D V D s The edition also includes an
additional 23m 55s supplement, El nàufrago de la calle de Providencia (“The Castaway on the Street of Providence”), made by longtime Bunuel friends Arturo Ripstein (son of the Mexi­ can filmmaker Alfredo Ripstein) and Rafael Castañedo, consisting of footage shot at Luis and Jeanne Buñuel’s home in Mexico. While it contains anecdotal reminis­ cences of Buñuel’s many friends in Mexico, it also shows him at home in the late ’60s and early 70s, mixing cocktails for friends. Other supplements include the director’s filmography, as well the film’s French 2m 55s theatrical trailer, presented fullframe. Criterion’s high-definition
digital transfer of THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE, enhanced for 16:9 presentation, was taken from a 35mm inter­ mediate positive print struck from the original negative. The picture is sharp and colors are well-defined, with accurate flesh- tones, and the original (French) mono soundtrack is excellent, mastered from a 35mm optical soundtrack. Infrequent, minimal speckling is noticeable. (The two documentary supplements are presented in DD-2.0, in Spanish and French, subtitled in English.) English subtitles are optional for the feature presentation. The booklet’s liner notes consist of an excerpt from Carlos Fuentes’ profile “The Discreet Charm of Luis Buñuel,” originally pub­ lished in THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE in 1973, and an ex­ cerpt from Buñuel’s 1982 au­ tobiography, MY LAST SIGH, which includes, to our great amusement, his instructions for mixing the perfect Martini. We followed them, and we have to say that his taste was impec­ cable.
60 THE DISCREET CHARM OF
THE BOURGEOISIE is also avail­ able on VHS from Home Vision Cinema (#DIS600, $29.95), in a transfer that adds slightly more inactive visual information to the top, bottom and right than Criterion’s 16:9 transfer. —Rebecca & Sam Umland
FREE ENTERPRISE
1999, Pioneer XPEAD-009, DD-5.1/LB/MA/C/+, $29.98, 113m 36s, DVD-1
FREE ENTERPRISE is an ut­
terly delightful comedy, worthy of repeated viewings. Its strong story, superb cast, as well as keen insights into film fandom make it a worthy addition to any col­ lection. On the surface, Robert Meyer Burnett’s autobiographical work most closely approximates a romantic comedy: “ romantic” because of its contrived, happy ending for three lovelorn men, and “comic” by virtue of its con­ tinuous humor, mostly—but by no means exclusively—derived from its wicked dissection of film fandom. Yet the film transcends this genre even as its fulfills it, gaining a complexity through its more serious exploration of what is sometimes called the “Peter Pan Syndrome”—the angst suf­ fered by the two main charac­ ters—both bachelors—on the verge of turning 30 (as their fre­ quent citations of LOGAN’S RUN serve to remind us). The inevitable process of aging forces these two characters to mature, but not without direct­ ing the audience’s attention towards important issues about idealism and compromise, and the difference between a one- night stand and a lasting ro­ mantic relationship. Mark (Eric McCormick) is an aspiring screenwriter who earns
a living as editor-in-chief of a VIDEO WATCHDOG-like sf/fantasy film magazine, GEEK MONTHLY. His close friend Robert (Rafer Weigel) is a talented but unreli­ able film editor. Their friendship is based on a lifelong obsession with movies in general and with STAR TREK (The Original Series) in particular, as the film’s title suggests. Mark must face his 30th birthday in a couple of weeks; the quixotic Robert in about six months. The two share a small circle of friends who also live by the “Gospel of the Origi­ nal Series,” and all are avid laserdisc collectors (a timely as­ pect of the film which has unfor­ tunately already dated it). Robert has a history of falling love and then losing women because of his obsession with film and pop culture. As the film opens, his current love Trish (Jennifer Sommerfield) walks out on him, taking with her his highly cher­ ished Hallmark Starship Enter­ prise Christmas Ornament she had previously given him as a gift. Soon after her departure, however, Robert meets Claire (Audie England) at a comic book shop, who turns out to be his perfect match. She, too, is an aficionado of pop culture, and it is significant that she gives Robert the same gift Tricia had carried away when they parted, which moves Robert to tears. His love for Claire causes him to ne­ glect his job, and he is fired. This irresponsible attitude towards practical things in life tries even Claire’s patience, and history threatens to repeat itself. CJnlike Robert, Mark keeps sex
neatly categorized, holds women at arm’s length, and defers any serious commitment to an un­ specified future. He routinely sleeps with his former girlfriend, just to keep his lovemaking
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