1930’s Shock Movies

The paper compares/contrasts the 1930 movies – Jean Cocteau’s `The Blood of a Poet` and Dali/Bunuel’s The Andalusian Dog.

The paper discusses parallels between the two works, discusses symbolism in the films. It shows how the period of 1920-1930 was one of experimentation and pushing of new borders and how these films are classic examples of this new genre. The writer explains how both films reject the laws of traditional narrative principles, provoke thought and are abundant with symbols.
The birth of cinematography as a new art form enabled artists to explore new possibilities of experimenting and shocking the viewers with scandalous novelty. In the 1920s-1930s experimental filmmaking flourished in Paris, where the filmmakers were less inhibited by traditional morals and guidelines. It is probably the major reason why two of the outstanding experimental films of the century Bunuel’s Un chien andalou (The Andalusian Dog) and Cocteau’s Le sang dun poete (The Blood of a Poet) were conceived and created there. Despite their author’s dislike for each other and each others’ work the films strangely resemble one another.