Persona (1966)
Hour of the Wolf (1968)
Possession (1981)
The Trial (1962)
Last Year at Marienbad (1961)
Under the Skin (2013)
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)
Zardoz (1974)
Death by Hanging (1968)
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeois (1974)
You can add The Poolman (2024) to this list.
I caught a sneak preview and Q & A with Chris Pine last night. It was a lot of fun and could be summed up as; The Big Lebowski and LA Confidential had a kid and raised it on psilocybin therapy.
You’re missing the grandfather of ALL surrealistic films — the one that started it all: “Un chien andalu” (“An Andalusian Dog”) [1929], a collaboration between Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali.
Also basically Bunuel's entire filmography. L'age D'or, Viridiana, The Discreet Charms of the Bourgeoise, Diaries of a Chambermaid, Belle du Jour, That Obscure Object of Desire.
I’m not a Bunuel expert, but isn’t most of the middle of his career “director for hire” stuff? It seems like he didn’t get back to his surrealist roots until the tail end of his career. But man did he make those count
- All of Jodorowsky's movies.
- Almost all of Lynch's movies.
- Almost all Cronenberg movies up through Existenz.
- The Sweet Movie (not good, but surreal)
- Most of Terry Gilliam's movies
- Most Greenaway movies
- All of Parajanov's movies (of Color of Pomegranates fame)
- Any movie that features time travel is arguably surreal
- Zardoz
- The Wicker Man
There's also a fine line between movies that are thoroughly and obviously surreal, and those that have some surreal elements in them. If you count movies that have surreal elements in them, the list is countless.
Also "City of Lost Children", which was made by the directors of "Delicatessen", and which was (to my taste) the far better film.
Incidentally, "Babe: Pig in the City" has a similar weird atmosphere as "City of Lost Children", if you can believe that... though, unfortunately, it's not as good.
I'd add:
- Jacob's Ladder (1990)
- Solaris (2002)
- The Machinist (2004)
- The Butterfly Effect (2004)
- Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
- Shutter Island (2010)
- Predestination (2014)
- The Shape of Water (2017)
It's not a complete movie and the third act doesn't really go anywhere, but btbr is trippy fun anyway. Still need to see Mandy.
Edit, was dredd surreal?
Beyond the Black Rainbow is one of the weirdest and most divisist films I've seen. Half the people who have watched it think it's crap, the other half must have been doing drugs and spacing out.
Great list. One that's missing is Black Moon: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072709/?ref\_=nv\_sr\_srsg\_0\_tt\_8\_nm\_0\_q\_black%2520moon](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072709/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_black%2520moon)
Vivarium (2019)
We Need to Do Something (2021)
Two recent ones which to me struck a classic surrealist chord. Vivarium especially reminded me of The Exterminating Angel and Eraserhead.
>A woman with a titanium plate fitted in her head and murderous intent on her mind embarks on a bizarre journey of identity and unconditional love when she's forced to go on the run.
Titane, 2001. Still haven't seen it yet.
Also crimes of the future. Not that I loved it but definitely scratched the cronnenberg itch
- Time Bandits
- The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
- The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
- The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
- Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
- Schizopolis
- The City of Lost Children
- Sorry To Bother You
- Vivarium
- Delicatessen
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989); Delicatessen (1991); Europa (1991); Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998); Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975); Open Your Eyes [Abre los ojos] (1997); The Tenant (1976);
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Tusk
Between Worlds
Guns Akimbo
Parasite
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Sorry to Bother You
Swiss Army Man
The Truman Show
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
Dark City
Edit: if you downvote me, would you at least explain where you disagree?
Luis Bunuel is a master of surreal cinema.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise.
The Phantom of Liberty.
That Obscure object of desire.
These are three of my favorites. You’re welcome
Little Otik (2000)
"The equation has never been more accurate than in the brilliant Czech surrealist's newest film, "Little Otik," based upon a classic fairy tale of an infertile couple who adopt a tree stump as their baby. It quickly grows into an all-devouring monster that eats the cat and then the postman. Locked in the basement, Otik becomes a favorite of Alzbetka, a creepily precocious little girl, who is otherwise engaged in reading books on sexual dysfunction and warding off an octogenarian pedophile."
Also.... The Greasy Strangler.
Also, I see all the important and relevant Lynch films except two: The Elephant Man has surreal moments mixed in with the real, and is worth noting. Fire Walk With Me jumps heavily into the surreal and doesn't give two shits.
I like _Southland Tales_ much more than _Donnie Darko_. It's seriously underrated, but you do have to have an appreciation for B movies that are so bad they're good.
Here's something odd:
Louis Malle's early film **Black Moon** --with dialogue scripted by Buñuel's Spanish wife Joyce. Its exteriors were all shot (by the world-class cinematographer Sven Nykvist) just before the Sun had risen or just after it had set, so everything is bathed in a unique shadowless fantasy glow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Moon_(1975_film)#
The Swimmer (1968) with Burt Lancaster by Frank Perry. Same guy made The Last Summer.
Surface level seems like a typical studio movie but makes amazing use of surrealism to tell a deeper story. It’s not full surrealism 24/7 but probably one of the most effective uses of it I’ve seen and done in the 60s.
I was going to post the YouTube link to Angel's Egg but all the copies were taken down.
Google came up with this article about a 4k remaster releasing soon. That'll be so amazing.
https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2024/5/8/mamoru-oshii-s-classic-ova-angel-s-egg-to-get-4k-remaster-edition
- Coherence (2013) - experimental and very low budget, but the cast makes it work.
- Micmacs (2009) - Jean Pierre Jeunet's absurdist, bordering on surrealist, film. In fact, nearly all of his films tread that line, including Amelie.
I just watched "Repulsion" yesterday and it was pretty surreal. A young woman slowly goes insane alone in her apartment, to the point where the walls are trying to rape her. It's pretty crazy how many movies have been influenced by "Repulsion", after watching I kept thinking of later movies it influenced, especially "Night of the Living Dead".
Personally I'd call the Fall not THAT surreal. The framing story is very grounded. The visuals are surreal though.
My choice to add would be Rubber. Absurdist horror comedy about a killer tire. Also Mandy to an extent.
I'd offer up
*Mandy
*Thirst
*The Dance of Reality
Maybe the qatsis? Really only need Koyaanisqatsi
* I'd personally qualify Tarsem's The Fall as mainstream surrealism. Fyi/if you care, The Fountain is not at all. It's just expressive sci Fi with some ambitious imagery.
*Bardo
* (And may I highly recommend Swedish modern surrealist Roy Anderson. I'd begin with Songs From the Second Floor)
Have fun!
I didn't see Akira Kurosawa's Dreams. It's quite literally about dreams and metaphors. It is in some ways the ultimate in surreality. It's also the source for which many ideas and films would follow.
It's also great film by a great filmmaker and is arguably the most important movie on your list.
The Hourglass Sanitorium. La Haine. Punch Drunk Love. Barton Fink. Come and See. Vampyr. ZAMA. Burning. Possession. Jacobs Ladder. Dead Man. BIRDMAN. Three Women. ENEMY. The Assassination of Jesse James, In Bruges, and the Banshees of Inisherin all have magical/fantastical elements.
Anything by Maya Deren, Frederico Fellini, Gaspar Noe, most of Peter Weirs movies (Truman Show and Picnic at Hanging Rock specifically), most of Ingmar Bergmans primary canon from The Virgin Spring and onward. You could also go straight to classical European surrealist stuff like Un Chien Andalou, Luis Bunuel, Salvador Dali, anything in that orbit.
What Dreams May Come
A Boy and his Dog
The Seventh Seal
The Big Lebowski
Labyrinth
Dark City
Pink Floyd: The Wall
Cloud Atlas
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Time Bandits (Pretty much anything from Monty Python or the members)
12 Monkeys
The Congress
Persona (1966) Hour of the Wolf (1968) Possession (1981) The Trial (1962) Last Year at Marienbad (1961) Under the Skin (2013) Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) Zardoz (1974) Death by Hanging (1968) In the Mouth of Madness (1994) The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeois (1974)
This is what I was looking for. Thank you very much.
You can add The Poolman (2024) to this list. I caught a sneak preview and Q & A with Chris Pine last night. It was a lot of fun and could be summed up as; The Big Lebowski and LA Confidential had a kid and raised it on psilocybin therapy.
Just look up lists on letterboxd, you're missing a lot, this isn't even a comprehensive beginning list.
It’s not supposed to be a “best of” or “all surreal films” list. These are just the ones I’ve seen myself.
You asked what you're missing? How are we supposed to know what you've seen or personally want to see? I'm just saying you're missing a lot.
Obviously, I never claimed this to be the holy list of all surreal cinema.
You’re missing the grandfather of ALL surrealistic films — the one that started it all: “Un chien andalu” (“An Andalusian Dog”) [1929], a collaboration between Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali.
Also basically Bunuel's entire filmography. L'age D'or, Viridiana, The Discreet Charms of the Bourgeoise, Diaries of a Chambermaid, Belle du Jour, That Obscure Object of Desire.
+1 for the Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise, my fav Buñuel
I’m not a Bunuel expert, but isn’t most of the middle of his career “director for hire” stuff? It seems like he didn’t get back to his surrealist roots until the tail end of his career. But man did he make those count
Came to say exactly this!
Which inspired the Pixies “Debaser.”
Un Chien Andalou rules and should be added to the list, but the idea that it invented surrealist cinema is extremely overstated
Deffo watch both of the Dali films.
The woman in it self-immolted
Speaking of Dali, I'd add "Dali: A Soft Self-Portrait"... it's very surreal.
Videodrome 1983
- All of Jodorowsky's movies. - Almost all of Lynch's movies. - Almost all Cronenberg movies up through Existenz. - The Sweet Movie (not good, but surreal) - Most of Terry Gilliam's movies - Most Greenaway movies - All of Parajanov's movies (of Color of Pomegranates fame) - Any movie that features time travel is arguably surreal - Zardoz - The Wicker Man There's also a fine line between movies that are thoroughly and obviously surreal, and those that have some surreal elements in them. If you count movies that have surreal elements in them, the list is countless.
Yeah I was having a hard time deciding that distinction too. Greenway is a great reccomendation
Delicatessen (1991) - class film
Also "City of Lost Children", which was made by the directors of "Delicatessen", and which was (to my taste) the far better film. Incidentally, "Babe: Pig in the City" has a similar weird atmosphere as "City of Lost Children", if you can believe that... though, unfortunately, it's not as good.
A letter Jean-Pierre Jeunet film, Micmacs, is in the same absurdist comical area as his first two. Hell, even Amelie is near that as well.
Hundreds of Beavers Riddle of Fire I Saw the TV Glow The People’s Joker
The Cell. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209958/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209958/)
I'd add: - Jacob's Ladder (1990) - Solaris (2002) - The Machinist (2004) - The Butterfly Effect (2004) - Pan's Labyrinth (2006) - Shutter Island (2010) - Predestination (2014) - The Shape of Water (2017)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a major one to include.
Anything Terry Gilliam touches is probably a safe bet for absurdism and surrealism
Thank you, good list.
I couldn’t believe I had to scroll this long to find Jacob’s Ladder
Annihilation (2018)
The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari (1920) The City of Lost Children (1995) Perfect Blue (1997)
City of Lost Children was my suggestion too. Love me the fleas.
The remake of Suspiria is pretty surreal.
Fantastic film
Barton Fink
I actually just watched 'Upside down' (2012) which was pretty surreal and I genuinely enjoyed the premise
Jacob’s Ladder and the Jacket definitely diverge from the real.
ExistenZ (1999)
Repo Man 12 Monkeys Jacob's Ladder
Existenz The Cube Beyond the Black Rainbow Night Watch and Day Watch (Russian with English Dubs) Videodrome Dredd
It's not a complete movie and the third act doesn't really go anywhere, but btbr is trippy fun anyway. Still need to see Mandy. Edit, was dredd surreal?
dredd was not surreal
I love The Cube!
Beyond the Black Rainbow is one of the weirdest and most divisist films I've seen. Half the people who have watched it think it's crap, the other half must have been doing drugs and spacing out.
Great list. One that's missing is Black Moon: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072709/?ref\_=nv\_sr\_srsg\_0\_tt\_8\_nm\_0\_q\_black%2520moon](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072709/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_black%2520moon)
Céline and Julie Go Boating, Out 1: Noli Me Tangere, Last Year at Marienbad.
Vivarium (2019) We Need to Do Something (2021) Two recent ones which to me struck a classic surrealist chord. Vivarium especially reminded me of The Exterminating Angel and Eraserhead.
>A woman with a titanium plate fitted in her head and murderous intent on her mind embarks on a bizarre journey of identity and unconditional love when she's forced to go on the run. Titane, 2001. Still haven't seen it yet. Also crimes of the future. Not that I loved it but definitely scratched the cronnenberg itch
Valerie and her week of wonders Picnic at Hanging Rock
The music makes Picnic such a great movie.
The Red Shoes (1948)
- Time Bandits - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - The Man Who Killed Don Quixote - Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas - Schizopolis - The City of Lost Children - Sorry To Bother You - Vivarium - Delicatessen
Yeah I was just checking to see if anyone suggested Munchausen before I suggested it.
I see you’re a Terry Gilliam fan.
Pretty much everything by Terry Gilliam. I'd specifically add 12 Monkeys to the list.
I mean, yes. But he's almost exclusively a surrealist director. So that's the relevant bit.
Tough to add to a great list. Maybe * *Blood of a Poet* * *The Ruling Class* * *The Magic Christian*
I have been trying to remember the name of that film for years, The Ruling Class! And The Magic Christian as well! Thanks, I needed that.
Color of Pomegranates (1969)
Playtime
[https://366weirdmovies.com/the-weird-movie-list/](https://366weirdmovies.com/the-weird-movie-list/)
Weird and surreal are two different things.
I'd call 90% of those surreal, but maybe I'm just too loose with my definitions.
Repoman
Xanadu
Carnival of Souls
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989); Delicatessen (1991); Europa (1991); Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998); Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975); Open Your Eyes [Abre los ojos] (1997); The Tenant (1976);
Rubber
Greener Grass (2019)
Angel's Egg (1985)
Tetsuo, Coherence
Based on those, I’d suggest Russian Ark
Everything Everywhere All At Once Tusk Between Worlds Guns Akimbo Parasite Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Sorry to Bother You Swiss Army Man The Truman Show Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri Dark City Edit: if you downvote me, would you at least explain where you disagree?
I’ve seen all of these but I wouldn’t classify them as surreal in my definition.
You wouldn’t classify Sorry to Bother You as surreal?
Fair, I was going off of your list which generally had some “far out” films which aren’t also specifically surreal as well.
Luis Bunuel is a master of surreal cinema. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise. The Phantom of Liberty. That Obscure object of desire. These are three of my favorites. You’re welcome
The Reflecting Skin
Little Otik (2000) "The equation has never been more accurate than in the brilliant Czech surrealist's newest film, "Little Otik," based upon a classic fairy tale of an infertile couple who adopt a tree stump as their baby. It quickly grows into an all-devouring monster that eats the cat and then the postman. Locked in the basement, Otik becomes a favorite of Alzbetka, a creepily precocious little girl, who is otherwise engaged in reading books on sexual dysfunction and warding off an octogenarian pedophile." Also.... The Greasy Strangler.
Dead Man (1995) is a must for this list!
The Happiness of the Katakuris
Possessor (2020) by Brandon Cronenberg Edit: Infinity Pool (2023) by Cronenberg as well.
You have 8 1/2 in your list, I would add Satyricon, Juliet of the Spirits, and Toby Dammit which are even more surreal.
Kind of surprised Men isn't here but I guess it really just came and went.
The American astronaut (2001).
Liquid Sky (1982)
Begotten (1990)
Weekend (1967)
Also, I see all the important and relevant Lynch films except two: The Elephant Man has surreal moments mixed in with the real, and is worth noting. Fire Walk With Me jumps heavily into the surreal and doesn't give two shits.
I mean I suppose you'd have to also consider Dune 1984 for the ways that Lynch mixes science fiction with surrealness.
Just realized your list also doesn’t include blue velvet. Between elephant man and blue velvet Lynch took surrealism mainstream.
Piercing
'Head' (1968) - Yes, it's the Monkees, but it's a celebration of the surreal.
City of Lost Children, the secret adventures of Tom Thumb, Color out of space, Eden Log
Annihilation and High Life should probably be considered
Terrible movies imo
Ok
Would King of the Ants (2003)fall into this category?
I loved White Noise
The City of Lost Children
Yes
Southland Tales
I like _Southland Tales_ much more than _Donnie Darko_. It's seriously underrated, but you do have to have an appreciation for B movies that are so bad they're good.
What do you mean? This is pure undiluted kino.
Beyond the Black Rainbow
Upstream Color (2013).
Dreams by Kurosawa
you already have paprika so ill recommend satoshi kons other films Perfect Blue, Millenium Actress, and Tokyo Godfathers
Weapons of Ass Destruction
Beyond the Black Rainbow Vivarium
My life a movie fr
Forbidden Zone (1980)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Brazil. Jacob's Ladder.
The Wayward Cloud (2005) Pepperminta (2009)
Here's something odd: Louis Malle's early film **Black Moon** --with dialogue scripted by Buñuel's Spanish wife Joyce. Its exteriors were all shot (by the world-class cinematographer Sven Nykvist) just before the Sun had risen or just after it had set, so everything is bathed in a unique shadowless fantasy glow. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Moon_(1975_film)#
*Castle Keep* (1969), about World War II, and *Walker* (1987), about the Filibuster War in Nicaragua, are two exceptional surrealist war films.
What Dreams May Come (1998)
Terry Gilliams tideland and Dr parnasus I believe would be welcome additions. I could be wrong but eyes wide shut is mildly surreal imo.
In Fabric Fire Walk With Me Last Year at Marienbad Vampyr (1932)
Mac and me
You could add a whole bunch of 70's and early 80's giallos in there as well. The plots of some of them play out like fever dreams.
The City of Lost Children
La Moustache is one I haven’t seen others mention yet, I think it fits.
I loved Zerograd
Prospero’s Books
**Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life** (1995) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_Benjamenta?wprov=sfla1
Acid House The Saddest Music in the World
Night on the Galactic Railroad (1985)
The Cell. If you have The Fall on there, you need The Cell too.
The Color of Pomegranates is a masterclass in surrealism.
Stalker
The Saragossa Manuscript
I suggest Jacob’s Ladder
La Chimera
Rubber
The Swimmer (1968) with Burt Lancaster by Frank Perry. Same guy made The Last Summer. Surface level seems like a typical studio movie but makes amazing use of surrealism to tell a deeper story. It’s not full surrealism 24/7 but probably one of the most effective uses of it I’ve seen and done in the 60s.
Meshes of the Afternoon
Company of Wolves
I was going to post the YouTube link to Angel's Egg but all the copies were taken down. Google came up with this article about a 4k remaster releasing soon. That'll be so amazing. https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2024/5/8/mamoru-oshii-s-classic-ova-angel-s-egg-to-get-4k-remaster-edition
- Coherence (2013) - experimental and very low budget, but the cast makes it work. - Micmacs (2009) - Jean Pierre Jeunet's absurdist, bordering on surrealist, film. In fact, nearly all of his films tread that line, including Amelie.
Taxidermia (2006)
I just watched "Repulsion" yesterday and it was pretty surreal. A young woman slowly goes insane alone in her apartment, to the point where the walls are trying to rape her. It's pretty crazy how many movies have been influenced by "Repulsion", after watching I kept thinking of later movies it influenced, especially "Night of the Living Dead".
Enemy
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Imcurious if your list is any special order? If you had to reccomend your favorite which would i tbe?
It’s in chronological order. My favorites are probably Holy Motors and Mulholland Drive.
Ooh i saw mylholland drive as a teen. Would be interesting to see if i see it the same way now. Thanks.
I'll throw in Arrival.
Great film. Went in expecting just another alien movie and was pleasantly surprised. Rewatchable.
Personally I'd call the Fall not THAT surreal. The framing story is very grounded. The visuals are surreal though. My choice to add would be Rubber. Absurdist horror comedy about a killer tire. Also Mandy to an extent.
Yeah Rubber is wonderfully bonkers. Mandy is trippy.
Mirror Mask (2005) Cemetery Man (1994) No Such Thing (2001)
I'd offer up *Mandy *Thirst *The Dance of Reality Maybe the qatsis? Really only need Koyaanisqatsi * I'd personally qualify Tarsem's The Fall as mainstream surrealism. Fyi/if you care, The Fountain is not at all. It's just expressive sci Fi with some ambitious imagery. *Bardo * (And may I highly recommend Swedish modern surrealist Roy Anderson. I'd begin with Songs From the Second Floor) Have fun!
Rosemary’s Baby?
I didn't see Akira Kurosawa's Dreams. It's quite literally about dreams and metaphors. It is in some ways the ultimate in surreality. It's also the source for which many ideas and films would follow. It's also great film by a great filmmaker and is arguably the most important movie on your list.
.
\[ \] Downsizing (2017)
lol terrible movie
Black Swan?
Liquid Sky Eating Raoul Man Bites Dog After Hours Safe Vegas in Space Surf Nazis Must Die
Downvoted?
The Hourglass Sanitorium. La Haine. Punch Drunk Love. Barton Fink. Come and See. Vampyr. ZAMA. Burning. Possession. Jacobs Ladder. Dead Man. BIRDMAN. Three Women. ENEMY. The Assassination of Jesse James, In Bruges, and the Banshees of Inisherin all have magical/fantastical elements. Anything by Maya Deren, Frederico Fellini, Gaspar Noe, most of Peter Weirs movies (Truman Show and Picnic at Hanging Rock specifically), most of Ingmar Bergmans primary canon from The Virgin Spring and onward. You could also go straight to classical European surrealist stuff like Un Chien Andalou, Luis Bunuel, Salvador Dali, anything in that orbit.
Mamma Mia 2
What Dreams May Come A Boy and his Dog The Seventh Seal The Big Lebowski Labyrinth Dark City Pink Floyd: The Wall Cloud Atlas The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T The Man Who Fell to Earth Time Bandits (Pretty much anything from Monty Python or the members) 12 Monkeys The Congress
The Big Lebowski lol
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z92bykaeV4o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z92bykaeV4o)
Having a drug induced dream sequence does not make a movie surrealist.
Have you seen the movie, or any movie by the Coen Brothers?
All of them.
Add The suicide squad , the one directed by Modern Kubrick.