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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
Ascent to Heaven (Subida al cielo) Luis Bunuel This gently surreal comedy directed by Luis Bunuel during his Mexican period is an interesting glimpse of life in 1950s Mexico. Oliverio (Esteban Marquez), a young bridegroom, is called away on his wedding day to settle matters on behalf of his dying mother. When the newlyweds arrive at the family home Oliverio discovers that his brothers have been neglecting their mother's care and plotting how to squander her inheritance. In order to get the will notarized to protect her wishes, he embarks upon a two-day bus journey during which he meets many odd characters and is faced with new temptations along the way. With Roberto Meyer, Luis Aceves Castaņeda, Leonor Gomez, Carmenita Gonzalez, Roberto Cobo. Also known as Mexican Bus Ride. Includes Spanish language packaging, cast biographies, and featurettes. In Spanish with English subtitles. Mexico, 1952, 85 mins. DVD | $44.95
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
The Brute (El Bruto) Luis Bunuel Bunuel's overlooked neorealist melodrama deals with a corrupt landlord in search of a thug to intimidate his restless tenants. El Bruto, played by Pedro Armendariz, is a 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. Filmed during Bunuel's exile in Mexico, El Bruto is part of "a series of unique and expertly crafted films on low budgets and short production schedules" (David A. Cook, A History of Narrative Film). Features the bold black-and-white cinematography of Agustin Jimenez. In Spanish with English subtitles. Mexico, 1952, 83 mins. DVD | $44.95
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. DVD | $44.95
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
The Milky Way Luis Bunuel La Voie Lactee is Luis Bunuel's truly outrageous and very funny satire on the history and ritual of the Roman Catholic Church, and a road movie in its own right. Two tramps on a pilgrimage from Paris to a shrine in Spain encounter Christ, the Devil, the Virgin Mary, crucified nuns, and various arguments about Catholic doctrine along the way. Rich color cinematography by Christian Matras (The Grand Illusion). Criterion Collection edition. Letterboxed. Newly restored high-def digital transfer. Includes video introduction by screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, video interview with film scholar Ian Christie, the documentary Luis Bunuel: Atheist Thanks to God, new English subtitle translation, original theatrical trailer, and a booklet with essays by Carlos Fuented and Mark Polizzotti, and an interview with Bunuel. In French with English subtitles. France, 1969, 105 mins. DVD | $44.95
Nazarin Luis Bunuel A simple priest tries to live by Christian precepts in one of Luis Bunuel's best--and most unjustly neglected--films. "I am very much attached to Nazarin," said Bunuel. "He is a priest. He could as well be a hairdresser or a waiter. What interests me about him is that he stands by his ideas, that these ideas are unacceptable to society at large, and that after his adventures with prostitutes, thieves and so forth, they lead him to being irrevocably damned by the prevailing social order." With Francisco Rabal, Marga Lopez and Rita Macedo. In Spanish with English subtitles. Mexico, 1958, 95 mins. DVD | $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. 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
Susana Luis Bunuel Susana is the story of a delinquent girl who escapes from detention and hides out on a remote finca, a Spanish American plantation. There she destroys a rigid, uptight family with her immoral scheming and feminine wiles. Despite being a neorealistic melodrama, Susana displays a surrealist's fascination with subversion, sexuality and illusory conventions. "...absurdities and contradictions indicate that the truly important work is taking place at a latent level beneath the surface of the story" (Tomas Perez Turrent, Mexican Cinema). In Spanish with English subtitles. Mexico, 1951, 86 mins. DVD | $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
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
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. DVD | $44.95
A Woman Without Love Luis Bunuel Based on a short story by Guy de Maupassant. Set in a decaying mansion, a young wife has a brief secret affair, separates from her lover, and then bears his son. Bunuel makes ample use of the gothic setting in the mansion which is part home, part antiques, part a tomb, in a surrealist plumbing of a bizarre love story. Also known as Cuando los Hijos nos Juzgan. In Spanish with English subtitles. Mexico, 1952, 91 mins. DVD | $44.95
