El ángel exterminador (1962)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writer:

Luis Buñuel (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 August 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

Plot:

The guests at an upper-class dinner party find themselves unable to leave.

Plot Keywords:

Guest | Party | Room | Upper Class | Closed Society

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Silvia Pinal	...	Leticia 'La Valkiria'
Enrique Rambal	...	Edmundo Nobile
Claudio Brook	...	Julio, Mayordomo; Steward
José Baviera	...	Leandro Gomez
Augusto Benedico	...	Carlos Conde; Doctor
Antonio Bravo	...	Sergio Russell
Jacqueline Andere	...	Alicia de Roc
César del Campo	...	Alvaro, Coronel; Colonel
Rosa Elena Durgel	...	Silvia
Lucy Gallardo	...	Lucía de Nobile
Enrique García Álvarez	...	Alberto Roc
Ofelia Guilmáin	...	Juana Avila
Nadia Haro Oliva	...	Ana Maynar
Tito Junco	...	Raúl
Xavier Loyá	...	Francisco Avila

Also Known As:

The Exterminating Angel (USA)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | UK:12 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, México D.F., Mexico

Company:

Producciones Gustavo Alatriste

Trivia:

Luis Buñuel has publicly stated that he considers the film a failure and that if he shot it later in Paris, he would have gone more extreme with it (cannibalism).

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: After the butler trips in the dining room, the lady of the house follows him into the kitchen. While they speak the boom mic can clearly be seen at the bottom of the screen, extending out from under a table.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Buñuel y la mesa del rey Salomón (2001)

Is this a tale for 2006?

I saw this film for the first time on TCM this week. It was really thought provoking. What fascinated me was that there were people in the room who had all sorts of skills to figure out the problem and become free, but did not. Another intriguing aspect was that nothing: marriage, love, death, children, jobs, or intelligence and logic was enough to solve the problem. The solution comes in a very interesting way and the least likely person. I hope you will watch and check it out. There was also a strong parallel between the catholic church and the people trapped in the room. I wondered if they were illustrating the socialist belief that 'religion is the opiate of the people.' The sheep were not eaten by the bear and all of these symbols were politically interesting. I have never written a review before and I hope I have not included any spoiler but this is a movie I would love to discuss over coffee: it is intelligent, mesmerizing, and a lesson for our time.