S1·E305 Ruth, Roses and Revolver

David Lynch , director of some of the strangest films in today's cinema, including Eraserhead and Elephant Man, guides us through the film works of a peerless group of artists - the Surrealists.

Working in Paris from the mid-1920s, such legendary figures as Jean Cocteau, Man Ray and Luis Bunuel were the first to explore techniques so startling that they have passed into the common language of mainstream cinema, video and advertising. Extracts from their classics combine with the lesser-known films by Rene Clair, Fernand Leger, Marcel Duchamp, Hans Richter and Max Ernst to produce a box of unearthly delights. And, to bring us up to date, Arena includes a sneak preview of David Lynch 's Blue Velvet, the most talked-about film of recent years.