October 23, 2017Buñuel: The Essential Blu-ray Collection from StudioCanal (UK)
Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)The second screen version of Octave Mirbeau's novel (originally filmed in 1946 by Jean Renoir) 'The Diary of a Chambermaid' is another of Bunuel's biting and brilliant attacks on the bourgeoisie. Written by Bunuel and his regular writing partner Jean-Claude Cariere, the film charts the ambitions of Celestine (Jeanne Moreau, 'Jules et Jim'), a woman who comes to work in the Normandy estate occupied by Monsieur Rabour (Jean Ozenne), his daughter (Francoise Lugagne) and the daughter's husband, the right wing Monsaiur Montiel (Michel Piccoli, 'Milou en mai'). Celestine quickly learns that M. Rabour is a more or less harmless boot fetishist, his daughter a frigid woman more concerned with the family furnishings than in returning the affections of her husband, who in turn, can't keep his hands off the servants. Celestine picks her way through this minefield carefully, spurning the advances of all of the men until it's convenient for her.
Charting the rise of 30s Fascisim, Bunuel's film also intelligently considers political, social and sexual positions in relation to the perversity of human desires. Moreau excels as the sharp-witted servant, one of the most fascinating of all Bunuel's proto-feminist heroines.
Belle de Jour (1967)Synopsis: Undoubtedly Luis Buñuel's most accessible film, Belle de Jour is an elegant and erotic masterpiece that maintains as hypnotic a grip on modern audiences today as it did on its debut over 50 years ago.
Severine is a beautiful young woman married to a doctor. She loves her husband dearly, but cannot bring herself to be physically intimate with him. She indulges instead in vivid, kinky, erotic fantasies to entertain her sexual desires. Eventually she becomes a prostitute, working in a brothel in the afternoons while remaining chaste in her marriage. Stars the incomparable Catherine Deneuve in a career defining role as Severine, the eponymous heroine of the film.
The Milky Way (1969)In his autobiography "The Last Sigh", Bunuel suggsests that The Milky Way, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeosis and The Phantom of Liberty form a kind of trilogy, or rather a triptych. All three have te same themes, sometimes even thesame grammar, and all evoke the search for truth, aswlee as the necessity of abandoning it as soon as you've found it. Religious pilgrims Pierre (Paul Frnkeur) and Jean (Laurent Terzieff) journey to a shrine in the north of Spain. Their faith is severely tested by some of the irreverent characters they confront in the course of their pilgrimage. Even chance meetings with Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Devil are not quite what Pierre and Jean have been prepared for in their religious training.
One of the most challenging and irreverent of the director's later works The Milky Way also continues Bunuel's ongoing disdain of Roman Catholicism. Funnt, intelligent and sardonic, it's availability will be justly celebrated by Bunuel enthusiasts.
Tristana (1970)Synopsis: Tristana (Catherine Deneuve) is a young devout woman who goes to live with her male guardian after her mother's death. His intentions towards her are clearly more than fatherly, leading to an enforced marriage, but Tristana flees to Madrid when she falls in love with a young artist. Years later, she is afflicted with a life-threatening illness, which, however, does not stop her plotting revenge against the man who had stripped her of her innocence.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)Synopsis: Luis Buñuel's surrealist satire takes on targets as diverse as South American politics, the upper class and religion. Well-to-do couple the Thévenots (Paul Frankeur and Delphine Seyrig), accompany M. Thévenot's colleague Rafael Acosta (Fernando Rey) and Mme. Thévenot's sister Florence (Bulle Ogier), to the house of Henri and Alice Sénéchal (Jean-Pierre Cassel and Stéphane Audran), who are hosting a dinner party. On arrival, however, Alice explains that she expected them the following evening and has no dinner prepared. Inviting Alice to join them for dinner at a local inn, the party quickly leave when they discover that the manager died a few hours earlier and his former employees are holding a vigil over his corpse, awaiting the coroner. So begins a series of increasingly bizarre episodes and surreal dream sequences as the diners, over the course of the following days, find themselves repeatedly frustrated in their attempts at eating out.
The Phantom of Liberty (1974)Synopsis: Satirical comedy drama from the master of surrealistic cinema, Luis Buñuel. Variously described as surreal, comic and outrageously ironic, all of which are true, it's main theme is that the bourgeoisie is a dying class, and through their indolence and decadence they are actually destroying themselves, a theme Buñuel focussed on a number of times during his career. Amongst the large cast are a host of familiar names, including; Michel Piccoli (Belle de Jour; We Have a Pope); Monica Vitti (The Red Desert; Modesty Blaise); Jean Rochefort (The Hairdresser's Husband) & Michael Lonsdale (Day of the Jackal).
That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)Synopsis: Adapted from Pierre Louÿs' 1898 novel 'Le Femme et le Pantin', That Obscure Object of Desire marked Bunuel's final film. Recounted in flashback to a group of railway travellers, the story wryly details the romantic perils of Mathieu (Bunuel favourite Fernando Rey), a wealthy middle-aged French sophisticate who falls desperately in love with his 19-year-old former chambermaid Conchita (Carole Bouquet).
Thus begins a surreal game of sexual cat-and-mouse, with Mathieu obsessively attempting to win the girl's affections as she manipulates his carnal desires, each vying to gain absolute control of the other. Brimming with the subversive wit which characterises Bunuel's finest work, That Obscure Object of Desire takes satiric aim at a decadent, decaying society riddled with political unrest and moral bankruptcy.
Buñuel: The Essential Blu-ray Collection - Amazon UKDecember 4, 2017Melville: The Essential Blu-ray Collection from StudioCanal (UK)
Bob Le Flambeur (1956)Synopsis: Jean-Pierre Melville directs this pre-New Wave classic, chronicling a raid on a Parisian casino. Bob the Gambler (Roger Duchesne) reverts to his old trade as a bank robber after several bad rolls of the dice. However, his plans to rip off a casino are thrown into chaos by an unforeseen murder and the duplicitous scheming of his criminal colleagues.
Léon Morin, Pretre (1961)Synopsis: The most commercially successful film from Jean-Pierre Melville. Starring Emmanuele Riva and Jean-Paul Belmondo, it is the story of an unfulfilled love affair set against the troubled backdrop of the Occupation.
Le Doulos (1962)Synopsis: Jean-Pierre Melville writes and directs this French crime thriller starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Serge Reggiani. After serial burglar Maurice Faugel (Reggiani) is released from his latest stint behind bars, he quickly returns to his criminal ways and plans a robbery with Silien (Belmondo) and Rémy (Philippe Nahon). After murdering an old associate in retaliation for the killing of his former girlfriend, Maurice becomes racked with suspicion and distrust of everyone around him amid rumours that Silien has become a police informant. When Maurice and Rémy carry out a robbery of their own, the police quickly close in on them and Maurice begins to unravel the deadly web of deceit that has formed around him.
Army of Shadows (1969)Synopsis: French war drama directed by Jean-Pierre Melville and based on the novel by Joseph Kessel. Drawing on the director's own experiences in World War II, the film follows a band of resistance fighters in German-controlled France. As the war continues, the grip of the occupying force tightens, and friendships, loyalty and trust give way to suspicion, secrecy and loss.
Le Cercle Rouge (1970)Synopsis: A gangster film from Jean-Pierre Melville. Starring Alain Delon as a master thief, Yves Montand as an alcoholic ex-cop and Italian star Gian-Maria Volonté as an escaped criminal, the trio plot a daring heist of an upmarket Parisian jewellery story against impossible odds.
Un Flic (1972)Synopsis: Jean-Pierre Melville's last film stars Alain Delon as Police Commissioner Coleman who finds himself playing a game of cat and mouse with a gang of thieves after a bank robbery in a small Riviera town goes wrong. The gang is led by Coleman's friend, Simon (Richard Crenna), a night-club owner and whose girlfriend (Catherine Deneuve) is also having an affair with Coleman. The two men find the rivalry between them increasing as the net begins to surround Simon. A stylish European take on the Hollywood storylines of the Seventies.
Melville: The Essential Blu-ray Collection - Amazon UK
