290 The Phantom of Liberty
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290 The Phantom of Liberty
The Phantom of Liberty
Bourgeois convention is demolished in Luis Buñuel's surrealist gem The Phantom of Liberty. Featuring an elegant soiree with guests seated at toilet bowls, poker-playing monks using religious medals as chips, and police officers looking for a missing girl who is right under their noses, this perverse, playfully absurd comedy of non sequiturs deftly compiles many of the themes that preoccupied Buñuel throughout his career, from the hypocrisy of conventional morality to the arbitrariness of social arrangements.
Special Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Video introduction by screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Original theatrical trailer
- PLUS: A 32-page booklet featuring a new essay by critic Gary Indiana and a reprinted interview with Buñuel
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Bourgeois convention is demolished in Luis Buñuel's surrealist gem The Phantom of Liberty. Featuring an elegant soiree with guests seated at toilet bowls, poker-playing monks using religious medals as chips, and police officers looking for a missing girl who is right under their noses, this perverse, playfully absurd comedy of non sequiturs deftly compiles many of the themes that preoccupied Buñuel throughout his career, from the hypocrisy of conventional morality to the arbitrariness of social arrangements.
Special Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Video introduction by screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Original theatrical trailer
- PLUS: A 32-page booklet featuring a new essay by critic Gary Indiana and a reprinted interview with Buñuel
Criterionforum.org user rating averages
Feature currently disabled
Last edited by Martha on Fri Dec 02, 2005 12:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Well, Phantom can really stand on its own, but a scholarly commentary could shed some light on all the little details which I'm sure are in the film. In general, though, it's a convoluted comedy that isn't nearly as complex as Viridiana or The Milky Way.
The Milky Way desperately needs a lot of supplemental materials to help most viewers appreciate all the stuff happening in the film. I think Simon of the Desert would make a great supplement on that disc. If The Milky Way is going to be released by itself, it needs a good compliment of supplements since I'm sure a lot of people won't buy it just for the barebones movie. Phantom, on the other hand, is tremendous fun without the benefit of an academic background in the Catholic tradition.
The Milky Way desperately needs a lot of supplemental materials to help most viewers appreciate all the stuff happening in the film. I think Simon of the Desert would make a great supplement on that disc. If The Milky Way is going to be released by itself, it needs a good compliment of supplements since I'm sure a lot of people won't buy it just for the barebones movie. Phantom, on the other hand, is tremendous fun without the benefit of an academic background in the Catholic tradition.
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Random theory on my part: Burden of Dreams is not listed under "Short Films," despite including "Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe"....chaddoli wrote:On the "Related Topics" section for this title, it lists "Short Films."
I'm thinking it's just a Criterion mix-up and this heading was meant for Burden, not Phantom. However, I'll be crossing my fingers for a much more rewarding answer...
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I don't think either of Bunuel's shorts would work with Phantom. This is surely an error. Land Without Bread is a bit of a tough film to pair with any of Bunuel's features (though something like Los Olvidados would be a far better bet than any of the late-period French films). It would probably make most sense in a package of his first three films (the first European period).the dancing kid wrote:That would be wonderful, but doesn't Kino own the video rights to Land Without Bread? They did the old vhs that came with Un Chien Andalou.JusteLeblanc wrote:For short films.... maybe LAND WITHOUT BREAD?
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I'm glad that this is finally being released, but I've really been waiting for "The Milky Way"; I thought that Criterion would definitely be putting these out together. I saw both last year in the theaters and, while "The Phantom Of Liberty" is enjoyable, "The Milky Way" really sucked me in. For me, it may be Bunuel's best (out of the 7 films of his that I've seen). Hopefully the delay is an indicator of more extras on the DVD to prepare.
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Better yet, hand the rights to Criterion...Michael Kerpan wrote:> I quite like Julie Jones' commentary on Miramax's Belle de jour release
Ugly visual quality on this DVD too. Miramax should be ashamed.
The Kino one? haven't watched with the commentary...oldsheperd wrote:Un Chien Andalou has one I haven't heard. L'Age D'Or has a completely awful one.
Axel
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I'm hoping Belle De Jour sees a decent re-release. Besides the whole picture quality, it's the subtitles that bother the hell out of me. And honestly, I'm not a big fan of the commentary either.
You'd think they'd get someone like Gilliam to do a commentary, or maybe even someone else inthe Python group.
You'd think they'd get someone like Gilliam to do a commentary, or maybe even someone else inthe Python group.