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The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Luis Bunuel Six characters are forever trying to sit down for a meal, but bizarre events - dreams, fantasies, guests, terrorists - interfere. Bunuel's brilliant satire lampoons the church, diplomats, wealthy socialites and radical terrorists and is a pure joy to watch. With Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Stephane Audran, Bulle Ogier, Jean-Pierre Cassel and Michel Piccoli. Academy Award winner, Best Foreign Film. Winner, Best Film, National Society of Film Critics. The DVD is a letterboxed, 2-disc Criterion special edition, and includes The Survivor on the Street of Providence (Arturo Ripstein/Rafael Castanedo, Mexico, 1970), a documentary short on Bunuel; A Proposito de Bunuel (Jose Luis Lopez Linares/Javier Rioyo, Mexico, 2000), a feature-length documentary portrait; theatrical trailer; Bunuel's perfect martini recipe and more. French with English subtitles. France, 1972, 100 mins. DVD $59.95
Belle de Jour Luis Bunuel A masterpiece from Luis Bunuel in which the cool Catherine Deneuve sparkles as a respectable middle-class wife with a very contented husband, who finds a day job in a brothel that gives her an outlet for deeper, darker passions. "Bunuel constructs both a clear portrait of the bourgeoisie as degenerate, dishonest and directionless, and an unhysterical depiction of Deneuve's inner fantasy life where she entertains dreams of humiliations galore" (Geoff Andrew). The DVD is letterboxed, and includes audio commentary by Bunuel scholar Julie Jones, original and re-release trailers, and optional English-dubbed track. French with English subtitles. France, 1967, 100 mins. DVD $37.95
Diary of a Chambermaid Luis Bunuel A great Bunuel film in which he updated the famous Mirbeau novel about the decadent French upper classes of the 19th century to 1928. Jeanne Moreau plays the chambermaid, both demure and cunning, who takes a position in a cheerless chateau, and immediately becomes the newest "object d'art" for a whole family of perfectly ordinary perverts, from the shoe-fetishist father to the gamekeeper, who is a reactionary and a rapist. The DVD is a Criterion Collection edition, and includes interview with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, reprinted Bunuel interview, and original theatrical trailer. In French with English subtitles. France, 1964, 97 mins. Videocassette $44.95 DVD $44.95
El (This Strange Passion) Luis Bunuel The psychological study of a man obsessed. A wealthy, middle-aged man marries a young woman and then develops a paranoid obsession with her supposed infidelity. One of the great films from Bunuel's Mexican period, the black humor of El failed to be appreciated by critics at the time of its release. It is now considered one of the most representative of Bunuel's personal mythology. Spanish with English subtitles. Mexico, 1952, 88 mins. Videocassette $44.95
El Bruto Luis Bunuel A powerful social melodrama which deals with a corrupt landlord who decides he needs a strong-arm man to intimidate his restless tenants. El Bruto, played by Pedro Armendariz, is the thick-headed slaughterhouse worker loyal to the exploiters. Bruto is lusted after by his employer's frustrated wife and at the same time longs for an innocent girl whose father he unfortunately beat to death. In Spanish with NO ENGLISH SUBTITLES. Mexico, 1952, 83 mins. DVD $44.95
Gran Casino Luis Bunuel The first feature film by master filmmaker Luis Bunuel to be made during his stint in Mexico, this musical western is standard genre fare, boasting few of the social criticisms and surrealist elements of his earlier and later periods. Nevertheless, Jorge Negrete and Libertad Lamarque give spirited performances, and the zany plot--part gangster film, part adventure musical--is undeniably lively. In Spanish WITH NO ENGLISH SUBTITLES. Mexico 1947 85 mins. DVD $37.95
L'Age D'Or Luis Bunuel Bunuel's masterpiece extolls love and attacks religion and the social order in an amazing assemblage of images that remain no less provocative today than they were in 1930. Its central metaphor is a couple making love who are continually disturbed by the intrusions of officialdom, police and the Church. It remains one of the most unashamedly erotic films ever made, with a famous toe-sucking sequence. Financed by the Vicomte de Noailles, who gave Bunuel complete freedom and declared it "exquisite and delicious," the film immediately became the object of right-wing extremists and remained unseen for generations because of the Church's threat to excommunicate the Vicomte if the film were distributed. With Gaston Modot, Lya Lys, Max Ernst and Pierre Prevert. French with English subtitles. France, 1930, 62 mins. DVD $44.95
Land Without Bread Luis Bunuel An extraordinary film about the impoverished people living in the Las Hurdes region of Spain. Bunuel constructs the film in the manner of a travelogue. The absurdity of the contrast between narration and image results in a vision so powerful the film seems surreal. Spanish with English subtitles. Spain, 1932, 45 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Phantom of Liberty Luis Bunuel One of Bunuel's masterpieces of surrealism, this loosely structured series of anecdotes deals with the concept of freedom. A daisy-chain of characters move through this cinema of dreams and absurdity, demonstrating the cosmic comedy of humans who constantly enslave themselves in order to be free. The lightest and liveliest of Bunuel's films filled with riddles, jokes and outrageous associations ridiculing the power to reason. The DVD is a Criterion Collection Edition, and includes video introduction by screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, original theatrical trailer, new and improved English subtitle translation, essay by cultural critic Gary Indiana, and more. In French with English subtitles. France, 1974, 102 mins. DVD $44.95
Robinson Crusoe Luis Bunuel Spanish surrealist Luis Bunuel's first English-language film, produced while the director was in self-imposed exile in Mexico, is an adaptation of Daniel Dafoe's novel about the infamous shipwreck victim. A fine rendition of the classic tale of survival, with Bunuel throwing in a few subtle jabs at religion and the complacency of society. This was also the first of Bunuel's films to be shot in color. The DVD includes an interview with Dan O'Herlihy, biographies, filmographies, behind-the-scenes stories, a collectible pressbook reproduction, a poster and photo gallery, and a restoration comparison. In English. Mexico, 1952, 90 mins. Videocassette $37.95 DVD $37.95
Simon of the Desert Luis Bunuel Bunuel's outrageous satire of the Church has Simon sitting on top of a pillar in the Mexican desert, haunted by the Devil in all forms. Often called the greatest short film of all time, Bunuel's wit has never been more deadly, his surrealist vision never clearer. In Spanish WITH NO ENGLISH SUBTITLES. Mexico 1965 40 mins. Videocassette $44.95
That Obscure Object of Desire Luis Bunuel A final masterpiece from Bunuel, in which he uses two actresses playing one role to illustrate the unfathomable nature of sexual obsession. Starring Fernando Rey, Carole Bouquet, and Angela Molina. "Triumphantly funny and wise...Bunuel creates a vision of a world as logical as a theorem, as mysterious as a dream, and as funny as a vaudeville gag" (Vincent Canby, The New York Times). The DVD is a Criterion Collection edition, and includes interview with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, excerpts from Jacques de Baroncelli's 1929 silent La Femme et le Pantin (based on the same book), reprinted interview with Bunuel, and theatrical trailer. In French with English subtitles. France, 1977, 104 mins. DVD $59.95
Tristana Luis Bunuel The stunning Catherine Deneuve is Tristana, a victim of her own captivating beauty who is desired by two men. The first is her lecherous guardian (played by the great Fernando Rey) who, after raising her from a teenager, takes her as his mistress. The other is a young artist (Franco Nero) who wants to marry her but lacks the courage to free her from the corrupt relationship with her guardian. Set in 1920's Spain, Tristana is a scathing examination of moral decay viewed through Bunuel's typically dispassionate and ironic eyes. Spanish with English subtitles. Spain, 1970, 98 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Un Chien Andalou Luis Bunuel Filmed in Paris in 1929, Un Chien Andalou is a landmark in the history of cinema. Based on an exchange of dreams between the Spanish duo of Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali, this jolting tale of desire contains one of the most notorious and potently metaphoric sequences in film history: a razor severing a woman's eyeball in extreme close-up. Drawing from the vivid lives of their subconsciouses, Bunuel and Dali's only rule was to reject any idea that might lend itself to any rational explanation. Intended to provoke rather than please (Bunuel saw it as an "appeal to murder"), the film's power to shock the viewer remains undiminished after 75 years. The DVD is a Collector's Edition and includes 38 mins. of extras, including an interview with Bunuel's son, Juan-Luis, Epilogue: Dali & Bunuel featurette, commentary by Surrealism expert Stephen Barber, and a booklet containing an abridged transcript of Luis Bunuel's 1953 address: Mystery of Cinema. France, 1929, 17 mins. DVD $37.95
Un Chien Andalou/Land Without Bread Luis Bunuel Two great early films by Luis Bunuel: Un Chien Andalou continues to shock audiences today as it did in 1928; Land Without Bread is a horrifying account of one of Spain's most desolate regions, a documentary masterpiece made all the more harrowing for its travelogue style. Spain, 1928/32, 42 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Viridiana Luis Bunuel Bunuel's outrageous and devastating attack on religion and society. Viridiana, about to take her vows as a nun, takes to the pure Christian life by organizing a haven for a blind man, leper, cripple and beggar. Full of Freudian symbolism, the film ends in a famous orgy of destruction, containing Bunuel's blasphemous scene of the Last Supper. The film that got Bunuel kicked out of Spain. Spanish with English subtitles. Spain 1961 90 mins. Videocassette $44.95