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, 10 November 2002

Gross USA:

$6,172

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,172

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

Director's trademark: [insects] Foucauld places a large framed spider on the mantelpiece after declaring that he is "sick of symmetry"

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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

Referenced in Party or A Woodpecker on the Concrete Column (2009)

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Soundtracks

Carnaval, opus 9, movement number 12 - Chopin
Written by Robert Schumann
Played on the piano by the sister of the police commissioner

User Reviews

Is your perception your reality?

Before seeing this film, I had no previous exposure to "Surrealist" cinema, or even heard of Luis Buñuel. "Phantom of Liberty" is comprised of several tableaux each linked together by the underlying idea of freedom. It addresses the absurdity of social conventions, questions cultural taboos like monogamy, and exposes the innuendos and criticisms of the Catholic school system—to name a few.

It's incredible how a film can bring to your consciousness so much that lay within your subconscious. In the beginning of the film, a middle- aged man gives two young girls some photographs. Instinctively, I thought, 'He's a pedophile,' when in actuality he had given them postcards of French architecture. Bunuel addresses what we have all been conditioned to feel as a result of our societal and cultural influences.

I enjoyed this movie mainly because of the surrealistic elements. The direction, the acting, and the stories were all meaningful, I was entertained throughout. See it!