A group of bourgeois cosmopolitans are invited to a mansion for dinner and inexplicably find themselves unable to leave, and over the course of the next two days their carefully constructed social facades start to collapse as they are gradually reduced to the level of animals. Made just one year after his international sensation Viridiana, The Exterminating Angel ( El Ángel exterminador) is a furthering of master surrealist Luis Buñuel's wicked takedown of the rituals and dependencies of the frivolous upper classes, and widely regarded as a one of the finest works in the director's enviable oeuvre.

Criterion have for some years been supporters of Buñuel's work, and in February this continues with the US release a 2-disc Special Edition of the film, with a new, restored 1.33:1 high definition transfer, Dolby Digital mono 1.0 soundtrack and the following special features:

• The Last Script: Remembering Luis Buñuel, a 90 minute 2008 documentary featuring Jean-Claude Carrière and Jean Luis Buñuel;
• New interviews with filmmaker Arturo Ripstein and actress Silvia Pinal;
• Theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation;
• A booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Marsha Kinder and a reprinted interview with Buñuel.

The Exterminating Angel will be released on US DVD by Criterion in February 2009 (exact date to be confirmed) at the SRP of $39.95.