Rating: 
Summary: A somewhat bourgeois movie.
Review: First of all, what a title! -- *The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie*. Perhaps it was inevitable that the movie itself couldn't quite live up to such a grandiloquent heading. But understand this: a not-quite-masterpiece from Bunuel is superior to, like, 95% of all other movies out there. His inventiveness, his willingness to open his mind, and of course his technical mastery -- all of which are amply on display in *Discreet Charm* -- really ought to shame directors half his age at the time (72!). I'll quickly go over a couple of sore spots that prevent me from giving this movie 5 stars: Bunuel's introduction of student revolutionaries seems a perfunctory nod to the fashion of the times (1972): a plotline involving a young terrorist woman comes to nothing much. Also, there may be one too many surrealist dreams in the movie: after awhile, you start figuring out what's a gag and what isn't, and the climaxes of these sequences don't always pay off. Finally, one may rightly wonder if the basic premise of the movie, which is whether or not a group of idle upper-class people get to eat a decent meal, is really worthy of Bunuel's talents. Or to put it another way, are these people deserving of the director's generosity? (I prefer the savage, uncompromising Bunuel to this mellow, live-and-let-live incarnation of his later years.) On the other hand, the relaxing of the old class hatreds here in *Discreet Charm* indicates a charity of spirit that's rather inspiring. And for the Bunuel devotee, you get your requisite bugs and guns, not to mention such staples as Fernando Rey . . . the inevitable Bishop . . . the ingenuous housemaid . . . so forth. The cast is as genteel as the material: Paul Frankeur in particular is the epitome of bourgeois, with his stuffy insistence on the right martini glasses and a preference for his own home-farmed caviar. [Criterion puts together another impeccable package w / this one, though I do wish they'd saved The Criterion Treatment for *The Exterminating Angel* or *Nazarin*, and brought the price of this movie down about 10 bucks. The beautiful picture quality is expected, but you also get a couple of good documentaries, in which Bunuel teaches us cocktail recipes. Of especial note is the inside skinny on the roistering college days of Bunuel, Lorca, and Dali -- what a trio! All in all, this package is well-worth having.]
Rating: 
Summary: Great film, fantastic DVD package
Review: I have about 15 Criterion DVDs, and this is probably the best: a wonderful surreal comedy given a fabulous transfer to DVD. When the excellent extras are included this is outstanding package.The film will not be to everybody's taste: if you tend to favour no-brainer farces like 'Dumb & Dumber', I'd advise you to give this one a miss. However if you enjoy the films of Woody Allen, the Coen brothers and fine cinema generally you will enjoy this film, especially as the performances are wonderful: the urbane Fernando Rey, sexy Stephane Audran, and the bumbling Paul Frankeur are perfectly cast. The anamorphic image is outstanding: vividly clear with beautiful colours, and no nicks or flecks at all. Just beam up the sequence where the guests arrive for lunch near the beginning of the film (about 20 or so minutes in) and marvel at the luscious greens of the foliage as the car comes up the drive. Bunuel's direction is understated, but that is his genius in this film: in lesser hands this rambling tale with its bizarre dream sequences interpolated would have been a shambles, but the 'story' is so tautly told and perfectly paced. The shorter documentary is not so interesting, but the 105 minutes one is fascinating. A desert island DVD set.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Movie
Review: I recently saw a new print of this and it's still suprisingly fresh. Upper Middl;e class friends attempt to have dinner in various dream sequences, Fernando Rey is wonderful as the drug smuggling Ambassodor from Miranda (this was released right after The French Connection in which he played the French heroin dealer and Bunuel wanted to make a joke about that). Just great, dinner plans are put off when the dining room turns out to be a stage, the resturant owner is discovered to be dead in the back room, there is army maneuvers which seem to use live ammunition are moved up a day. the cafe is out of everything except water... or everyone is killed by the revolution! Really try and see this. And even though it isn't listed here Phantom of Liberty which opens with bunuel doind Goya's Painting 5th of May and screaming Death to Liberty at the French soldiers about to shoot him. Weirdly symmetrical!
Rating:
Summary: Warning: This film may irritate unintelligent viewers
Review: I won't bother suggesting any interpretations of this film; it is just too rich in meaning. My favorite things about this film are the deliberate artificiality of the sets (even in the allegedly realistic scenes); notice, too, the pervasive use of fleshtones and neutrals juxtaposed with a shocking flash of red on a wine bottle, a vase of flowers, the shutters of a house, or a barn door; finally, anyone who tries to take this film too seriously must realize that it is essentially a string of gags (as Bunuel himself described his method) that relies on a sense of irony and subtlety. There is hardly a single element of the film that is conventional; this is part of the work Bunuel is doing on the audience. If you're looking for another rehash of all the familiar movie cliches, you WILL be dissapointed. If, however, you're looking for something creative and fresh, you will enjoy the non-linear narrative, the use of sound effects to convey meaning, artful camera work, and Bunuel's refusal to tie up the ending in a nice little bow. The Criterion DVD transfer of this film is PHENOMENAL. The sound has no background noise and the menu graphics are top-notch. The 'Speaking of Bunuel' documentary on the second disc is very well done and worth watching more than once. The liner notes are impressive: glossy and colorful, yeah! There is no dissapointment involved with this DVD--no details were overlooked; now when is Criterion going to take over the out-of-print 'Belle de Jour' DVD??
Rating:
Summary: Yes its a masterpiece, but it didn't do it for me.
Review: I'd like to be able to say that I was blown away by this film. It is after all one of bunel's most famous and most loved. But I wasn't. It was fun. It was quirky. Very odd. Masturfully directed and acted. But in the end the sum total left me feeling strangely unfulfilled. Still highly recommended for cinephiles.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Bunuel Comedy!
Review: In this delightfully witty, surreal comic masterpiece, director Luis Bunuel brings together a group of six "bourgeoisie" friends for a seemingly casual dinner party. But then this is Bunuel, which means things are not always what they appear to be: Fernando Rey plays an outwardly respectable French Ambassador who just happens to be a super-secret dope smuggler; Julien Bertheau plays a Bishop who gives a dying man absolution, then blithely shoots him in the head; and what about that dead restaurant owner in the next room? Along the way, Bunuel tweaks the story and his characters with winged, giggly dream scenes. The is surely one of the nastiest social satires ever put on film, and it's also the funniest. Bunuel was seventy-two when he directed this acid charmer - his most successful film ever - and the jokes flow freely and effortlessly. First released in the early 70's, the film is now being re-released to celebrate Bunuel's 100th anniversary with this newly restored print on DVD from The Criterion Collection. To add to the fun, make it a double-feature with Bunuel's slyly sexy, "That Obscure Object of Desire," in which Carole Bouquet (in one of her earliest roles) and the fiery Agelina Molina actually play the same role - a woman practically every man is chasing after.
Rating:
Summary: Couple of people trying to have some lunch ???!
Review: Lois Bunuel at his best ! Few people trying to have some lunch ?! But everything goes wrong ... One of the smartest and funniest films , I've ever seen . The dream " stuff " working perfectly . This was a russian remake of it in late 80th - " Forgotten melody for the fluite ", with the use of the same " tricks " in it . Didn't really work . Just another robbery of an exellent idea ... nothing more . Get ready for very unusual , smart , deap , unpredictable film !
Rating:
Summary: Good Buñuel, Great Package
Review: Luis Bunuel's late-period comedy, "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" (1972) will probably puzzle as many people as it delights. It's not as outrageous or as blasphemous as his great films like "L'Age d'Or", "Viridiana", or "The Exterminating Angel" nor is there the acute psychological delving into repression that makes "Belle de Jour" and "Tristiana" such bracing viewing. This is, as the late Pauline Kael remarked, "a cosmic vaudeville show" - a series of set pieces that are all designed to play off not only the hypocrisies of the European middle classes but also the viewer's ingrained notion that a film actually has to mean something or even have a purposeful narrative. Bunuel shoots this film in a very matter-of-fact style - no dramatic cues, no music, no delineation of character. It's all a series of jokes, targeted at the very audiences who would go to see his films. The film is always enjoyable and there are funny bits of business interpersed throughout - I enjoyed the tedious moralizing of one self-satisfied stuffed shift who complains that the army is being ruined by drugs, all the while he's an associate in the illegal drug trade. The film won't offend anyone the way "Viridiana" or "Belle de Jour" still might but that's another way of saying that it doesn't have those films' ferocious provocative power either. In other words, it's merely wonderful rather than breathtaking. Still, Criterion has created another top drawer DVD package. Not only is the film's transfer superb (it looks like it was just released yesterday) but there's very good documentary on the second disc outlining the main features of Bunuel's career. (A second, lesser, documentary appears on the first disc). In all, this disc is tailored more to those who know something of Bunuel and appreciate his work - the price will probably keep causal film purchasers away. For those looking for a less costly way to introduce themselves to this great filmmaker, try renting (or buying) a VHS copy of "Belle de Jour" or "Viridiana". Bunuel fans, however, will find this DVD set a gift from Heaven.......
Rating:
Summary: "French Python"
Review: Luis Bunuel, friend and contemporary of fellow Spaniard Salvador Dali, was the cinematic equivalent of his compatriot: an artist who chose surrealism as his vehicle of expression. Bunuel also had one heck of a funny bone -- alternately scathing and light-hearted, subtle and vulgar. There's nothing cooler than genius with a sense of humor. How to describe Bunuel's terrifically imaginative "Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie"? Think Monty Python...in French. The film is like one of those Russian toys that get smaller as you open each successive doll. Its story is told through a series of unfolding dreams that open one into the other with increasing amusement. Despite rare instances of gore and some potentially offensive material (Catholics may dislike the priest's role), "Charm" is consistently funny, often hilarious, and ALWAYS stimulating. With this issue, Criterion has released one of their best products to date. The film itself appears slightly washed out (a common look for 70s movies), but it's clean about 90% of the time. Since there is little music and few sound effects, the audio quality scores as reasonable. Two nice documentaries are included, one better than the other. The subtitles caused few concerns; there were only a few, infrequent typos. This package is a must for lovers of foreign cinema, and a worthy addition to any DVD collection. My willingness to explore has once again yielded happy results. "Charm" has quickly become one of my all-time favorites, right up there with the best Hollywood productions. Take the plunge and ignore any misgivings about "art films" with subtitles. If you fall prey to the herd mentality -- or your own timidity -- you'll miss out on one of the most humorous and interesting films in ANY language. "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" is a nearly fool-proof cure for the "foreignfilmophobic."
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Transfer, Excellent Supplements
Review: Ok, we all know that this is a really great film. But what's truely wonderful about this DVD is the transfer and the two documentaries. Both of them feature interviews with not only Bunuel and other well known Spanish writers, such as Fuentes, but those who knew the man personally. The recent documentary is not only fun to watch with it's many anecdotes and lively personalities, but also informative on Bunuel and the history of surrealism in Spain and France. The older documentary features plenty of rare footage of Bunuel talking and living it up. Almost every Bunuel film deserves this kind of treatment when transferred to DVD. He was one of the few great artists who never compromised his vision, wit, or ideals and is a giant stain on the mediocrity of today's filmmakers.
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