The Phantom of Liberty (1974)
"Le fantôme de la liberté" (original title)

One of Luis Bunuel's most free-form and purely Surrealist films, consisting of a series of only vaguely related episodes - most famously, the dinner party scene where people sit on ... See full summary »

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writers:

Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière

Stars:

Jean-Claude Brialy, Adolfo Celi, Michel Piccoli

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

One of Luis Bunuel's most free-form and purely Surrealist films, consisting of a series of only vaguely related episodes - most famously, the dinner party scene where people sit on lavatories round a dinner table on, occasionally retiring to a little room to eat.

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Plot Keywords:

dinner | monk | dominatrix | whipping | dark comedy | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

French

Release Date:

27 October 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Specter of Freedom

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$6,172 (USA) (8 November 2002)

Gross:

$6,172 (USA) (8 November 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Euro International Film (EIA), Greenwich Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Quotes

Le père Gabriel/Father Gabriel: Good evening, madame. Do you know what this is?
La dame en noir et la soeur du premier préfet/Prefect's Sister: Yes, it's an image.
Le père Gabriel/Father Gabriel: A miraculous image of St. Joseph. It sometimes has amazing effects on the sick.
La dame en noir et la soeur du premier préfet/Prefect's Sister: Really?
Le père Gabriel/Father Gabriel: Sometimes faith succeeds where science fails. We just came from the Marquise of Pomarede. She was near death. We brought her the image, we prayed, and this morning when we left the chateau...
La dame en noir et la soeur du premier préfet/Prefect's Sister: She was cured?
Le père Gabriel/Father Gabriel: She was a bit better.

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Connections

Featured in Black Sheep (2011)

User Reviews

Liberty is a phantom and Bunuel shows why

This is one the great comedies but it's not really a laugh out loud satire. The series of barely interlocking sketches really break down your senses of what you expect from movies. My favorite bits are when a little girl goes along with her parents to the police station to report that she has been missing for some time and when the military is brought into a zoo to keep the people away from the animals. The look on the face of an ostrich almost seems to be one of relief. People can read deeply into the messages of the stories or can just be taken for the fun (one might almost say hip) paradoxes of society. I think Bunuel wants to show that complete freedom is impossible because even if you are willing to detach from everybody and everything, you still have your own inner-nature to answer to. **** out of ****