The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie (Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie) (1972)
94%RT Audience Score: 89%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
8 wins & 11 nominations total
Luis Bunuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is a surrealist masterpiece that fearlessly satirizes the hypocrisy of the upper class. With dream sequences that nest within each other like Chinese puzzle boxes, Bunuel toys with the Jungian notion of the collective unconscious. The film is a deliciously pungent concoction that will set your spirits soaring and your mind aglow, thanks to the wizard command of cinematic juxtapositions by the master filmmaker. It’s a fascinating and thought-provoking work of cinema that showcases Bunuel’s artful insolence and reminds us why he is one of life’s great originals.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is like a wild ride on a rollercoaster, but instead of loops and drops, you get surreal dream sequences and biting social commentary. Bunuel’s film is a hilarious and thought-provoking look at the hypocrisy of the upper class, and it’s no wonder it’s considered a classic. If you’re looking for a movie that will make you laugh and make you think, this is the one for you. Just be prepared for some seriously weird stuff.
Production Company(ies)
Greenwich Film Productions,
Distributor
Applause Video, Media Home Entertainment, Rialto Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Criterion Collection
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Paris, France
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1972
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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 40m
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Language(s):French, Spanish, Latin
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 15, 1972 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 28, 2008
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, PG, Comedy, French (Canada), directed by Luis Buñuel, written by Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière, starring Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Stéphane Audran, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Bulle Ogier, produced by Serge Silberman, reviewed by David Denby, Anton Bitel, Anthony Lane, Budd Wilkins, Peter Bradshaw, Robbie Collin, Rob Aldam, Matt Brunson, Judith Crist, John Hofsess, A.S Hamrah, Robert Hatch, box office gross of $204.9K, Applause Video, Media Home Entertainment, Rialto Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Criterion Collection, Mono sound mix, surreal fantasy, Latin American republic of Miranda, dinner party, six bourgeois friends, repeated dinner gatherings, social critique, upper classes, dreams, memories, civil servants, Bunuel’s art, deeply funny, insolent, deeply funny, surreal sequences, cynical, recognizable reality, spooky, horror, farceur, Chinese puzzle boxes, Jungian notion, collective unconscious, exotic, brilliant hothouse flower, thought-provoking, fascinating, pungent, spirits soaring, mind aglow
Worldwide gross: $17,432
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $138,358
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,988
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 15,088
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
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
Delphine Seyrig – Mme Thevenot
Stéphane Audran – Alice Senechal (as Stephane Audran)
Jean-Pierre Cassel – M. Senechal
Paul Frankeur – M. Thevenot
Bulle Ogier – Florence
Director(s)
Luis Buñuel
Writer(s)
Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière
Producer(s)
Serge Silberman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
8 wins & 11 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (56) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (55) | Rotten (1)
Bunuel’s art is as insolent as ever. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is a deeply funny movie, as a viewing experience it’s like walking across a perilous, sway little bridge whose guide rails periodically snatched away.
June 21, 2022
David Denby
The Atlantic
TOP CRITIC
The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie is full of surreal sequences revealing its characters’ unconsciouses – but it also offers up a far more cynical, all too recognisable reality.
June 20, 2022
Anton Bitel
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
I had forgotten just how spooky the dream scenes are; Bunuel could have been a master of horror, or a great farceur. As it was, he was simply Bunuel, which is cause enough for celebration.
January 4, 2018
Anthony Lane
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Dreams nest within other dreams like so many Chinese puzzle boxes, while no dream belongs exclusively to a single dreamer, as though Buuel were toying with the Jungian notion of the collective unconscious.
November 21, 2012 | Rating: 4/4
Budd Wilkins
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
An exotic and brilliant hothouse flower of a film.
June 28, 2012 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Fate conspires to prevent six French eminences from eating dinner in this remastered print of Buuel’s gigglesome, troubling Surrealist tract.
June 28, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Robbie Collin
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A fascinating and thought-provoking work of cinema.
June 16, 2022
Rob Aldam
Backseat Mafia
Bunuel fearlessly tears into class hypocrisy.
January 24, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Luis Bunuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is a deliciously pungent concoction by the 72-year-old filmmaker and his young co-scenarist, Jean-Claude Carriere, that will set your spirits soaring and your mind aglow.
June 11, 2020
Judith Crist
Texas Monthly
If you’ve never been a Bunuel film, this is a fine one to start with; Luis Bunuel is one of life’s great originals and he’s in top form here.
October 9, 2019
John Hofsess
Maclean’s Magazine
Triggered by minor annoyances, the dreams and memories of civil servants invade the lives of Buñuel’s upper-class characters whenever they sit down to eat.
November 29, 2018
A.S. Hamrah
n+1
I must assure you that, such is Buuel’s wizard command of cinematic juxtapositions, the proceedings are delightfully clear, as well as light and witty.
January 30, 2018
Robert Hatch
The Nation…
Plot
Several bourgeois friends planning to get together for dinner experience a succession of highly unusual occurrences that interfere with their expected dining enjoyment.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie includes Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Stéphane Audran, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Paul Frankeur, and Bulle Ogier.
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