NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (December 2020): Criterion have transferred Three Films By Luis Buñuel to Blu-ray; The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Phantom of Liberty and That Obscure Object of Desire. They are cited as being "New high-definition digital restorations of all three films". So, I don't see evidence of film-level restorations but the 1080P advances in terms of color depth (superior skin tones - notable in face in the third comparison capture of That Obscure Object of Desire) and balance, grain texture and more layered contrast. The Studio Canal Blu-rays of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie from 2012 was only single-layered (their 2012 That Obscure Object of Desire UK Blu-ray was dual-layered) and the new Criterion has a 50% higher bitrate, for both, looking crisper with tighter colors. Overall the improvement over SD, and other 1080P, is in the usual areas and it's really just math with the higher resolution / higher bitrate giving a spanking new, highly pleasing, presentation of these 70's classic Buñuel films.   

NOTE: We have added 48 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use linear PCM mono tracks (24-bit) in the original French language with That Obscure Object of Desire offering a lossy English language DUB option. Yes, there are some aggressive effects - gunshots (machine gun, rifle fire, handguns etc.) but they come across flat with minor depth. There are no credit original composures for any music (all classical) in the film - which is generally very limited but The Phantom of Liberty has Schumann's Carnaval, opus 9, movement number 12 and Johannes Brahms' Rhapsody in G minor (both played on the piano by the naked sister of the police commissioner) and on That Obscure Object of Desire Richard Wagner's Die Walküre performed by Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele conducted by Karl Böhm. It does seem to advance on the DVD audio - cleaner with more depth but remaining authentically flat. The That Obscure Object of Desire English DUB is not very sync'ed and we prefer the original French. Criterion offer optional English subtitles (NOT DUB-titles for That Obscure Object of Desire) on their Region 'A'-locked Blu-rays.

The Criterion Blu-rays offers many extras (some repeated from their DVDs) although no commentaries from the innovator of that physical media feature. Supplements are none-the-less overwhelming. On the Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Blu-ray is "Speaking of Buñuel" (A proposito de Buñuel, 2000), a 1 1/2 hours documentary directed by Jose Luis Lopez-Linares and Javier Rioyo, examining the life of director Luis Buñuel through his films and personal ephemera—including photos, documents, and home movies—as well as through interviews with those who knew and collaborated with him, including filmmaker Carlos Saura; screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere; actors Carole Bouquet, Michel Piccoli, and Silvia Pinal; his wife, Jeanne Rucar de Buñuel; and many others. The Castaway of Providence Street, is a 24-minute 1971 homage to Luis Buñuel made by his longtime friends and fellow filmmakers Arturo Ripstein and Rafael Castanedo. In the late 1960s and early '70s, the director Arturo Ripstein and editor Rafael Castanedo regularly visited the home of Luis and Jeanne Rucar Bunuel in Mexico City, and began to film their time together. The Castaway of Providence Street (El naufrago de la calle de Providencia, 1971) was made from the footage they captured, and is an intimate portrait of their friendship, and shows the great director doing what he loved to do most: making cocktails. The original version of the film, which included excerpts from Luis Bunuel's own work, was reedited by Castanedo in the early 2000s, and that later version is included in this package. Once Upon a Time: “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie,” is a 52-minute 2011 television program episode of the documentary series Once Upon a Time is an in-depth look at the making of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, including the sociopolitical context out of which it emerged. It features screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, actors Stephane Audran and Bulle Ogier, first assistant director Pierre Lary, and other collaborators and critics. The Making of “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" runs shy of 14-minutes; this 1972 episode of the French program Pour /e cinema includes behind-the-scenes footage of director Luis Buñuel on the set of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, along with interviews with Bunuel and actors Stephane Audran, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Bulle Ogier, Fernando Rey, and Delphine Seyrig. Ther eisn also a 3-minute trailer on the Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Blu-ray.

The Phantom of Liberty Blu-ray starts with offering a 4.5 minute video introduction by screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière who shares anecdotes about his work with director Luis Buñuel in this 1974 episode of the French television program Le demier des cinq. Analysis of The Phantom of Liberty runs 20-minutes from 2017 by film scholar Peter William Evans who presents an analysis of the film and the inspirations that he believes guided Luis Buñuel's process, including the director's sympathies with Marxist ideology, his disgust with Spain's repressive regimes, and his affinities for the artist Francisco Goya and the writer Andre Gide. There is a brief (5-minute) interview with Jean-Claude Brialy and Michel Piccoli from a 1974 episode of the French television series Pour le cinema, where they offer their thoughts on Luis Buñuel's working style, and discuss the first time they each met the director. We get a 7-minute interview with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere recorded in 2000 for the Criterion Collection. The Producers runs 1/2 an hour; producer Serge Silberman was an integral part of director Luis Buñuel's creative team, and worked with the director on five of his final seven films, including The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Phantom of Liberty, and That Obscure Object of Desire. This 1985 documentary looks at Silberman's legendary career, which also included collaborations with Jacques Becker (Le trou), Jean-Pierre Melville (Bob le flambeur), and Akira Kurosawa (Ran). Lastly on The Phantom of Liberty Blu-ray disc is an original theatrical trailer.

The That Obscure Object of Desire Blu-ray first offers as an extra a 19-minute interview with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere recorded for the Criterion Collection in 2000. Included are excerpts from Jacques de Baroncelli's 1929 silent La Femme et le Pantin, an alternative adaptation of the novel on which Luis Buñuel based his film. The 1898 novel La Femme et le Pantin (The Woman and the Puppet) has been adapted for the screen at least six times. During the formative years of his directing career, Luis Buñuel watched the 1929 film version by Jacques de Baroncelli many times, and it seems to have informed his own adaptation of the novel in That Obscure Object of Desire. Presented here are three scenes from Baroncelli's La femme et le pantin starting with 2 3/4 minutes of Conchita Dances - it has been edited from its original length. The corresponding scene in That Obscure Object of Desire occurs approximately three minutes and fifteen seconds into chapter 13, "Conchita must rest." Humiliation is shy of 5-minutes. This scene from Jacques de Baroncelli's La femme et Ie pantin has also been edited from its original length. The corresponding scene in That Obscure Object of Desire occurs approximately two minutes into chapter 14, "Ambush." The Fight is also edited down to 3.5 minutes and corresponds to the scene in That Obscure Object of Desire that occurs approximately twenty seconds into chapter 15, "The key is returned." Lady Doubles is a 38-minute 2017 documentary featuring actors Carole Bouquet and Ángela Molina, who share the role of Conchita in That Obscure Object of Desire. They discuss director Luis Buñuel's working methods and the friendship that developed between them. We also get on this disc Portrait of an Impatient Filmmaker, Luis Buñuel, a 16-minute 2012 short documentary featuring director of photography Edmond Richard and assistant director Pierre Lary who both worked with Luis Buñuel on several films—recall the director's precision on set, his lack of interest in explaining character psychology to actors, and his delight in his decision to replace Maria Schneider, who originated the role of Conchita and with whom he experienced on-set difficulties, with two actors, Carole Bouquet and Angela Molina. Carrière, Rey, Silberman is a 1/4 hour from a 1977 episode of the French television program Le monde du cinéma featuring screenwriter Carriére, actor Rey, and producer Serge Silberman. Remembering Buñuel is 1/2 hour - made in 1977, after the filming of That Obscure Object of Desire, where many of Luis Bunuel's longtime collaborators, including screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere and actors Julien Bertheau, Muni, Michel Piccoli, and Fernando Rey, gathered to talk about their dear friend and colleague. Their conversation was presented as part of the French program AlIons au cinema. Lastly on the That Obscure Object of Desire Blu-ray is a trailer.

The 3 Blu-ray package offers a liner notes booklet featuring essays by critic Adrian Martin and novelist and critic Gary Indiana, along with interviews with Buñuel by critics José de la Colina and Tomás Pérez Turrent and the cover art has a new design by Eric Skillman, based on the original poster art by René Ferracci. 

Luis Buñuel's cinema is totally unique - politically and intellectually brazen "in which his renegade, free-associating surrealism reached its audacious, self-detonating endgame" with these three final films and Criterion's package of endless extras make their 3 Blu-ray set an essential. You can revisit these masterworks for the rest of your life seeing new details in each viewing. Humorist, moralist, and revolutionary who lead the avant-garde surrealism movement and cemented himself in the legacy of world cinema. Seven of Buñuel's films are included in Sight & Sound's 2012 critics' poll of the top 250 films of all time (which includes The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie) and he ranks number 13 on the list of the top 250 directors. This iconoclast can be examined endlessly. Our highest recommendation!

Gary Tooze