Le fantôme de la liberté (1974)

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writers:

Luis Buñuel (writer)
Jean-Claude Carrière (writer)

Release Date:

27 October 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

One of Luis Bunuel's most free-form and purely Surrealist films, consisting of a series of only vaguely related episodes - most famously...

Plot Keywords:

Dinner | Female Nudity | Hotel | Soldier | Missing Child

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Adriana Asti	...	La dame en noir et la soeur du premier préfet / Prefect's Sister
Julien Bertheau	...	Le premier préfet de police / First Prefect
Jean-Claude Brialy	...	Foucauld / Mr. Foucauld
Adolfo Celi	...	Le docteur de Legendre / Doctor Pasolini
Paul Frankeur	...	L'aubergiste / Innkeeper
Michael Lonsdale	...	Le chapelier / Hatter
Pierre Maguelon	...	Gérard, le gendarme / Policeman
François Maistre	...	Le professeur des gendarmes / Professor
Hélène Perdrière	...	La vieille tante / Aunt
Michel Piccoli	...	Le second préfet de police / Second Prefect
Claude Piéplu	...	Le commissaire de police / Commissioner
Jean Rochefort	...	Legendre / Mr. Legendre
Bernard Verley	...	Le capitaine des dragons / Judge
Milena Vukotic	...	L'infirmière / Nurse
Monica Vitti	...	Mme Foucaud / Mrs. Foucauld

Also Known As:

Il fantasma della libertà (Italy)
The Phantom of Liberty
The Specter of Freedom

Runtime:

USA:104 min | Argentina:104 min | West Germany:103 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Ireland:15 | West Germany:16 (f) | Austria:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

Euro International Film (EIA)

Trivia:

In British broadcasts the "Serial Killer as Celebrity" segment is often cut out.

Quotes:

Le docteur de Legendre/Doctor Pasolini: You have cancer of the liver.
Legendre/Mr. Legendre: Cancer? Me?
Le docteur de Legendre/Doctor Pasolini: It's in a fairly advanced state. But today, you know, these things... Cigarette?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lèvres de sang (1975)

The great Bunuel

What can one say after watching "The phantom of liberty"? if you want to make films of your own, you can only be jealous with the power of Buñuel at directing the most simple everyday situations with a surrealist twist without thinking twice and flicking an eye. his hatred of the bourgeoisie is evident here even much more in then in his masterpiece "The discreet charm...". and the reason is: in that film there was a plot, a reason, a context which within things were happening, and the viewer could relate to things that happened earlier in the film. but in this picture there is no line, not one story, but stories that don't even intertwine with one another. just a collection of fragments, some strange, some funny, some totally impossible.

The freedom that Bunuel takes upon himself is backened with a lot of responsibility. one has to be responsible and not losing the viewer. but this freedom is exactly the same that he had as an artist while making "Un chien andalou", or "Archibaldo de la cruz". it's just that this time there is an attack at yet another bourgeoisie item: order. stories claim order. so is the ruling class.

So Bunuel and Carriere decided to attack the order of storytelling itself. it's a very tricky business to do on film, but if you understand the way dream works, no problem. let's go straight ahead. and so much fun is promised.

Just like any other Bunuel film, there are no special effects, no overwhelming shots, no camera or editing tricks. just an attack, there is no other way calling this, on reality of the mind, of the eye and of order of things. it is only when you release yourself from social rules that are false, fake and immoral, you can become free again. only when you see your fellow man and his suffering, you can become moral. only when you cry against social injustice, you can justify the revolution of humanity against greed and the wars it inflicted us into. if you'll keep on crying "death to freedom", you are in danger of becoming one of them bourgeois guys. and it's so easy, my god...