"The movie is suavely irrational, predicated on interlocking dreams (and dreams within dreams), as well as assorted terrorists, gangsters and army officers...
an avant-garde sitcom."
— J. Hoberman, New York Times
"The movie is suavely irrational, predicated on interlocking dreams (and dreams within dreams), as well as assorted terrorists, gangsters and army officers...
an avant-garde sitcom."
— J. Hoberman, New York Times
France, 1972
Director: Luis Buñuel
Producer: Serge Silberman
Cast: Fernando Rey, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Stéphane Audran, Delphine Seyrig
Screenwriter: Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière
Cinematography: Edmond Richard
Genre: Comedy
Color
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Language: French with English subtitles
Running Time: 101 minutes
Synopsis:
A group of six friends - three men and three women decidedly of the French Upper Middle Class - have their dinner plans continually interrupted due to a series of bizarre events that can only be described as Buñuelian.
Awards and Nominations:
Best Foreign Film (Academy Awards, 1973)
Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material not Previously Published or Produced nomination (Academy Awards, 1973)
Best Actress - Stéphane Audran (BAFTA Awards, 1974)
Best Screenplay (BAFTA Awards, 1974)
Best Direction, Best Film, Best Soundtrack nominations (BAFTA Awards, 1974)
Best Foreign-Language Film nomination (Golden Globes, 1973)
Best Director (National Society of Film Critics Awards, 1972)
Best Film (National Society of Film Critics Awards, 1972)
Restoration:
The 4K restoration was produced by Studiocanal in 2022 with the support of the CNC. Restoration work was carried out by the L'Image Retrouvée laboratory using elements stored in the French Film Archives. The original 35mm negative was scanned in 4K on Arriscan and, for certain parts of the negative that were too badly damaged, an interpositive was used to optimize the reproduction of the film in its original quality. Scratches, physical deteriorations, and dust have been erased frame by frame. The color grading was done with reference to the original 35mm elements in order to respect the image as supervised by the film's director of photography Edmond Richard. The soundtrack has been restored from the original mix to recreate a sound consistent with the period.
"A cosmic vaudeville show - an Old Master's mischief...This is Buñuel's most frivolously witty movie!"
— Pauline Kael
“Most of the films of Luis Buñuel are comedies in one way or another, but he doesn’t go for gags and punch lines; his comedy is more like a dig in the ribs,
sly and painful.”
— Roger Ebert
"A RICH AND RARE EXPERIENCE!"
— Archer Winsten, New York Post