Other Formats
This product is also available in the following formats:
- Diary of a Chambermaid [Criterion Collection] [2001] [DVD/Video – DVD]
Diary of a Chambermaid
The second screen version of Octave Mirbeau's novel (originally filmed in 1946 by Jean Renoir), Diary of a Chambermaid charts the ambitions of Celestine (Jeanne Moreau), a woman who comes to work in the 1930s for a Normandy estate occupied by Monsieur Rabour (Jean Ozenne), his daughter (Francoise Lugagne), and the daughter's husband, Monsieur Montiel (Michel Piccoli). Celestine quickly learns that M. Rabour is a more or less harmless boot fetishist, his daughter a frigid woman more concerned with the family furnishings than in returning the affections of her husband, who, in turn, can't keep his hands off the servants. The gamekeeper, Joseph (Georges Geret), is a fascist who keeps his masters informed of all the doings downstairs, and the next-door neighbor (Daniel Ivernel) is a veteran who can't stand Monteil and is sharing a bed with his housekeeper. Celestine picks her way through this minefield carefully, spurning the advances of all of the men until it's convenient for her. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
Purchase This DVD/Video
Product Details
| UPC: | 037429158128 |
|---|---|
| Release Date: | June 5, 2001 |
| Format: | DVD |
| MPAA Rating: | NR |
| Region: | 1 (USA & territories, Canada) |
| Screen: | Black & White |
| Sound: | 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects, PCM mono |
| Language: | English |
| Disc Aspect Ratio: | 2.35:1 |
| Genre: | Drama |
Review
Starting with Viridiana, Luis Bunuel embarked on an amazing run of great films. Somehow, this gem seems to get overlooked amid the praise for The Exterminating Angel, Belle de Jour, The Discreet Charm of the Bouregoisie, and other masterworks. Octave Mirbeau's 1900 novel got a significant update by Bunuel and co-writer Jean-Claude Carriere (who plays the village curé in one scene), as they made the growing tide of fascism in '30s France a strong undercurrent in the proceedings. Celestine, the sharp-witted servant, soon understands that the person in her new house she has the most to fear is not any of her employers; it is Joseph, the gamekeeper who is always railing about the Jews and rules his fellow servants through intimidation. Just as Celestine is about to abandon her post, a crime provides her with a mission. She alone understands Joseph's dark heart and his complicity in the deed, and she sets out a dangerous course. The film is full of Bunuel's usual droll observations about the bourgeois. "Servants don't count," declares one of the story's many lecherous men, but in the end, Celestine gets her way with that character, though her victory is bittersweet. The story's ironic epilogue is typical of Bunuel's jaded view of the world, in which evil will always find a way to flourish. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie GuideCredits
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Françoise Bertin | Actor |
| Gilberte Geniat | Actor — Rose |
| Georges G | Actor — Joseph |
| Daniel Ivernel | Actor — Capt. Mauger |
| Claude Jaeger | Actor — Judge |
| Francoise Lugagne | Actor — Madame Monteil |
| Muni | Actor — Marianne |
| Bernard Musson | Actor — Sacristan |
| Jean Ozenne | Actor — Monsieur Rabour |
| Michel Piccoli | Actor — Monsieur Monteil |
| Dominique Sauvage-Dandieux | Actor — Claire |
| Jean-Claude Carrière | Actor — Cure |
| Jeanne Moreau | Actor — Celestine |
| Luis Buñuel | Director |
| Luis Buñuel | Screenwriter |
| Jean-Claude Carrière | Screenwriter |
|
|
|
© 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. 
