The Exterminating Angel

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The Exterminating Angel

1963

1h 32m

Comedy

Drama

Fantasy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

35 Reviews

92%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Edmundo Nobile (Enrique Rambal) invites friends over for an opulent dinner party. While the guests enjoy their food, the servants disappear one by one. Afterward, the visitors retire to the salon for an evening of music and conversation -- but in the morning, they are mysteriously incapable of leaving the room. As days go by and they run out of food and water, panic and madness set in. The army and the police arrive, but fail in their attempts to enter the house as conditions inside deteriorate.

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Critics Consensus

Societal etiquette devolves into depravity in Luis Buñuel's existential comedy, effectively playing the absurdity of civilization for mordant laughs.

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Wael Khairy

RogerEbert.com

Almost 60 years after it was originally released, his film “The Exterminating Angel” has never been more relevant.

Sep 28, 2022

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Ed Gonzalez

Slant Magazine

If not necessarily Buuel's greatest film, this unclassifiable creation must count as one of the most twisted stunts ever mounted for the screen.

Rated: 4/4

Sep 7, 2003

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Bosley Crowther

New York Times

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.

Rated: 2/5

May 20, 2003

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…investigates a shared reality tilting towards communal atrophy; it’s a haunting, visionary work by one of the 20th century’s consummate film-makers..

Rated: 4/5

Dec 30, 2024

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Penelope Gilliatt

Observer (UK)

Like all metaphors, The Exterminating Angel is not meant to be extended and explained: it is about panic and suggestibility, about the unconscious, about the reassurance that people feel in the traps of class and superstition.

Mar 9, 2024

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

A film in which Buñuel, with a surrealist aesthetic, magnifies a sharp satire on social classes and the chiaroscuros of the human condition. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 7/10

Oct 9, 2023

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Tom M

It's the idea behind this that matters. Not as funny as it should be considering its ridiculous premise. But the cast play it for real and the allegory works.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/05/25

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Eye C

Un interesante pero bizarro experimento social que prende al espectador más por enterarse de qué está pasando que por otra cosa. Las actuaciones van de lo regular a algunas buenas, pero no es lo que sobresale.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/14/25

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g j

An absolute masterpiece. Feels 40 years ahead of its time with a premise that remains chillingly unique and original to this day.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/09/24

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S R

1001 movies to see before you die. An impressive allegory, full of themes and frustrations of being stuck somewhere. I enjoyed it despite there being no real reason behind things. RUS.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/24

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Alec B

I love that Buñuel takes these characters seriously while placing them in the most absurd of scenarios. This kind of consideration makes the satire more potent and I bet this movie still makes rich people angry.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/10/23

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Dave S

Nobody has or ever will do surrealism like Luis Bunuel. The premise of The Exterminating Angel is pretty straightforward – a group of society's upper crust gather for an elaborate meal in an ornate mansion. However, when it is time to depart, they find that they are unable to do so. There are no barriers stopping them – they simply cannot leave. From there, things get weird. Bunuel's message is clear pretty much from the get go and the satire is stinging throughout. For those who enjoy venturing into Bunuel's worlds of weirdness, The Exterminating Angel should be right up their alley. For those who like their films a little more straightforward, this one is one that should probably be avoided.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/24/23

Full Review

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Luis Buñuel

Director

Silvia Pinal

Leticia "La Valkiria"

Jacqueline Andere

Alicia de Roc

José Baviera

Susan Barrett

Enrique Rambal

Edmundo Nobile

Augusto Benedico

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Synopsis

Edmundo Nobile (Enrique Rambal) invites friends over for an opulent dinner party. While the guests enjoy their food, the servants disappear one by one. Afterward, the visitors retire to the salon for an evening of music and conversation -- but in the morning, they are mysteriously incapable of leaving the room. As days go by and they run out of food and water, panic and madness set in. The army and the police arrive, but fail in their attempts to enter the house as conditions inside deteriorate.

Director: Luis Buñuel
Producer: Gustavo Alatriste
Screenwriter: Luis Alcoriza, Luis Buñuel
Distributor: Reel Media International [us], Facets, Hen's Tooth Video Inc. [us]
Production Co: Producciones Gustavo Alatriste
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Original Language: Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 15, 1963, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 17, 2017
Runtime: 1h 32m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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