Rating: 
Summary: Jaw-droppingly unique!
Review: The first time I saw this film, I fell instantly in love with it. The further I was drawn into the film, the deeper I was taken into the mystery of the story. Great storytelling by the French who have always been progressive in filmmaking. This is a very sexy film starring the ageless beauty, Catherine Deneuve. She is beautiful in the film and is the reason for the unforgettable quality of the film.
Rating:
Summary: surreal and almost cubist
Review: this was surreal before there was a trend to be surreal and leave it to a french artist to pave the pave from directors like lynch to follow.
one is reminded, in a sense, of late debussy.
his later music (the quintessential example here being jeux) is stil dreamy, still sensual beyond belief, but also almost cubist and surreal.
bunuel, like debussy, is dream like, aetheistic and at the same time very catholic, and as his art progressed he delved further into abstraction yet remained a sensualist, something the church obviousely looks down upon, while not realizizng that the very core of catholic rituel is sensualistic in itself.
bunuel as always addresses the church and yet still acknowledges our need for both human and spiritual fulfullment.
many thanks to scorsese for beng an advocate of this film.
and for those who complain about the film:
go watch a disney movie, that shouldn't tax you too much.
Rating:
Summary: comtemplative and clever
Review: One could easily be fooled into thinking Belle de Jour is a conventional tale of seduction and betrayal. It is a testimony, however, to the subtlety and cleverness of Bunel's direction that one does not become aware of the deceptiveness of the plot of Belle de Jour until moments before the credits start rolling. I admit I was one those fooled by Belle de Jour, although there were clues interspersed in the unfolding of the plot that hinted at a childhood of sexual abuse and hallucinations - or fantasies? - of Catherine Deneuve's character, Severine, as the subject of a series of humiliating and sadistic acts of male sexual aggression. Upon further deliberation I was led to surmise also that Severine's childhood experiences is a likely cause of her simultaneously stoic and vulnerable demeanor in adulthood, and that the hallucinations she was having were her attempt to resolve and reconcile those feelings in her own mind. At least one is forced to conclude as such given the surprisingly optimistic and liberating note on which Belle de Jour ended. But the true brilliance of Belle de Jour is that it is open to any number of interpretations. One is never entirely convinced of how much of the plot is the province of Severine's imagination and how much is indeed based in reality. This element to Belle de Jour makes it a particularly thought-provoking and surreal viewing experience. For example, it is tempting to dismiss as disturbing the idea implied - or so it seems - in the plot that sexual liberation and self confidence can be had by way of submission. However, it is entirely plausible that Severine had never made the choice to engage in the sexual exploits of her Belle de Jour persona - and her optimistic demeanor at the end of the film was borne mostly out of relief than submission. That a movie such as Belle de Jour is able to elicit so many questions and versions of truth is a credit to its deceptive power and epitomizes its claim as a genuine classic in the history of film.
Rating: 
Summary: Once again Bunuel skewers the bourgeoisie
Review: There are some very perceptive reviews of this film already posted, so I will mostly just comment on aspects they don't emphasize. First and foremost is the master's interest in class issues. Although sexual obsession may be the foreground theme here, the shallow, petty, and ultimately self-defeating behavior of the upper middle class is never totally absent as a background theme. Aside from Severine's own vapid behavior, which she pursues heedless of the possible consequences, her husband and his "friend" Husson are depicted as an ineffectual man and a malicious one, whose individual actions (or lack thereof) contribute to Severine's predicament. The screenplay is also quite amusing at times, and I think this further indicates Bunuel's satirical intent. Severine's early fantasies are really classic schoolgirl daydreams (well, OK, this schoolgirl may have read de Sade) and it's hard not to giggle at the sight of elaborately costumed coachmen whipping our heroine while hubby, striking a Bogart-like pose, lights a cigarette (he does this a lot). There are a number of other such moments. Even Deneuve's succession of stunning Yves St. Laurent outfits can be read as a satire of the typical commercial movie's obsession with surface glamor. The very sheen of Bunuel's imagery takes us further inside the worldview of his protagonist. I, too, hope this film ultimately gets a better transfer to DVD. In the outdoor scenes, the fading and color shift (green to blue) are especially noticeable. Was there no better print to work from? Please, Criterion, consider restoring this. That's the only reason it gets four stars instead of five. Still worth having, of course!
Rating:
Summary: a great work of art
Review: Those who said that This films fails at every level to excite the viewer, must to something abbout their own level. This is an inteligent film for people that wants to think and that have some love for art. No one is goint to make a movie like this if does not have something important to say. There are others directors in the world, Steven Spielberg is not the only one. Please get some culture.
Rating:
Summary: Some people are uninformed
Review: Erotica? Please. Some shoppers should not be allowed to have credit cards.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring de jour....
Review: Horrible example of passe erotica...PG-13 by today's standards. Not in the same league as The Story of O, Emmanuel, or The Image.
This films fails at every level to excite the viewer. I saw this in the theatre a few years ago and it put my wife to sleep. If another woman doesn't get excited by what's transpiring in an erotic film...why would it be worth anything?
I can't find one reason to recommend this boring, less than erotic story about a housewife turned hooker. A hooker that never has sex on camera or anyplace else!
Save your money.
Rating:
Summary: Artsy-fartsy loser....
Review: Ok erotica fans...I saw this loser in the theatre in 1995. It was a complete waste of time and money...if you are looking for a good looking woman getting deiciplined and sexually provoked, save your money! This film is no more "erotic" than one of Madonna's video's from the early 1990s! You could watch this film on broadcast television, by today's standards. Until I discover something made better than "The Image" or "The Story of O", I'd save your money and don't waste any time on this slow moving, farce of a picture.
If you enjoy an "artsy-fartsy" film with no nudity or S/M scenes...then this IS your film. Its certainly not worth my time.
Rating:
Summary: Erotica According To Bunuel.
Review: "Belle De Jour" by the great Luis Bunuel is the best example of what true eroticism is in the cinema. It is an exquisite, seductive and stylish, also surreal, fantasy that enraptures us by not only picking at the main character's brain, but at ours as well. This is not a movie about sex, or at least, the physical aspects of it, this is a movie about the idea and fantasy of sex, it delivers the reason why we're attracted to sexuality or sexually stimulating images in the first place. This also makes it a rare psychological movie. Some may say it is also a perfect portrait of the masochist woman, and this indeed may be true (Bunuel was a big fan of the Marquis De Sade) considering Severine (the lovely Catherine Deneuve), we notice, is especially turned on by the violent aspects of what she is doing more than the secretive. This is required viewing for fans of erotica, surrealism and brilliant filmmaking. Notice how Bunuel sets a completely seductive air without a single sex scene, this movie shames trash like "Caligula" and "Y Tu Mama Tambien." Here is one of the masters giving a lesson on what is erotic. Much of what we perceive as sexually alluring (weather it may be "twisted" or "normal") is born in our imaginations and this is one point Bunuel makes, it is Severine's fantasies that really drive the movie. Visually the movie is very stylish with the elegant clothing, settings and of course, Deneuve, one of the beauties of her time. There are the usual Bunuel touches, bizaare scenes of surrealism (as when Severine is caked in mud by her husband before a herd of bulls in a dream sequence) and shots following Severine's feet (Bunuel was a well-known foot fetishist). His brilliance for characters and scenarios is here too, giving complex deliveries with simple-looking set-ups. Bunuel remains one of the giants of filmmaking, having made the notorious and classic 1929 surrealist film with Salvador Dali, "Un Chien Andalou" with the famous image of a razor slicing a woman's eyeball. His Mexican films like the highly influential "Los Olvidados" and the controversial "Virdiana" are also hypnotic gems, but when he returned to European filmmaking in the late 60s his career really took off and "Belle De Jour" is one of those first great masterpieces. It is a movie done with style, taste and truth.
Rating:
Summary: a stunning performance
Review: This movie is one of the very few masterpieces of film history. A brilliant performance by a 24 year old Catherine Deneuve! To buyers who are not familiar with European movies: Try not to analyse this one too much! Watch and enjoy - think about it but don't look for a meaning where there might not be one! It would help to read the book by Joseph Kessler.... (Bunuel once said that Catherine Deneuve is "as innocent as virtue and as dangerous as sin" - and he proved it with that movie!) Glad to have got it on DVD. The reason I gave only four stars is that, unlike advertised by amazon.com, it does NOT come with an interview with Catherine Deneuve. Suggest that amazon.com takes this part out of the description. It is misleading!
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