but i think the way he portrayed it has no parallel.I mean ,Bunuel never cared about awards or anything ,as to me the whole community of people who organize or are in the jury of any prestigious awards never meant much to him. He did what he always wanted to &that makes him to me as Hitchcock aptly said THE GREATEST FILMMAKER OF ALL TIME.

This movie is something. Exactly what it is I don't know! But if I did, then I guess Bunuel and Dali wouldn't have accomplished what they set out to do.It's full of haunting images and haunting juxtapositions of classical music and image (the uses of Wagner's Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde are especially striking!). The randomness of these images and scenes may put off some viewers, and it did take me a while to get into it, but they're likely to stick in viewers' minds for some time. In a way it reminds me of Bunuel's later The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, except this one has a couple's lovemaking constantly thwarted instead of dinner. While I didn't find this one to be quite as solid as that film, it certainly had its strengths.And I couldn't believe how despicable our hero was! Some of the things he does in this film are so wretched it's hilarious (such as punting a poor little doggy!). I also can't imagine that using the image of Christ in a scene based on the 120 Days of Sodom did much for the filmmakers' popularity at the time, but it is a striking way to end the picture. Last but not last, I just have to mention my favorite insane line from the movie: "What joy! What joy! To have murdered our children." This said by our heroine-of-sorts with a rapturous smile on her face.

The Man (Gaston Modot) and the Young Girl (Lya Lys) go through the film consumed by passion for each other. They long to be together but their moments together are constantly interrupted. The film is strewn together with imagery and comes to a halt after an hour.........do the lovers find happiness....?..The film starts interestingly with footage of scorpions but you soon realize that its all a pretentious piece of nonsense. It's made as a silent film with occasional dialogue and it has a non-stop soundtrack playing that at one point is so irritating that you will turn the sound down and want to watch it as a silent film. The continuous drum rolls must have driven cinema audiences mad. There are some genuinely funny moments, eg, when the Man kicks a dog and when he knocks over a blind man. Unfortunately, this humour is carried out in the name of art so its just pseudo nonsense. The film is crap.

Luis Bunuel was certainly a film maker who's films were a lightning rod for controversy. His first silent short, 'Une Chien Andelou'(with a screenplay written with Salvadore Dali)from 1929 was both a hit for audiences,as well as for psychologists who had a field day picking the Fraudien images apart. Despite a falling out with Dali during the screenplay writing phase for their next project (resulting in the two never talking to one another for the rest of their collective lives),Bunuel still,none the less,kept Dali's name on the credits (Dali also kept distance from the film,as well). The results were 'L'Age d'or',from 1930,which was an obvious attack on the ruling class,and it's tight moral structure, regarding sexuality. The film also took a number of pot shots at religion,family values,and other material that enraged French audiences so that in it's premiere,a full tilt riot broke out at the cinema that screened it in Paris. Because of this,the film was banned for over 50 years. To look at it now,it still packs a bit of a punch. The images are very surreal & dream like (i.e.it begins with what looks like a documentary of scorpions,and cuts to a totally unrelated series of short stories). This is a film that historians should see, as just what ticked off audiences back then. Besides the film's mostly French cast,it also features fellow surrealist artist,Max Ernst,in a small role as a bandit chieftain. Spoken in French with English subtitles. Not rated,this film does serve up some material that by today's standards would land it little more than a PG rating today (a few brief flashes of semi nudity,various sexual goings on,etc.),but shocked many back in the day.