Belle de Jour (1968)
92%RT Audience Score: 86%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Belle de Jour is a film that transcends the boundaries of traditional cinema, leaving its viewers with a sense of unease and fascination. Buuel’s use of color is nothing short of breathtaking, and the impeccable acting of Deneuve only adds to the film’s allure. With its exploration of erotic shame and the human psyche, Belle de Jour is a masterpiece that will leave a lasting impression on anyone who dares to enter its dreamy, airless world. It’s a film that eats at you and leaves its mark, much like the acid that Buuel so expertly weaves into the narrative. In short, Belle de Jour is a cinematic landmark that will continue to captivate audiences for generations to come.
Belle de Jour” is a film that will leave you feeling like you just ate a fancy meal that you can’t quite pronounce the name of. It’s a mix of eroticism, art, and a touch of weirdness that only Luis Buñuel could pull off. Catherine Deneuve is stunning, but not in a way that makes you feel like you’re watching a porcelain doll. The colors are beautiful, and the furniture is almost a character in itself. It’s a film that will make you feel like you need to take a shower, but in a good way.
Production Company(ies)
Agi Orsi Productions, Forever Films, Quicksilver Entertainment,
Distributor
Miramax Films, Miramax Zoë, Criterion Collection, Miramax Home Entertainment [us]
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Chalet de la Grande Cascade, Allée de Longchamp, Bois de Boulogne, Paris 16, Paris, France
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1968
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.66 : 1
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Runtime:1h 42m
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Language(s):French, Spanish
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Country of origin:France
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 10, 1967 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 2, 2003
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli, Macha Méril, Pierre Clémenti, Francisco Rabal, directed by Luis Buñuel, written by Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière, Joseph Kessel, drama, R rating, box office gross $2.5M, reviewed by Charles Champlin, Anthony Lane, Peter Bradshaw, Owen Gleiberman, Philip Wuntch, Roger Ebert, Louis Séguin, Michael Kostelnuk, Paul Schrader, Margaret Randall, color, French language, Henri Baum producer, Raymond Hakim producer, Genevieve Page, Miramax Films distributor, Miramax Zoë distributor, Criterion Collection distributor, Miramax Home Entertainment distributor
Worldwide gross: $4,162,021
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $40,089,718
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,434
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,371,834
US/Canada gross: $4,063,348
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $39,139,273
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,173
US/Canada opening weekend: $6,462
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $62,244
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,129
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Jean Sorel – Pierre Serizy
Michel Piccoli – Henri Husson
Macha Méril – Renee
Pierre Clémenti – Marcel
Francisco Rabal – Hyppolite
Director – Luis Buñuel
Producers – Henri Baum, Raymond Hakim
Writers – Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière, Joseph Kessel
Director(s)
Luis Buñuel
Writer(s)
Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière, Joseph Kessel
Producer(s)
Henri Baum, Raymond Hakim
Film Festivals
Venice
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (58) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (55) | Rotten (3)
“Belle de Jour” is more interesting and provocative than the great run of pictures one ever sees. Buuel’s handling of color is gorgeous. And the acting is impeccable.
April 13, 2018
Charles Champlin
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
People think of Deneuve as cinema’s answer to bone china, and indeed the romantic efforts of Truffaut, say, left her looking stiff and staid. But she made the brilliant Bunuel think again, and gave his heart a jump.
January 4, 2018
Anthony Lane
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
With co-writer Jean-Claude Carrire, Buuel creates a secret theatre of erotic shame.
September 6, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: A
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
A delicacy, a passionate and compassionate study of erotica.
August 3, 2006 | Rating: A-
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News
TOP CRITIC
It is possibly the best-known erotic film of modern times, perhaps the best.
July 1, 2006 | Rating: 4/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
Seeking rational justifications for his tale would remove all of Bunuel’s impact.
April 5, 2022
Louis Séguin
Positif
It all makes for a quite cold, inhuman film; one which finds its true place in the dreamy, airless world where soft-core pornography meets artistic pretension.
September 1, 2020
Michael Kostelnuk
Winnipeg Free Press
Belle de Jour ranks with L’Age D’Or and Los Olvidados as a landmark not only of Luis Bunuel’s career, but of the history of motion pictures.
July 1, 2020
Paul Schrader
Los Angeles Free Press
[Luis Buñuel] has… given us something we eat and which eats us at the same time: the acid has left its mark. We won’t be the same after this.
January 31, 2020
Margaret Randall
Los Angeles Free Press
Deneuve’s classic beauty that seems to radiate off the screen like never before.
August 6, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
A singular trait in this coolly deadpan comedy is the sinister equilibrium in the alignment of these figures with their furniture and possessions.
June 17, 2019
Manny Farber
Artforum…
Plot
Severine is a beautiful young woman married to a doctor. She loves her husband dearly, but cannot bring herself to be physically intimate with him. She indulges instead in vivid, kinky, erotic fantasies to entertain her sexual desires. Eventually she becomes a prostitute, working in a brothel in the afternoons while remaining chaste in her marriage.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Catherine Deneuve’s classic beauty “seems to radiate off the screen like never before.”
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