Buñuel, Luis, << boon WEHL, buhn WEHL or boon yoo EHL, loo WEES, >> (1900-1983), was a Spanish-born film director and writer. He became famous for his realistic and often cynical films about modern society. His film The Young and the Damned (1950) is a grim study of juvenile delinquency in Mexico. Viridiana (1961) attacks religious hypocrisy. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, a satire on upper-class life, won the 1972 Academy Award as best foreign-language film.
Luis Buñuel Portolés was born on Feb. 2, 1900, in Calanda, near Teruel. His first successes were An Andalusian Dog (1929) and The Golden Age (1930), two Surrealistic films made with painter Salvador Dalí in France. Both films caused controversy because of their grotesque and often sexual images. Buñuel moved to the United States in 1938, but made no films until he moved to Mexico in 1947. His other films include the documentary Land Without Bread (1932), Nazarin (1958), Belle de Jour (1966), and Tristana (1970). Buñuel also wrote an autobiography, My Last Sigh (1983). He died on July 29, 1983. A collection of his writings was published after his death as An Unspeakable Betrayal (2000).
