Surrealist movies

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Surrealist movies

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Postby Ophelia » Sun Sep 06, 2015 11:32 pm

Personally, I'm a huge fan of these, and I imagine many people who hold EoE in high regards probably are too. What are your favorite movies from this genre? Why do you like the genre in itself? Feel free to post recommendations!

Of course, I consider EoE to be one and it's probably one of my favorite movies of all time. I also like a lot of David Lynch's stuff. One movie that's coming to mind rn is El Topo, an acid western from the 70's. I would recommend this to fans of Eva, actually, because there is a boatload of religious imagery and metaphysical concepts. Be warned, though, it's also pretty grisly and jarring.

IMO anything surreal is instantly interesting and though provoking. On the other hand it's often terrifying, but I seek out that sensation actively.

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Postby Trajan » Thu Sep 10, 2015 3:15 pm

Un Chien Andalou pretty much started the genre back in 1928. Salvador Dali was involved in its production as well. Director Luis Buñuel has done lots of other stuff with surrealism and surrealistic elements and is pretty famous among film buffs.
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Postby pwhodges » Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:24 pm

Mindgame is the only one that comes to my mind that I would call surreal (I'm not a movie buff); oh, and Paprika in parts.
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Postby unz » Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:34 pm

Alien9? It's a small thing though.

And yeah paprika is cool if anything because of kon's style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz49vQwSoTE

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Postby FreakyFilmFan4ever » Thu Sep 10, 2015 5:33 pm

Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast is a lighter form of surrealism than any of the titles mentioned so far, but is still worth a shot.

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Postby pwhodges » Thu Sep 10, 2015 5:38 pm

Does Donnie Darko count?
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Postby Ray » Thu Sep 10, 2015 5:40 pm

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You can't discuss Surrealism without talking about Ingmar Bergman's Seventh Seal

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Postby Reichu » Thu Sep 10, 2015 10:00 pm

Altered States comes to mind, for its classic depictions of drugged out and otherwise hallucinatory mindscapes. The film is based on a book about a scientist's search for the Almighty, and, although it's clearly a product of its time, it's fascinating stuff. Bonus: The protagonist pulls an Eva-01 at one point (you'll understand if you watch it...).

I'm also inclined to file Forbidden Zone as (very) "surreal", but I'm not sure if it would be "surrealism". This is a cult classic musical filmed on the cheap by Richard Elfman, featuring his brother Danny's very first (but no less excellent) soundtrack effort. The film is a live-action tribute to classic B&W cartoons by the Fleischer Bros. (especially Betty Boop, with its frequent Cab Calloway cameos), so that gives you a general idea of the level of sanity to expect. The art direction, camp acting, and score are all top notch.
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Postby chee » Fri Sep 18, 2015 8:03 pm

Last Year at Marienbad, Fellini's Satyricon, Angel's Egg, pretty much all the David Lynch ever, and some of Cronenberg, Tsukamoto and Miike's more out-there stuff.


Go forth and let your mind vagina be distended like the mighty oak


Edit: ...didn't notice you already mentioned lynch there.

Also just wanna add to that list literally anything that seeps out of Jodorowsky's brain and some Jan Svankmajer.

Oh and Oshii's early live-action stuff before he discovered that you could do shit to footage on a computer. Except Stray Dog: Kerberos Panzer Cops. Fuck Stray Dog.

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Postby Ophelia » Mon Jan 04, 2016 6:02 pm

Hey all! Sorry I was gone for so long, life got very busy for a bit there and then I forgot my login for awhile ... :shinji_boohoo:

View Original PostTrajan wrote:Un Chien Andalou pretty much started the genre back in 1928. Salvador Dali was involved in its production as well. Director Luis Buñuel has done lots of other stuff with surrealism and surrealistic elements and is pretty famous among film buffs.

I've put off watching this for a long time, mainly because of the eyeball scene, but I love Dali's work so I think I'm just gonna nut up and watch it already. Don't think I know Luis Buñuel but I'll research.

pwhodges wrote:Mindgame is the only one that comes to my mind that I would call surreal (I'm not a movie buff); oh, and Paprika in parts.


If Mindgame is still on Netflix I plan on watching it sometime soon! As for Paprika I am a proud owner of the DVD ^^

unz wrote:Alien9? It's a small thing though.


Like the OVA? I like it a lot!

FreakyFilmFan4ever wrote:Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast is a lighter form of surrealism than any of the titles mentioned so far, but is still worth a shot.

*adds it to my to do list*

pwhodges wrote:Does Donnie Darko count?

I would say so as it gets pretty trippy in some parts. Despite Frank is a hallucinatory rabbit abomination out of my nightmares, I am a fan of DD. Back when Jake Gyllenhaal possessed his cute boyish charm.

Ray wrote:You can't discuss Surrealism without talking about Ingmar Bergman's Seventh Seal


I'm gonna sound like a complete tool after saying how much I love surrealist films but I have never heard of this film or film maker. Nonetheless it seems very interesting so I'll look it up!

Reichu wrote:Altered States and Forbidden Zone

I'll add them both to my list. When was Altered States made? (I could easily Google this but just incase you'd like to expound I thought I'd ask.) I love camp and B&W cartoons so I'll probably watch Forbidden Zone first!

chee wrote:Last Year at Marienbad, Fellini's Satyricon, Angel's Egg, and some of Cronenberg, Tsukamoto and Miike's more out-there stuff.

Also just wanna add to that list literally anything that seeps out of Jodorowsky's brain and some Jan Svankmajer.

Oh and Oshii's early live-action stuff before he discovered that you could do shit to footage on a computer. Except Stray Dog: Kerberos Panzer Cops. Fuck Stray Dog.


My dad is a Fellini fan so I could probably sit and watch a movie with him. I'm familiar with the overall essence of his work, and I remember being weirdly unnerved by even the most innocuous moments in a video clip I was shown. Now I just need to watch one of his movies in it's entirety.
I liked Angel Egg, I thought it was beautiful. And I've seen Jodorowsky's El Topo and loved it (it scared the shit out of me), but not his other stuff so I'll have to get on that too. Saw a few of Svankmajer's films in art school, his stop motion stuff is really neat.

The Japanese directors: I recognize Miike's name, mainly because he directed Ichi the Killer, right?

chee wrote:Go forth and let your mind vagina be distended like the mighty oak


But of course.

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Re: Surrealist movies

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Postby Kazuki_Fuse » Mon Jan 04, 2016 9:35 pm

Would Gummo fall under such a category?
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Re: Surrealist movies

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Postby Ophelia » Tue Jan 05, 2016 4:49 pm

View Original PostKazuki_Fuse wrote:Would Gummo fall under such a category?


Gummo is actually one of my favorite movies! However, I don't think it's surreal as much as it is just "weird". But who's to say?


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