L'Age d'Or (1930) - full transcript
Bunuel's first feature has more of a plot than Un Chien Andalou (1929), but it's still a pure Surrealist film, so this is only a vague outline. A man and a woman are passionately in love with one another, but their attempts to consummate that passion are constantly thwarted, by their families, the Church and bourgeois society.
The scorpion is an arachnid species
found in various parts of the world.
Its tail comprises
five prismatic joints.
The pincers, recalling those of
the larger crayfish
are instruments of aggression
and information.
Its tail ends in a sixth joint,
a sac from which poison
is injected by barbed sting.
A lover of darkness,
it burrows under stones
to escape the glare of the sun.
Antisocial, it ejects
the intruder on its solitude.
Such lightning strikes,
such virtuosity in attack.
Even a rat, for all its fury,
falls prey to it.
Some hours later...
Stop it!
Perhaps I just happened to fall?
No. We saw nothing.
Is there any news, yes or no?
Yes, the Majorcans are here.
Quick, to arms!
To the rear!
What about P?man?
I'm done for.
So are we, but we're going.
Yes, but you've got accordions,
hippopotamuses, wrenches,
mountain goats, and...
Bollocks! Let's go.
...and paintbrushes.
1930 AD. This stone, on the site
where the Majorcans died,
marks the founding of
the city of...
...Imperial Rome.
Once mistress of the pagan world,
now secular seat of the Church.
Aspects of its stoutest pillar,
the Vatican.
The landlord's terms are very favourable.
We can move in at once.
Longing to see you, very soon now.
Your loving cousin.
But the hurly-burly of modern life
has overtaken the Imperial City.
Sometimes on Sundays...
Various picturesque aspects
of the great city.
Bandaged?
Yes, it's been sore for over a week.
Is Daddy home yet, Mummy?
Yes, he's in the dispensary.
Then he'll dress for the party.
We went out together this morning
and engaged four of them.
The little moustached one
sang like the rest.
Only a pianist is lacking.
But our priest is a fine violinist.
I think the musicians we have
will be enough.
Six of them placed near
the microphone
will make more noise than sixty
ten kilometres away.
I know sound gets lost in
the open air
but we could bring
the guests in close.
Get a move on. The Majorcans
will be arriving at nine.
Bastard! Filthy swine!
Keep your trap shut!
Want us to work you over?
Here's a taste of the rough stuff!
Enough is enough! Let me show you
who you're dealing with.
Let's have a look, then.
The International Goodwill Society
hereby appoints you
its special delegate.
This document testifies
to our faith in you.
We pray that you will prove worthy
of this trust we place in you,
and successfully complete
your goodwill mission.
On your spirit of self-sacrifice
and your proven valour
depend many lives.
Children, women, old men
The honour of our Fatherland
Rests on the outcome of
this noble enterprise
At his magnificent Roman estate,
the Marquis of X prepares for his guests.
The Minister of the Interior
is on the telephone.
You scoundrel!
You are entirely to blame!
You compromised me, too.
Do you realise that
not one child survived?
Many women and old men perished, too.
You're bothering me about a few brats?
Filthy ruffian,
you've dragged me down with you!
Dishonoured me!
You can die for all I care!
Then listen to my last words...
Has he gone?
Are you sleepy?
I was just falling asleep.
Where's the light switch?
At the foot of the bed.
Your elbow's hurting me.
Move your head closer,
the pillow is cooler on this side.
Where's your hand?
That feels so good.
Let's just sit here and not move.
Are you cold?
No, I was falling.
I've been waiting so long for him.
What joy! What joy in having killed
our children.
My love... my love...
Just as these feathers fell,
but a long way away,
the survivors
from the Ch?teau de Selliny
emerged to return to Paris.
120 days earlier, four godless
and unprincipled scoundrels
had, driven by their depravity,
shut themselves away
to indulge in the most
bestial of orgies.
To them, the life of a woman
mattered no more than that of a fly.
They took with them
eight lovely adolescent girls
to serve as victims
for their criminal desires
plus four women well versed
in debauchery,
whose narrative skills
would serve to stimulate
their already jaded appetites
whenever interest flagged.
Here are the survivors of these orgies,
leaving the Ch?teau de Selliny.
First and foremost of the four
instigators, the Duc de Blangis.
found in various parts of the world.
Its tail comprises
five prismatic joints.
The pincers, recalling those of
the larger crayfish
are instruments of aggression
and information.
Its tail ends in a sixth joint,
a sac from which poison
is injected by barbed sting.
A lover of darkness,
it burrows under stones
to escape the glare of the sun.
Antisocial, it ejects
the intruder on its solitude.
Such lightning strikes,
such virtuosity in attack.
Even a rat, for all its fury,
falls prey to it.
Some hours later...
Stop it!
Perhaps I just happened to fall?
No. We saw nothing.
Is there any news, yes or no?
Yes, the Majorcans are here.
Quick, to arms!
To the rear!
What about P?man?
I'm done for.
So are we, but we're going.
Yes, but you've got accordions,
hippopotamuses, wrenches,
mountain goats, and...
Bollocks! Let's go.
...and paintbrushes.
1930 AD. This stone, on the site
where the Majorcans died,
marks the founding of
the city of...
...Imperial Rome.
Once mistress of the pagan world,
now secular seat of the Church.
Aspects of its stoutest pillar,
the Vatican.
The landlord's terms are very favourable.
We can move in at once.
Longing to see you, very soon now.
Your loving cousin.
But the hurly-burly of modern life
has overtaken the Imperial City.
Sometimes on Sundays...
Various picturesque aspects
of the great city.
Bandaged?
Yes, it's been sore for over a week.
Is Daddy home yet, Mummy?
Yes, he's in the dispensary.
Then he'll dress for the party.
We went out together this morning
and engaged four of them.
The little moustached one
sang like the rest.
Only a pianist is lacking.
But our priest is a fine violinist.
I think the musicians we have
will be enough.
Six of them placed near
the microphone
will make more noise than sixty
ten kilometres away.
I know sound gets lost in
the open air
but we could bring
the guests in close.
Get a move on. The Majorcans
will be arriving at nine.
Bastard! Filthy swine!
Keep your trap shut!
Want us to work you over?
Here's a taste of the rough stuff!
Enough is enough! Let me show you
who you're dealing with.
Let's have a look, then.
The International Goodwill Society
hereby appoints you
its special delegate.
This document testifies
to our faith in you.
We pray that you will prove worthy
of this trust we place in you,
and successfully complete
your goodwill mission.
On your spirit of self-sacrifice
and your proven valour
depend many lives.
Children, women, old men
The honour of our Fatherland
Rests on the outcome of
this noble enterprise
At his magnificent Roman estate,
the Marquis of X prepares for his guests.
The Minister of the Interior
is on the telephone.
You scoundrel!
You are entirely to blame!
You compromised me, too.
Do you realise that
not one child survived?
Many women and old men perished, too.
You're bothering me about a few brats?
Filthy ruffian,
you've dragged me down with you!
Dishonoured me!
You can die for all I care!
Then listen to my last words...
Has he gone?
Are you sleepy?
I was just falling asleep.
Where's the light switch?
At the foot of the bed.
Your elbow's hurting me.
Move your head closer,
the pillow is cooler on this side.
Where's your hand?
That feels so good.
Let's just sit here and not move.
Are you cold?
No, I was falling.
I've been waiting so long for him.
What joy! What joy in having killed
our children.
My love... my love...
Just as these feathers fell,
but a long way away,
the survivors
from the Ch?teau de Selliny
emerged to return to Paris.
120 days earlier, four godless
and unprincipled scoundrels
had, driven by their depravity,
shut themselves away
to indulge in the most
bestial of orgies.
To them, the life of a woman
mattered no more than that of a fly.
They took with them
eight lovely adolescent girls
to serve as victims
for their criminal desires
plus four women well versed
in debauchery,
whose narrative skills
would serve to stimulate
their already jaded appetites
whenever interest flagged.
Here are the survivors of these orgies,
leaving the Ch?teau de Selliny.
First and foremost of the four
instigators, the Duc de Blangis.