Rating: 
Summary: Where's Catherine Interview?
Review: I have this on video already and love it but I also bought the dvd version also because they offered an interview with Catherine! Guess what, it's not included on this disc. I am soo disapointed! Maybe Amazon should take that bit of information out on its advertisment.I'm a Deneuvianfan.
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Summary: Bete de Jour
Review: Two stars reflecting grudging appreciation that the film is available on DVD. Nothing for Disney/Buena Vista regarding this travesty of a package. Call in the Criterion Collection for urgent life-support... please! A non-anamorphic transfer of this gorgeous film, absolute rubbish printed on the package, pitiful supplements, and as usual, top dollar. With this and 'Purple Noon', Disney have lobbed a double whammy spit ball at serious film/DVD fans. I'm not having a bad dream!!
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Summary: Great film -- but think twice about this DVD
Review: If you're reading this review you're probably already a Bunuel fan. If not, I would say to you that Belle de Jour is certainly a special film -- Bunuel is one of the greatest directors of all time, and this is one of his best. But I would specifically like to talk about the DVD before more people are suckered into buying it, as I was. 1) The image quality is pretty damn lousy. As one reviewer has already pointed out, it's not anamorphically enhanced. That's not great, but the real problem is that the print looks no better than the videocassete version that Miramax previously released. I mean I don't expect the image to be pristine, but it's clear Miramax did nothing above and beyond the bare essentials to transfer this film to DVD. I can only imagine how much better it would have looked had Criterion been able to release it. 2) There is supposed to be a running commentary by Julie Jones, and indeed there is. I have no problem with her commentary; it's quite good and does a decent job of introducing themes and images that recur in Bunuel's films while still offering insights on Belle de Jour. The problem is (and it might just be my Toshiba DVD player) this: when I first wanted to hear what Ms. Jones had to say about a scene, I did what I always do when I want to hear the commentary track of a DVD: I hit the audio button, which then usually allows me to navigate through the commentary tracks and different language tracks. But it didn't work. Turns out to hear the commentary you have to hit the menu button, and then go to the commentary element of the main menu and turn the commentary on. Then you can go back to watching the movie with the commentary on. But if you want to turn the commentary off you've got to go through the whole process again, hit the menu button, etc. That's just plain ridiculous. Like I said, it could be just my DVD player but I seriously doubt it. So I don't know what to say. Miramax owns the rights to Belle de Jour, so if you want to watch it you've got to watch whatever halfass version they feel like releasing. This is a great film and should be a DVD to own, but so long as this version floats around I would try to rent rather than buy. Like I said, if only Criterion could have released this...
Rating: 
Summary: Tonight's Bout: Female Sexuality v. The Man
Review: Great films have many interpretations, but here's mine... In Luis Bunuel's film, the lead protagonist, played by Catherine Denueve, begins the film caught up in a sadomasochistic fantasy about her husband having two men whip and kiss her. At first this appears incredibly odd. However, further into the film her character's psychology becomes more apparent. In one of the next scenes, her husband asks if she is feeling all right. Responding, Denueve's character says "I'm in strange mood," as if her emotions are something separate and can be observed from an objective perspective. From here, the protagonist goes back to the almost manikin facial expressions and upper class poise. The only time she can apparently be expressive and open is in the whorehouse. The question then is: what are these fantasies and why is she having them? Many sex therapists and psychiatrists now understand that most women, at some time in their lives, have a desire for very aggressive sexuality. This often is manifest in the form of S&M or even rape fantasies. They also want the "bad boy" as their sexual companion during these episodes. It tends to be even more prevalent in women who have lived very structured lives within "civilized" relationships. Denueve's character simply has more than just a temporary need for this kind of sex, for it appears to be the only kind she truly desires. Bunuel seems to be using the protagonist as an example of this secret side many women have. He then uses her behavior and waking-dream sequences to make comments on marriage and the Catholic Church's incompatibility with the true psychological nature of women. In one particularly symbolic scene he shows her as a young girl refusing the bread wafer given by a priest. This is likely representative, both physically and conceptually, of her refusal to except sexual communion within the "holy bonds of matrimony," as the religion would put it. The scene in the coffin is probably just another one of her fantasies, however morbid, and not evidence of sexual abuse as a child. Remember, someone of royalty is supposedly pleasuring himself to her image. That's got to turn some women on. The only thing for sure, though, is that the fantasies become increasingly strange and complex. By far the most confusing scene in the film is the final sequence after she was just at the hospital checking on the status of her injured husband, who happened to have been shot by her "bad boy" boyfriend. The husband was last in a coma and his fate was not yet known. In these next moments we see that her husband is in a wheelchair, with sunglasses on. The wife puts medicine in a glass and mentions how any day now his eyes could get better. Then someone shows up who tells the husband about her escapades. This entire scene may in fact be meant as part of her imaginings. The husband having sunglasses is likely symbolic of his blindness to her desires, his ignorance. When he suddenly gets up and can see, the bells begin ringing, which perhaps signifies that the whole scene is a fantasy. The husband can hear the bells, too. Thus she is fantasizing that as a result of the shooting he will now see her true desires and be a part of her fantasy life. Now, if only I could explain that shoebox...
Rating: 
Summary: Not Anamorphic, as advertised.
Review: This is a cricism of the format, not Bunuel's classic film. On my portable DVD player the image is the size of a postage stamp, which, unfortunately, is what happens to any widescreen presentation that is not anamorphic. This probably is of no concern to most, but for to those who care, this is not formatted for 16X9 screens.
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Summary: Michael's scholarly review of Severine's P.O. view.
Review: This film is a masterpice by Bunuel. Each shot is composed of beauty and elegance. With Catherine Deneuve dressed by Yves- Saint Laurent and the vacant and offsetting uses of time and characters, the film is way ahead of its time. Deneuve is the ultimate in young beauty ( her likeness only challenged by Cybil Shepard at the age of Taxi Driver ), and her sexual energy is bubbling on the screen. One can sense the genuiness of her repression of her true sexual desires. It is no doubt that Scorcese sees in this picture what someone brilliant like myself sees: a portrait of absolute excellence. There is not a bit of fluff or fat to spare as the clean and fluid form is revealed in Bunuel's unique cinematic style. The shots of women's legs...the ocean with "lovers" on the beach...the simpleness of gestures. The BFI book written by Wood always claims that She ( Severine ) is always looking outside of the frame for something, answers or whatnot. I think the opposite is happening. She is looking in while perhaps it appears her interest or perception shifts. Slowly, thoughout the film, her reality gets deeper, and there is no escape, and nothing outside exists at all.. this film will paralyze you...and like Pierre..you will need a wheelchair...Don't listen to the scholars about what Belle de Jour means. Some things are meant to be understood with the heart and not the head.
Rating:
Summary: MASTERPIECE OF THE FRENCH CINEMA...
Review: No other film in history handles this type of subject with as much subtlety and class. An A+ for Bunuel's razor-sharp direction, A+ for the fabulous Catherine Deneuve, and an A+ for the dialog and script. A masterwork of the french cinematic new-wave and finally on DVD! Highly recommended!
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Summary: It's About Time
Review: "Belle De Jour" belongs one of those films that blur the boundary between reality and dreams. The result is a totally hypnotic, mesmerizing journey with the ever-gorgeous Deneuve. Bunuel has again achieved what conventional narrative structure could never reach. This is a definitely must-see if you enjoy exploring subconscious and inmost desires. The features of the DVD includes Audio commentary by Bunuel scholar Julie Jones; Original U.S. theatrical trailer; 1995 re-issue trailer.
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Summary: A Film, Not a Movie
Review: Okay, for those of you who are close-minded and think stuff like this is "pretensious," you need to stick to your George Lucas computer generated extravaganzas. Now, for the rest of us, we like this film because Bunuel blurs the line between reality and our subconscious, because the acting is good (in that '60s European way), and because it is at once art and entertainment. What we see in this film is the conflict between middle-class marriage and the limitations of fidelity, and perhaps a distinction between physical love and a more profound, abstract spiritual love. The final moments of the film can evoke some profound emotions whether you can make any sense of the film or not--those haunting dream scenes with the horse carriage, the confrontation at the beach, and many other elements all emerge in an intensly moving and satisfying ending. If you really want a pretensious movie, try 'Eyes Wide Shut,' which concentrates on similar themes, and works in similar ways, but does so much less successfully (and, it is pointless to call a Kubrick film "pretensious," anyway.) This is NOT for mainstream film goers, simply because most of them don't watch movies from pre-2000 and complain about subtitles, and complain xenophobically that the French are snobs, while others more informed may legitimately object to a somewhat easy plot or confuse unconventional narrative development for "slow pacing." Despite all of that, I recommend this as an extremely original film that can be thought-provoking, intellectual, and artsy, as well as escapist, entertaining, and accessible.
Rating:
Summary: Catherine Deneuve forever
Review: Hi saw this film in 1967, when it came out and enjoyed it. Over the years I have seen it several times and now own a video recording.Wonderful film. Not for the prudish, by any means, but a solid film for adult viewing, since it explores the boundaries of marriage and infidelity.
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