MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

One of Luis Buñuel's masterpieces, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is in beautiful form in this Criterion Collection two-disc DVD edition. The movie has never looked better outside the theater than it does in the pristine 1.66:1 print transferred here; it's as though it were filmed yesterday rather than in 1972. The Dolby Digital Sound is equally excellent, giving bold power to Buñuel's disturbing visions and scenarios. The subtitles appear in white text at the bottom of the movie's image, not in the black bar, and can be turned off. Bonus features are spread over an additional DVD. Disc one includes the movie and a 24-minute documentary titled "The Castaway on the Street of Providence," dating back to 1970. The documentary is more voyeuristic than enlightening, as too much time is spent on the personal life of Buñuel and his efforts to make the perfect martini rather than his great career. The three-minute theatrical trailer is redundant, and it gives away far too many of the movie's wicked surprises. Disc two features a second, more interesting documentary, "Speaking of Buñuel"; running 98 minutes, it encompasses reminiscences by cast and crew from many of Buñuel's films, as well as clips of those films. Disc two also includes a Buñuel filmography with country of origin and release date information as well. Both the movie on disc one and the documentary on disc two can be navigated by scene access menus that give instant access to the feature's 21 and 28 respective chapters via chapter titles. Given the great supplemental material, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie goes from being a great movie to an essential DVD title. ~ Tim DiGravina, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: All
• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 (Vistavision)
• Audio: PCM Stereo, PCM Mono
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: English
• Features:
  • • Disc 1:
    • Widescreen high-definition transfer, enhanced for 16x9 televisions
    • "El Náufrago de la calle de Providencia" ["The Castaway on the Street of Providence," 1970]: a 24-minute documentary homage to Buñuel by his longtime friends Arturo Ripstein and Rafael Castanedo
    • Original theatrical trailer
    • New and improved English subtitles translation
    • Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
    • Disc 2:
    • "A propósito de Buñuel" ["Speaking of Buñel," 2000]: a new 98-minute documentary of the life and work of Buñuel by Jose Luis López-Linares and Javier Rioyd
    • In French and Spanish with optional English subtitles
    • Buñuel filmography

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Foreign Language Film - 1972 (Luis Buñuel)
•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 1972 (Jean-Claude Carrière, Luis Buñuel)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Actress - 1973 (Stéphane Audran)
•     Won Best Screenplay - 1973 (Jean-Claude Carrière, Luis Buñuel)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1973 (Luis Buñuel)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Foreign Film - Foreign Language - 1972

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Foreign Film - 1972

• National Society of Film Critics

•     Won Best Director - 1972 (Luis Buñuel)
•     Won Best Picture - 1972

• Telluride Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2000

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Luis Buñuel, Javier Rioyo, Jose Luis Lopez Linares

• Producer:

  Serge Silberman, Jose Luis Lopez Linares

• Screenwriter:

  Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière

• Cinematographer:

  Edmond Richard, Jose Luis Lopez Linares

• Editor:

  Hélène Plemiannikov, J. Fidel Collados

• Art Director:

  Pierre Guffroy

• Costume Designer:

  Jacqueline Guot

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Guy Villette, Aitor Berenguer, Juan Carlos Cid

• Makeup:

  Odette Berroyer, Fernande Hugi

• First Assistant Director:

  Pierre Lary

REVIEW:

• In this surrealist satire reminiscent of his earlier L'Age d'Or (1930) and The Exterminating Angel (1962), Luis Buñuel leavens his attack on class privilege with light comedy. With a narrative that interweaves flashbacks within dreams within a dream, Buñuel interrogates the absurdities of bourgeois ceremony and hypocrisy, as two well-heeled couples and their two friends, including a drug-running South American ambassador, can't conduct a dinner party in peace. Foiled by (among other things) botched scheduling, sexual desire, a theater audience, an untimely funeral, and armed revolutionaries, the sextet's inability to eat increasingly suggests a manifestation of their innermost fears, while Buñuel's repeated interruptions of the story cheekily defy movie conventions and straightforward interpretations. Eschewing both a musical score and anything resembling closure, Buñuel renders the film as unsettling as it is funny, as the bourgeoisie soldier on towards a meal they never have. Internationally acclaimed for its sharp wit and technical virtuosity, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie won the National Society of Film Critics' Best Picture Prize and the 1972 Best Foreign Film Oscar, confirming once again Buñuel's place as one of cinema's greatest experimental artists and satirists. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi