Luis Buñuel Portolés (Spanish: [ˈlwis βuˈɲwel poɾtoˈles]; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. Buñuel's work was known for its avant-garde surrealism which was also infused with political commentary and social satire. Often associated with the surrealist movement of the 1920s, Buñuel made films from the 1920s through the 1970s. He collaborated with prolific surrealist painter Salvador Dali creating the films Un Chien Andalou (1929), which was made in the silent era and L'Age d'Or (1930). The two films are seen as the birth of Cinematic surrealism. From 1947 to 1960 he developed his skills as a director filming in Mexico making grounded and human melodramas such as Gran Casino (1947), Los Olvidados (1950), and Él (1953). Here is where he gained the fundamentals of storytelling. Buñuel than transitioned into making artful, unconventional, surrealist, and political satirical films. He earned acclaim with the morally complex arthouse drama film Viridiana (1961) which criticized the Francoist dictatorship. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival. He then criticized political and social conditions in The Exterminating Angel (1962), and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise (1972) the later of which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. He also directed Diary of a Chambermaid (1964), and Belle de Jour (1967), as well as his final film That Obscure Object of Desire (1977) the later of which earned the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director. Buñuel earned five Cannes Film Festival prizes, two Berlin International Film Festival prizes, and a BAFTA Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards. Buñuel received numerous honors including National Prize for Arts and Sciences for Fine Arts in 1977, the Moscow International Film Festival Contribution to Cinema Prize in 1979, and the Career Golden Lion in 1982. He was nominated once for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. Seven of Buñuel's films are included in Sight & Sound's 2012 critics' poll of the top 250 films of all time.
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 22, 1900
- July 29, 1983 (aged 83)
- Calanda, Teruel, Aragón, España
- Writer, director, actor, editor and producer, also composer
- 29 on MovieCove · 58 credits in all
What are Luis Buñuel's films like?
Across their 27 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Society.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 8 · Wry 4 · Earnest 15
A split, not a type: Light 6 · Serious 8 · Dark 13
A split, not a type: Grounded 12 · Stylized 8 · Heightened 7
A split, not a type: Gentle 5 · Charged 9 · Intense 13
Steady 9 · Shifting 14 · Whiplash 4
Straight-faced 16 · Some laughs 10 · Funny 1
Slow burn 15 · Even-paced 12 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 17 · Full focus 6
A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 8 · Heavy 13
A split, not a type: Resolved 8 · Open-ended 7 · Ambiguous 12
Moods and endings
- Happy4
- Bittersweet6
- Tragic5
- Ambiguous11
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Luis Buñuel's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 18 of their 29 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (9).
- The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) · director, writer · free
- The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (1955) · director, writer · free
- Tristana (1970) · director, writer, producer · free
- The Milky Way (1969) · actor, director, writer, composer · free
- The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) · writer · free
- L'Age d'Or (1930) · actor, director, writer, composer, editor · free
- Death in the Garden (1956) · director, writer, editor · free
- Robinson Crusoe (1954) · director, writer · free
- Siren of the Tropics (1927) · assistant director · free
- Viridiana (1961) · director, writer, editor
- That Obscure Object of Desire (1977) · director, writer
- Simon of the Desert (1965) · director, writer
- The Exterminating Angel (1962) · director, writer
- The Phantom of Liberty (1974) · actor, director, writer
- Belle de Jour (1967) · actor, director, writer
- Robinson Crusoe (1954) · director, writer
Subscription and free streaming for Luis Buñuel's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
58 credits, 29 with a MovieCove page; 20 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Short Cuts: “The Diary of a Chambermaid” by Luis Buñuel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
Constel·lació Portabella (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
The Metropolitan Opera: The Exterminating Angel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
Belle toujours(2006)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Eating Sea Urchins (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
La novia de medianoche (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Paco, mi padre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
A Play About Remembering and Dying (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Phantom of Liberty(1974)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Fall of a Body (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
The Monk(1972)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Johnny Got His Gun(1971)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Tristana(1970)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
The Milky Way(1969)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Belle de Jour(1967)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
There Are No Thieves in This Village (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Simon of the Desert(1965)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Weeping for a Bandit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Diary of a Chambermaid(1964)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
The Exterminating Angel(1962)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Viridiana(1961)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Young One(1960)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Fever Mounts at El Pao(1959)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Nazarin(1959)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Death in the Garden(1956)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
This is Called Dawn(1956)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
The River and Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Robinson Crusoe(1954)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Wuthering Heights (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Él (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
The Brute(1953)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
A Woman Without Love(1952)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Mexican Bus Ride (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)
Daughter of Deceit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Susana(1951)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
Si usted no puede, yo sí (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
The Young and the Damned(1950)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
The Great Madcap (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)
Gran Casino (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)
Espagne 1937 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)
Guard! Alert! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
Spain 1936 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
Who Loves Me? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
The Daughter of Juan Simón (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)
Don Quintin the Bitter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)
Land Without Bread (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
L'Age d'Or(1930)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Un Chien Andalou (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)
Montparnasse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Siren of the Tropics(1927)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Mauprat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)
Carmen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)
Career shape
A full career of 58 titles from 1926 to 2026.
Biggest box office
Belle de Jour (1967)
Highest rated
The Young and the Damned (1950)
Most popular right now
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
Film career
- 1929Screen debut· Un Chien Andalou
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Luis Buñuel's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 88th percentile, the median of all 29; across their 27 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 86th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up21
- 50th to 74th7
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
16 of their 29 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved11
- Crowd Pleaser16
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 58/100 and the plot and story 55/100 in their films, across 27 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Luis Buñuel's work okay for kids?
Across up to 10 MovieCove titles with content scores, every category sits near the median of all films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Luis Buñuel work with?
People who share at least 2 of Luis Buñuel's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jean-Claude Carrière shares the most, 7.
Writers
- Jean-Claude CarrièreShared titles: That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), The Phantom of Liberty (1974), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), The Monk (1972), The Milky Way (1969), Belle de Jour (1967), Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)See all 7 shared titles with Jean-Claude Carrière
- Luis AlcorizaShared titles: The Exterminating Angel (1962), Fever Mounts at El Pao (1959), Death in the Garden (1956), Illusion Travels by Streetcar (1954), The Brute (1953), The Young and the Damned (1950)See all 6 shared titles with Luis Alcoriza
- Julio AlejandroShared titles: Tristana (1970), Simon of the Desert (1965), Viridiana (1961), Nazarin (1959)See all 4 shared titles with Julio Alejandro
- Benito Pérez GaldósShared titles: Tristana (1970), Viridiana (1961), Nazarin (1959)See all 3 shared titles with Benito Pérez Galdós
Actors
- Michel PiccoliShared titles: The Phantom of Liberty (1974), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), Belle de Jour (1967), Diary of a Chambermaid (1964), Death in the Garden (1956)See all 5 shared titles with Michel Piccoli
- Fernando ReyShared titles: That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), Tristana (1970), Viridiana (1961)See all 4 shared titles with Fernando Rey
- Julien BertheauShared titles: That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), The Milky Way (1969), This is Called Dawn (1956)See all 4 shared titles with Julien Bertheau
- Luis Aceves CastañedaShared titles: Simon of the Desert (1965), Fever Mounts at El Pao (1959), Nazarin (1959), Death in the Garden (1956)See all 4 shared titles with Luis Aceves Castañeda
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Carlos SavageShared titles: Simon of the Desert (1965), The Exterminating Angel (1962), The Young One (1960), Nazarin (1959), Robinson Crusoe (1954), The Young and the Damned (1950)See all 6 shared titles with Carlos Savage
- Gabriel FigueroaShared titles: Simon of the Desert (1965), The Exterminating Angel (1962), The Young One (1960), Fever Mounts at El Pao (1959), Nazarin (1959), The Young and the Damned (1950)See all 6 shared titles with Gabriel Figueroa
- Jorge BustosShared titles: The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (1955), Illusion Travels by Streetcar (1954), The Brute (1953), The Proud and the Beautiful (1953), A Woman Without Love (1952), Susana (1951)See all 6 shared titles with Jorge Bustos
- Raúl LavistaShared titles: Simon of the Desert (1965), The Brute (1953), A Woman Without Love (1952), Susana (1951)See all 4 shared titles with Raúl Lavista
Producers
- Óscar DancigersShared titles: Fever Mounts at El Pao (1959), Death in the Garden (1956), Robinson Crusoe (1954), The Brute (1953), A Woman Without Love (1952), The Young and the Damned (1950)See all 6 shared titles with Óscar Dancigers
- Serge SilbermanShared titles: That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), The Phantom of Liberty (1974), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), The Milky Way (1969), Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)See all 5 shared titles with Serge Silberman
- Sergio KoganShared titles: The Brute (1953), A Woman Without Love (1952), Susana (1951), The Young and the Damned (1950)See all 4 shared titles with Sergio Kogan
- Gustavo AlatristeShared titles: Simon of the Desert (1965), The Exterminating Angel (1962), Viridiana (1961)See all 3 shared titles with Gustavo Alatriste
Mixed roles
- Jean AurencheShared titles: The Proud and the Beautiful (1953), L'Age d'Or (1930)See all 2 shared titles with Jean Aurenche
