The Phantom of Liberty (1974)

A series of surreal sequences that critique morality and society in a stream of consciousness style.

Director:

Luis Buñuel (as Luis Bunuel)

Writers:

Luis Buñuel (scenario) (as Luis Bunuel), 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 (as Miléna Vukotic)
Monica Vitti	...	Mme Foucaud / Mrs. Foucauld

Storyline

This surrealist film consists of a series of only vaguely related episodes, most famously the dinner party scene in which people sit on lavatories round a dinner table, occasionally retiring to a small room to eat.

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Plot Keywords:

female pantyhosed crotch | female stockinged legs | taupe pantyhose | pantyhose | fishnet stockings | 

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Taglines:

Luis Bunuel's kinkiest comedy.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

27 October 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Phantom of Liberty

Filming Locations:

Studios de Boulogne, Avenue Jean-Baptiste Clément, Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,172, 8 November 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$6,172, 10 November 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

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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Goofs

At the beginning of the movie after shooting the prisoners you can see one of the victims moving the hand although he's dead.

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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 Zomergasten: Episode #17.2 (2004)

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Soundtracks

Rhapsody in G minor
Written by Johannes Brahms
Played on the piano by the sister of the police commissioner

User Reviews

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...