Diary of a Chambermaid (The Criterion Collection)
by Luis Buñuel
Our Price: $58.00
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $35.00 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Françoise Lugagne, Georges Géret, Jean Ozenne, Jeanne Moreau, Michel PiccoliDirector: Luis Buñuel
Brand: Image Entertainment
Writer: Jean-Claude Carrière
Cinematographer: Roger Fellous
Writer: Luis Buñuel
Editor: Louisette Hautecoeur
Producer: Michel Safra
Producer: Serge Silberman
Writer: Octave Mirbeau
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-06-05
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of Diary of a Chambermaid (The Criterion Collection)
Movie Review: The gem in my DVD collection
Summary: 5 Stars
The Diary of a Chambermaid is Luis Brunuel's masterpiece. Though it satirizes countless aspects of French society during the years leading up to WWII (1930, to be precise), includes several intriguing character studies, and carries off a complex plot, it still manages to captivate. Though there is an obvious political statement about fascism, Brunuel seems to have been more intent on showcasing the complacent attitudes of the bourgeoisie that allowed Europe to crumble into the throes of war.Jeanne Moreau is Celestine, a beautiful Parisian chambermaid to moves to the Normandy countryside to work in the home of the wealthy Monteil family. The cast of characters she discovers there are laughable. The family patriarch, Monsieur Rabour, has a foot fetish (with which Celestine has no choice but to comply); his daughter is a frigid woman who cares about nothing more than her imported goodies (and her unvaluables too: she counts sugar cubes to make sure the staff hasn't been stealing); her husband is an amourous fiend who seeks moments of "amour fou" (mad love) with Celestine. Even Celestine's fellow servant-types have their quirks, except not so funny. Joseph, the groundskeeper, is a ruthless racist and sadist who denounces "kikes and wops," tortures animals and rapes and murders a child of whom Celestine was fond. All the while, he is active in a right-winged Facist movement to rid France of foreigners and destroy the republic.
It is the murder of young Claire, and her desire to see justice done, that keeps Celestine at the Monteil estate after her master dies (clutching a pair of shoes, no less). She quickly focuses on Joseph. She accuses him directly but fails to get a confession--though he didn't deny the act, either. There's only one problem: Celestine is forced to fight a sexual attraction to Joseph. In the end, she uses sex as her last shot at extracting a confession.
This film does not end with justice; nor does Celestine remain a character of moral fiber. In the film's last scene, with Celestine having just proven herself to be the ultimate opportunist, the countrymen are marching through the streets toward right-wing brutality and fascism.
From beginning to end, The Diary of a Chambermaid is an amusing look at everything Luis Brunuel apparently hated: the bourgeoisie, complacency, fascism, Catholic (pay attention to the scene in which Madame Monteil asks the priest how to cope with her husband's advances), and the goverment. This isn't knee-slapping funny, but a small slice of wisdom served up in black and white.
Summary of Diary of a Chambermaid (The Criterion Collection)
This wicked adaptation of the Octave Mirbeau novel is classic Luis Buñuel. Jeanne Moreau is Celestine, a beautiful Parisian domestic who, upon arrival at her new job at an estate in provincial 1930s France, entrenches herself in sexual hypocrisy and scandal with her philandering employer (Buñuel regular Michel Piccoli). Filmed in luxurious black-and-white Franscope, Diary of a Chambermaid is a raw-edged tangle of fetishism and murder-and a scathing look at the burgeoning French fascism of the era.Considered surrealist Luis Buñuel most linear film, Diary of a Chambermaid is an excellent introduction to this director's dark satirical world of social criticism. Loosely based on Mirbeau's Journal D'Une Femme de Chambre, Buñuel uses the beautiful French countryside as a backdrop to ruthlessly display his favorite subjects: Catholicism, the bourgeoisie, nationalism, and moral decay. Jeanne Moreau is Celestine, a chambermaid from Paris who takes a job at a picturesque country estate. When the body of the staff's daughter is discovered raped and murdered, Celesine does whatever is necessary to uncover the girl's killer. She quickly learns that her new employees, though apparent pillars of nouveau aristocracy, are as morally corrupt as the girl?s murderer. Though extremely linear for Buñuel, Diary of a Chambermaid does not lack for profound, symbolic imagery and cryptic revelations. --Rob Bracco
Bob le Flambeur (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2002-04-16; DVD
Best price: $72.95
Billy Liar (The Criterion Collection)COURTENAY,TOM; Release date: 2001-07-10; DVD
Best price: $50.00
The Small Back Room (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2008-08-19; DVD
Best price: $18.38
Price in other shops:
Belle de Jour (Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2012-01-17; DVD
Best price: $19.49
Price in other shops:
Viridiana (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2006-05-23; DVD
Best price: $16.49
Price in other shops:
The Milky Way (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2007-08-21; DVD
Best price: $42.99
The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2002-02-12; DVD
Best price: $72.50
That Obscure Object of Desire (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2001-11-20; DVD
Best price: $54.49
Port of Shadows (The Criterion Collection)GABIN,JEAN; Release date: 2004-07-20; DVD
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
The Phantom of LibertyPhantom; Release date: 2005-05-24; DVD
Best price: $59.99