This Day in History: 1900-02-22

Luis Buñuel, a major Spanish-Mexican film director, is born on this day in 1900. His first film, made with artist Salvadore Dali —   Un Chien Andalou —  was called “the most famous short film ever made” by critic Roger Ebert, and his last film—made 48 years later—won him Best Director awards from the National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics. His second film,  L’Age d’or, was an artistic triumph and a scandal. One critic said it was “an insult to any kind of technical standard [and it] combines, as a public spectacle, the most obscene, disgusting and tasteless incidents. Country, family, and religion are dragged through the mud.”