Luis Bunuel Collection - Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie) (El Discreto encanto de la burguesia) [*Ntsc/region 1 & 4 Dvd. Import-Latin America] Mexico - No English Options

This film reminds me a lot of Hitchcock’s "The Trouble with Harry," another black comedy that was very popular in France. In both films there is a central event that recurs multiple times. In the Hitchcock film it is burying and exhuming Harry. Here it is the six main characters sitting down to dinner together and being interrupted by one bizarre and hilarious event after another. In what may be an homage to Harry, the first event is the discovery of a corpse in the restaurant they have come to—it’s the manager who died a few hours earlier. If you think that there is just no way this could be funny, you’re not going to enjoy this film. Unlike the Hitchcock film there is a political subtext here. The six main characters are very wealthy; they owe their wealth to flaunting the law and exploiting others, they live to gratify their desires, and they are oblivious to the pain and suffering of those around them. These are the “Bourgeoisie” of the title. “Discreet charm” is ironic: they are disgusting. The film ridicules them by showing their desires frustrated by a world that, despite its intrusion, remains permanently outside of their consciousness and never holds them to account. There is a progression in the film: with each repetition of the central event, they group gets a little further into their meal before they are thwarted. The film uses dream sequences to fill out the characters and the intrusions. Whereas other people dream of being dead, of losing parents, and committing acts of violence, the main characters dream of themselves being humiliated or murdered. They live dream lives. That one character, hiding under a table as his friends are massacred, reaches out his hand to grab a piece of meat says everything about his ability to feel loss and to restrain his desires. What makes the film really brilliant is its ability to convey this heavy political message with a light, comedic touch.

It's so absurd that I almost gave up on this. Then I sat back, got in the mood, and let it grow on me. It's jam packed with repetitive situations, unhinged hallucinations, and ludicrous conversations. But it remains tied to an absurd reality. Most important, it kept me entertained. Not for your light viewing pleasure, but well worth it if you're willing to give it a chance. Bunuel must have been some weird kind of dude to come up with something like this.

I really thought I would love this film, based on the glowing reviews and my tastes in movies. The opposite was true. No character development whatsoever, so I really couldn’t care less about any of them by the end of this train wreck. Silly “plot” if you want to call it such, that went nowhere fast. Boring beyond belief and lacking anything remotely bordering on humorous. Truly a stinker. Terribly disappointing!

I Don't See How This Won an Academy Award. The actors and their acting are passable, and, yes, there is some political commentary here. However, not on the level of an Oscar. This is on the level of dinner theatre. The actors deliver their lines and wait for the next actor to deliver their lines, and so on, and so on, and so on; there is no emotion or character development here; everyone's very stiff.The women's gown's are lovely, and the men walk around in black tie or ornate, religious robes. The hair looks like theatrical stage wigs. The makeup is very chalky. The sets are beautiful or very dramatic, but also, on a dinner theatre level. The cinematography and sound are fine. I don't see anything exemplary here.The story is ridiculous. It gets you started on reality. Then, it repeats that reality, which, each time, turns out to be a character's dream or a dream within a dream. The dreams are the political satire. Having lived through the Spanish Civil War, pre-, and post-, Buñuel probably wasn't comfortable with speaking overtly about his political views, hence his covert, political dreams. Maybe the Academy thought Buñuel was being brave because Franco was still alive in 1972, when this movie was released. I'm not sure that a political commentary 33 years later rates an Oscar for bravery.

Class warfare as droll, surreal dream. Some posh low-key French people entertain each other in their posh homes, make small talk, have sex, debate politics, commit crimes, have disturbing dreams (and dreams within dreams) -- and try to have dinner with each other but keep getting interrupted. Servants, peasants, dissidents, military, clergy intrude, and are humored, exploited, or dispensed with. Masterful ensemble company recreate human behavior exquisitely, underplaying with flawless comic timing. Surrealist icon Luis Bunuel's social satire as nonlinear dream: one of the funniest films ever made.

I know this is a "review" but I have nothing to say since I cannot say anything "nice". We never became interested in this film and turned it off. Not one character was interesting, the humor wasn't funny and it was boring. Sorry.

Luis Buñuel’s Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is very funny social criticism. It stands with his best films, of which there are many. And Criterion always gives great films the treatment they deserve.

kind of scattered plot, but amusing. you are never quite sure if a scene is imaginary, a dream, or just something odd. the situations are peculiar, particularly the many interruptions. the people are all rather reprehensible, esp some of their opinions. i suppose you have to "feel" the storyline rather than overthink it. not sure i really followed all of the social commentary, but i got a bit of it.

v v good

La película es extraordinaria. En México solamente venden la versión con doblaje al inglés y en este caso es la cinta original, la que vi hace más de 40 años. El humor de Buñuel ya contiene la sabiduría de la edad. La recomiendo a todo mundo: es una cinta para descubrir si no se conoce... ¡Y qué elenco!

Wer den Regisseur und diese Art Filme mag, greift zu. Ich finde ihn gut.

Great film at a great price. Although this is definitely not a film for every taste... if you enjoy Bunuel's irreverent humor and surreal touches and have not seen this one yet... this disc is highly recommended. The transfer quality is very good. It's a treat to see this old film on bluray.

The item had been advertised under the DVD format of the movie post on Amazon, but I received a VHS. It should have been explicitly clarified in the item description that the item was a VHS not a DVD - but it had not been, and it was misleading.