Lus Bunuel Films (1 Viewer)

[Tom Scholfield]

Does anyone know if there is any plans to release any of his other films on DVD besides That Obscure Object of Desire and The Discreet Charm of the Bouguisie which are both on Criterion

 

[Jason Whyte]

Bunuel's Diary Of A Chambermaid is also on Criterion...but I haven't heard of any of his unreleased films set for release yet.

Jason

 

[Patrick McCart]

Doesn't Kino have VHS rights for Un chien andalou?

It would be great to have that film in a watchable edition finally.

 

[Dick]

And how about Bunuel's 1952 version of THE ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, which is practically legendary for its superb cinematography but which has never had a video release...?

 

[Brian PB]

Kino had planned to release L'Âge d'or (1930) this summer, but it's been delayed until mid-2004 while they try to find other material to accompany it. They have said that they do not have DVD rights to Un Chien andalou (1929).

In addition to Criterion's three fine releases, there are two releases from the French company, films sans frontières, that you should check out:

Los Olvidados (1950) with Las Hurdes (1933): The first film has English subtitles, but the short film does not.

Ensayo de un crimen/The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (1955) with Él (1952) [The DVD is listed under the French title, La Vie criminelle d'Archibald de la Cruz]. Both have English subtitles.

Both of these releases are Region 0 NTSC, so they will play on standard U.S. & Canadian DVD equipment. There hasn't been any extensive restoration of the film elements, but I can recommend both highly. I bought my copies from the Canadian e-tailer Machiavel DVD where, as of this writing, both are in stock.

Viridiana (1961) is available from the same company, but has only French subtitles.

My current favorite Buñuel film, Belle de jour (1967), is being re-released by Miramax at a lower MSRP ($19.99) on September 2nd (I believe this is simply a price drop--from $32.99!!--without any other changes to the release). It is a decent presentation (letterboxed 1.66:1 OAR--the box states that it's anamorphically enhanced, but I think that's an error), with a fine commentary by scholar Julie Jones.

Criterion will likely be releasing two Buñuel films in 2004 (both recently given limited theatrical re-releases by Rialto):

La Voie lactée/The Milky Way (1969)
Le Fantôme de la liberté/The Phantom of Liberty (1974)

Buñuel is certainly one of my top ten favorite directors, so I am anxious for all of his major works to be made available in Region 1. In particular, I would like to see releases of Tristana (1970), Viridiana (1961), El Ángel exterminador/The Exterminating Angel (1962), Nazarin (1958), and Simón del desierto/Simon of the Desert (1965)--in addition to Un chien andalou and L'Âge d'or--but I'll take what I can get.

In Region 2, the British Film Institute (bfi) is planning a release of Un chien andalou sometime in the future.

I have searched in vain for other non-R1 Buñuel releases with English subs.

 

[Werner Heimmer]

Ebay.fr has many of those discs. Los Olvidados is a very good release with an alternate ending (!). Subtitles on the main film but not on the short.

La Voie lactée was due for a release this year in the UK from Canal+/Warner but it never appeared. It was mentioned again for an end of year release.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

letterboxed 1.66:1 OAR--the box states that it's anamorphically enhanced, but I think that's an error

It is an error. Also, calling the presentation for Belle De Jour "decent" is being quite kind. For such a landmark foreign film, I was hoping for much better treatment than the bargain bin release it got.

Bruce

 

[Rain]

FWIW, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie also claims a 1.66:1 AR, but the DVD is in fact slightly overmatted to 1.78:1. It's not tight and doesn't really spoil the viewing.

Other than that, it's a great anamorphic transfer.

 

[ShaunS]

I picked up Obscure Object as an extra in a bundle of dvds I bought from the HTF for sale section. It is the only Bunuel I own and have seen. I did enjoy it, although it wasn't earth shattering. What other of his films are highly recommended?

ShaunS

 

[Tom Scholfield]

Viridiana is really good, and so is The Discreet Charm. The charm and genius in Bunuel's films is not in the techniques he uses in the films but how he messes with the audiences head, after researching his films and writing about him it become more and more evident that his main purpose is to fool and play tricks on the audience. On another level he is also playing tricks on the people that are researching his films. For instance in That Obscure Object of Desire, he is constantly teasing the audience by not letting the two main characters have sex. This is unsatisfying for our main character and for us in the audience it is wonderful to have that kind of connection with the character.

 

[Anthonybaker]

And could someone issue Bunuel's flawed but fascinating 'Wuthering Heights' adaptation, variously known as CUMBRES BORRASCOSAS and ABISMOS DE PASION. - Anthonybaker, England

 

[Richard--W]

Altar Films in Mexico released several Bunuel films with optional English subtitles. Altar's DVD's are pretty good for Mexico. Televisa also released several of his films in various editions with and without subtitles. All his films are available in one edition or another south of the border, just don't expect Warner Brothers picture-quality. The Altar Films DVD's are the best but they don't stay in print for long. Look for them on ebay.