The Exterminating Angel
1962, Fantasy/Comedy, 1h 32m
27 Reviews 5,000+ RatingsWhat to know
Societal etiquette devolves into depravity in Luis Buñuel's existential comedy, effectively playing the absurdity of civilization for mordant laughs. Read critic reviews
You might also like
Where to watch
Rate And Review
-
What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
-
Fandango
-
AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
-
Cinemark Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
-
Regal Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
-
Theater box office or somewhere else
The Exterminating Angel Photos
Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Leticia "La Valkiria"
Alicia de Roc
Susan Barrett
Edmundo Nobile
Carlos Conde
Cristián Ugalde
News & Interviews for The Exterminating Angel
Critic Reviews for The Exterminating Angel
All Critics (27) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (25) | Rotten (2)
-
If not necessarily Buuel's greatest film, this unclassifiable creation must count as one of the most twisted stunts ever mounted for the screen.
September 7, 2003 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review… -
My feeling is that his canvas is too narrow and his social comment too plain to keep our interest fixed upon his people and their barren stewing for an hour and a half.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review… -
A macabre comedy, a mordant view of human nature that suggests we harbor savage instincts and unspeakable secrets.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review… -
An important masterpiece amongst a filmography littered with them, The Exterminating Angel is effectively administrated social satire -- scathing and lethally subversive.
September 15, 2020 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
The Exterminating Angel plays with the magical, the unpredictable, the unknown, but also with a specific set of characters that fall apart. [Full Review in Spanish]
August 29, 2019 | Full Review… -
Very tense, puzzling, sinister, and yet extraordinarily stodgy, this is the least anecdotal Buñuel and the most redolent of the Barrier effect that seems to murmur through his films.
June 19, 2019 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for The Exterminating Angel
-
Jun 04, 2018Buñuel clearly refuses to be subtle in this sharp allegorical satire (and because of that I only wish he had gone even further and embraced insanity and chaos all the way), using an absurd and quite ingenious idea to give a well-deserved slap on bourgeois values and hypocrisy.Carlos M Super Reviewer
-
Jun 06, 2015I've been pretty conflicted on what to rate The Exterminating Angel, on one side I felt compelled to give it a "positive" rating and bump it up half a star, but then I look at other films I have given this rating and almost all of them are better. The issue I had with this film is it kind of goes in streaks, of scenes I love and scenes I find dispensable. When it began, it felt somewhat choppy- I later understood the purpose of this- but regardless that is the affect it gave, making it hard to get into. Once the story began about the group of bourgeoisie members trapped in tan upscale room, it had many funny lines and ironic scenes. But as the film went along I felt that I was trapped in the same prison the characters were in, and just like everyone in the room wanted to get away from these idiots. By the time the hallucinations began I started enjoying the comedic work again, but there was a long point in the film where I couldn't wait for it to end. While I found the comedy successful the surrealism was clear but not effective. I love surrealistic pieces like Eraserhead or Un Chien Andalou- which Bunuel himself contributed too. But all the ones I love are eerie, dark, and symbolic. The surrealism in The Exterminating Angel, silly and weird but not eerie, dark, or symbolic. Bunuel has two obsession in his films, Christianity and the bourgeoisie. While there are funny moments regarding both categories, I can't distinguish his statement on either. Was the point that the bourgeoisie were becoming the working class, they once couldn't understand? Are they now the ones that are trapped, like their inferiors were once? That's the most I understood, but even their I can't complete the puzzle.Daniel D Super Reviewer
-
May 11, 2014I love that Buñuel takes these characters seriously while placing them in the most absurd of scenarios . . . like "Viridiana" this kind of consideration makes the satire more potent. I bet this film still makes members of the upper class angry.Alec B Super Reviewer
-
Jul 02, 2012Very unusual but charmingly so. Oddly humourous and surprisingly captivating. Honestly had not heard of it until its mention in Midnight in Paris - very glad I did.Sunil J Super Reviewer
The Exterminating Angel (El Ángel Exterminador) Quotes
There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.
Verified