It's watchable, and by all means worth renting. But I can't recommend buying it. One can only hope it is cleaned up and given better treatment at some point. But don't let the poor video quality stop you from viewing, or re-viewing, the movie.

As has been pointed out by many others, there is no interview with Deneuve. However, at least there is a commentary track. While far from the best analytical commentary I've heard for an older film, this is still worth a listen. Julie Jones clearly knows her subject and she provides a very listenable track.

Criterion has done such a bang up job with three other Bunuel classics, it's a shame that they weren't able to make this film look as fantastic as it probably can. With any luck, sometime in the future we'll see a much better transfer.

Erotica According To Bunuel. (Rating: 5.00)
Review : "Belle De Jour" by the great Luis Bunuel is the best example of what true eroticism is in the cinema. It is an exquisite, seductive and stylish, also surreal, fantasy that enraptures us by not only picking at the main character's brain, but at ours as well. This is not a movie about sex, or at least, the physical aspects of it, this is a movie about the idea and fantasy of sex, it delivers the reason why we're attracted to sexuality or sexually stimulating images in the first place. This also makes it a rare psychological movie. Some may say it is also a perfect portrait of the masochist woman, and this indeed may be true (Bunuel was a big fan of the Marquis De Sade) considering Severine (the lovely Catherine Deneuve), we notice, is especially turned on by the violent aspects of what she is doing more than the secretive. This is required viewing for fans of erotica, surrealism and brilliant filmmaking. Notice how Bunuel sets a completely seductive air without a single sex scene, this movie shames trash like "Caligula" and "Y Tu Mama Tambien." Here is one of the masters giving a lesson on what is erotic. Much of what we perceive as sexually alluring (weather it may be "twisted" or "normal") is born in our imaginations and this is one point Bunuel makes, it is Severine's fantasies that really drive the movie. Visually the movie is very stylish with the elegant clothing, settings and of course, Deneuve, one of the beauties of her time. There are the usual Bunuel touches, bizaare scenes of surrealism (as when Severine is caked in mud by her husband before a herd of bulls in a dream sequence) and shots following Severine's feet (Bunuel was a well-known foot fetishist). His brilliance for characters and scenarios is here too, giving complex deliveries with simple-looking set-ups. Bunuel remains one of the giants of filmmaking, having made the notorious and classic 1929 surrealist film with Salvador Dali, "Un Chien Andalou" with the famous image of a razor slicing a woman's eyeball. His Mexican films like the highly influential "Los Olvidados" and the controversial "Virdiana" are also hypnotic gems, but when he returned to European filmmaking in the late 60s his career really took off and "Belle De Jour" is one of those first great masterpieces. It is a movie done with style, taste and truth.

Jaw-droppingly unique! (Rating: 5.00)
Review : The first time I saw this film, I fell instantly in love with it. The further I was drawn into the film, the deeper I was taken into the mystery of the story.

Great storytelling by the French who have always been progressive in filmmaking. This is a very sexy film starring the ageless beauty, Catherine Deneuve. She is beautiful in the film and is the reason for the unforgettable quality of the film.

Belle de Jour indeed! (Rating: 4.00)
Review : Luis Bunuel's classic "Belle de Jour" must have been enormously, outrageously shocking to audiences when it debuted in the late 1960s. It may well continue to shock today, although for completely different reasons. At the time, I suspect people objected to the idea that a woman would not only fantasize about debasing herself, but also actually act upon these desires. Now, the outrage would involve the concept that a woman would choose to do such a thing at all. Why, feminists would say today, when a woman can chose so many different outlets would she decide to subordinate herself to men? In a world highly charged with feminist influences, the story about a woman who attains sexual arousal only when strange men treat her like garbage would cause the most strident libber to cough and sputter with rage. Whatever the case, Bunuel's film is an interesting one to watch. I still cannot say whether I enjoyed it or not. My girlfriend, no frothing at the mouth feminist, found the film extremely tiresome. She almost fell asleep several times, and urged me to turn it off. Not a ringing endorsement, to be sure, but there are intriguing elements to the film well worth looking for if you try hard enough.

Severine Serizy (Catherine Deneuve) lives a posh existence. Her husband, a wealthy, busy doctor, is willing to buy his wife anything she desires. He even likes spending time with her on occasion, but he treats her like a child. It is obvious Severine finds her spouse boring in ways both sexual and emotional. As an outlet for her boredom, Serizy imagines elaborate fantasies involving whippings, rapes, and being splattered with mud. Why? Because Severine doesn't have the nerve to do something about her growing ennui. Life goes on as it always has until our heroine cannot stand it anymore. She finally goes into town and signs on as help at a local brothel, agreeing to turn up a few afternoons a week for several hours of degradation and debasement. It takes forever for Severine to fully engage her clients because she continually hesitates to follow through on her fantasies. After meeting with her first client, which turns out to be a total disaster, she stays away from the brothel for a few days. The fantasies and boredom of married life drive her back, however, and she soon racks up a list of clients who favor this emotionally frigid yet beautiful woman.

Problems emerge when Severine enchants a violent thug named Marcel. Here's a customer Serizy can appreciate, a brutish lout who will fulfill her violent desires. Unfortunately, Marcel also has his own desires, namely obtaining Severine on a permanent basis. This won't work at all since Serizy never wishes to abandon her easy life with her wealthy husband. The criminal is not to be deterred as he stalks Severine and eventually discovers where she lives. A violent act committed against her husband, an act that leaves the man permanently scarred, leads to a sort of rapprochement at the end of the film between man and wife. At least I think it does. You're never exactly sure what is going on here because the director's use of surrealism blends reality with Severine's outrageous fantasies. The movie's moving along at a nice clip, you're following the plot, and suddenly there is a scene with Severine doing something naughty under a table. Huh? The mix of wild nonsense with conventional scenes isn't as bad as it sounds, though. In fact, it's often funny.

"Belle de Jour" is the sort of film that necessitates multiple viewings. There is just too much going on here to absorb in a single sitting. I am not sure whether Bunuel was a communist or not, but I suspect the film is an artfully constructed attack on the European bourgeoisie. The director uses Severine as a symbol of upper class decadence, as a symbol of everything that is wrong with the wealthy. Here's a woman who seemingly has it all and yet she cannot find satisfaction in her life. Heck, she's only been married to her husband for a year and already she's looking for new thrills, new acquisitions. On the other hand, Marcel is your typical proletariat, a common man who is secure in his identity and in his desires. He should have spent his time attempting to destroy the bourgeois Severine instead of bedding her. As it is, his attempt to possess her leads to his destruction. Whatever this movie ultimately means-and there are plenty of interpretations out there awaiting your attention-Catherine Deneuve is amazing to watch in the role of Severine. She's a beautiful woman, and it's quite something to watch a woman who looks this good engage in these sorts of activities. The mud scene alone is worth the price of the film.

The DVD is a mixed bag. The picture quality is awful considering how prized this film is to millions of cinema fans. I've seen the arguments about retaining the "purity" of Bunuel's best-known film, but the grain, streaks, and general haphazardness of the presentation made me wonder why a Criterion treatment for "Belle de Jour" isn't in the works. What would the film really lose if the techies made a once over on the negative? At least the transfer is in widescreen, with a commentary by a Bunuel student and some trailers thrown in for good measure. When it comes right down to it, I would watch "Belle de Jour" again. It's a movie interesting enough to merit subsequent viewings if for no other reason than to try and get to the bottom of just what Bunuel was trying to say.

okay (Rating: 3.00)
Review : Somewhat disappointed, very limited action, easy enough to follow.