Contempt (The Criterion Collection)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Brigitte Bardot, Michel PiccoliDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-12-10
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of Contempt (The Criterion Collection)
Movie Review: Visually poetic and nearly 50-years later, still a fantastic film!
Summary: 5 Stars
With Jean-Luc Godard spearheading the French New Wave after many of his other contemporaries have been forgotten, Italian film producer Carlo Ponti and Jean-Luc Godard began work on the film "Le Mepris" (Contempt) in 1963. A film that would be an adaptation of Alberto Moravia's novel "The Ghost at Noon" and also would be Godard's first foray to what can be seen as a commercial film with celebrities, but done the Jean-Luc Godard way.
Known as probably one of Godard's more accessible films, despite known for working with his wife Anna Karina for many of his films prior to "Le Mepris", as the film was being looked at as a film to attract international attention, the most photographed woman in the world at the time, Brigitte Bardot, is featured in the film. Alongside actors Michel Piccoli ("Dillinger is Dead"), Jack Palance and Giorga Moll. Also, the film would mark a collaboration with Jean-Luc Godard and one of his favorite director's Fritz Lang ("Metropolis", "M", "Die Nibelungen") who will be playing the character of a director with the same name and also would reunite Godard with French New Wave's Jacques Rozier (who would direct two documentaries that relate to the film "Contempt").
The film revolves around playwright Paul Javal (played by Michel Piccoli) and his wife Camille (played by Brigitte Bardot). The two are very much in love and spend time with each other but when Paul is called to meet with producer Jeremy Prokosch (played by Jack Palance) and his interpreter/assistant Francesca Vanini (played by Giorgia Moll), his life is changed when the arrogant producer is not thrilled with the screenplay of the movie that Fritz Lang has shot.
Paul is paid $10,000 to write a new screenplay for the commercial version of "Ulysses and his Odyssey" which will be directed by Fritz Lang. For Paul, this sounds like an excellent chance for him to pay off the apartment where he and Camille live. So, when Camille goes to meet with Paul, Prokosch looks as if he is more interested in getting to know Paul's wife. In fact, he allows her to ride with him (in his two-seater Alfa Romero) to his place while he goes to fetch a taxi.
By the time he arrives, Paul notices his wife is upset and distant and he can't understand why she is upset. While his wife is sulking, Paul flirts around with the translator Francesca and gives her a tap on the bottom which Camille catches him doing. For Paul, this is no big deal.
But when they arrive home, Camille tells him that she no longer loves him in fact that she now has feels contempt towards him. He asks why? Yesterday, she loved him and now she doesn't. She looks at the experience of that day of her husband using her to achieve his business deal, he looks at the situation as a way to pay of their debt. But she sees Prokosch's motivation, Paul does not. And right before our eyes, we see the disintegration of a marriage.
"Contempt" is a film that would spotlight the conflict of a director and the producer but also the incompatibility and misunderstandings of a reflective man and an instinctive woman.
VIDEO:
"Contempt" is presented in 2:35:1 and filmed via cinemascope in full color. The film would become one of the first films that Godard and cinematographer Raoul Coutard would utilize color in a manner that they have never done before. And shooting in the beautiful locations of Capri and in Rome, "Contempt" is a gorgeous film (which of course would look even better on Blu-ray, side note: the Blu-ray has been released in America by StudioCanal) with colors looking much more vibrant.
It's also important to note that so many people who have seen this film on television, saw it in 4:3 standard format with the sides cut off and thus giving the worst presentation of the film as it was not meant to be. With this DVD release, viewers saw this film in its original theatrical aspect.
According to the Criterion Collection, the new high-definition digital transfer was created from a 35mm interpositive made from the restored camera negative and was supervised by Beatrice Valbin of StudioCanal and cinematographer Raoul Coutard. To further enhance the image, the MTI Digital Restoration System was used to remove thousands of instances of dirt, debris and scratches.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
"Contempt" is presented in monaural French with optional English subtitles. According to the Criterion Collection, the soundtrack was mastered from a 35mm magnetic track and mastered at 24-bit. Audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss and crackle.
For the most part, the dialogue and music is clear. I opted to listen to the film with my receiver set to stereo on all channels. And I absolutely loved the music by Georges Delerue which fit the mood for the film.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Contempt - THE CRITERION COLLECTION #171" comes with the following special features:
DISC 1:
* Audio Commentary by Film Scholar Robert Stam - An informative commentary by film scholar Robert Stam who does a fantastic job in dissecting various scenes of the movie.
DISC 2:
* The Dinosaur and the Baby (1967): a conversation between Jean-Luc Godard and Fritz Lang - (1:00:12) A conversation between Godard and Fritz Lang released back in 1967 as part of the "Cineastes Du Notre Temps" series produced by Andre Labarthe. The two would discuss what it is like being a director, on being romantic, youth, censorship, if Fritz Lang would ever direct again, difference in method, mise-en-sene, why make a film today and more. A wonderful special feature to see both directors discussing cinema.
* Le Parti Des Choses: Bardot et Godard - (9:32) A short documentary by Jacques Rozier. The documentary would show Godard and Bardot working together.
* Paparazzi - (17:49) A documentary by Jacques Rozier about the difficult of filming "Contempt" as paparazzi would do whatever it took to capture a photo of Brigitte Bardot. We get to see how Bardot feels about them and also the perspective from the paparazzi's eyes.
* Jean-Luc Godard interview excerpt - (10:30) An interview with Godard who addresses his feelings about film reviews and audience response to his previous films.
* A new video interview with legendary cinematographer Raoul Coutard - (26:28) Coutard talks about working with Godard, shooting the film in Cinemascope and also some behind-the-scenes discussion about the filming of "Contempt" and the talent.
* Widescreen vs. Fullframe - (4:02) A short featurette showing how "Contempt" was cut when going from 2:35:1 to 4:3 during the TV screening of the film. Showing what parts were cut off from the 2:35:1 version when shown on television and how it changes the film quite significantly.
* Original theatrical trailer - (2:29) The original theatrical trailer for "Le Mepris".
* Contempt: A Story of a Marriage - Included is a five-fold insert featuring an essay by Phillip Lopate
JUDGMENT CALL:
"Contempt" is the film in which Godard was given the opportunity to nearly work the big budget Hollywood-style film that he had always dreamed of. Working with one of the most popular woman in the planet, Brigitte Bardot and the talented Michel Piccoli and to work alongside his favorite director Fritz Lang. It seemed as if "Contempt" would be the film that would generate the highest buzz and a dream that would be realized.
The fact is that "Contempt" is a popular Godard film especially for cinema fans who are appreciative of Godard oeuvre. But the film didn't do well in Europe nor did it make money in the box office. In fact, the film received 50/50 reviews of from film critics who loved it and those who disliked it and found it too pretentious.
Personally, I found "Contempt" to be a wonderful and artistic film from Godard in which he was put on the pedestal by producers especially American film and distributor Joseph E. Levine who appears to have probably never watched a Godard film and only known his name through the popularity of the French New Wave. The fact is that Godard does his films his way and his style and so, "Contempt" behind-the-scenes was much more messier than anyone including Godard would ever realize.
Brigitte Bardot was not known for her acting but yet she was the most popular woman in the world. She was defiant, rebellious and like Godard, did things her way. And for those familiar with Godard films, his style is not to rehearse and usually keep his talents in the dark by not giving them a script. But at the time, Bardot was looking for the role to get away from the kitschy films that she had worked previously and wanted to be taken seriously as an actress. Problem is that she brought an entourage that the filmmaker and the crew had problems dealing with, she also brought paparazzi that Godard never had to deal with and because she was treated so specially, her rule was that she would not film early in the morning which caused problems with scheduling.
As for actor Jack Palance, he came into the film not knowing much about Jean-Luc Godard but knew about the novel that the film was adapted from and was excited about his role until he found out that Godard changed the screenplay which upset Palance and also not used to Godard's style of directing, Palance was infuriated by Godard just telling him what to do and making sure that he didn't do what the director suggested until he received a reason why he was doing what he was being told. This was not Hollywood as Palance was sure to find out and this added more stress to the filmmaker and the crew.
In fact, Palance told L'Express, "We never know in advance what we're going to do. There's almost no dialogue. It's the worst experience I've ever had! It's madness!".
But behind-the-scenes, the marriage turmoil between Jean-Luc Godard and wife Anna Karina was taking shape and the screenplay of "Le Mepris" (Contempt) was starting to become a film about Jean-Luc Godard and his life with Anna Karina. As Godard films are known to project the director into his characters, "Contempt" was a film in which Michel Piccoli was playing Godard and Bardot was playing Karina.
Piccoli said in an interview with "Realites", "The male character in `Contempt' is Godard. He wanted me to wear his tie, his hat and his shoes". Godard's cinematographer Raoul Coutard even said, "I am convinced that in `Contempt' he is trying to explain something to his wife."
In fact, the words that were used in the film were words used by Karina. The dark wig that Bardot wore in the film was similar to the black wig that Karina wore in "Vivre sa Vie" and the exclamation point that "Contempt" was a film that embodied Godard and Karina's relationship was Bardot's comment in "Initiales B.B." in which she said, "Godard told me that I had to be filmed with my back to the camera, and to walk away from it, straight ahead. I rehearsed, and he wasn't happy. I asked him why. Because he said, my manner was not the same as Anna Karina's!".
Needless to say, the harmonious featurette on the DVD by Jacques Rozier showing the happy working relationship between Godard and Bardot was certainly specious. And to make things even more complicated that after the film was made, the producers were not satisfied as they wanted more nudity, more of Brigitte Bardot's derriere in the film. After so much arguments and even certain version of the film in which Godard's name was taken off the credits (it's important to note that producer Carlo Ponti was trying to get Francois Truffaut in replacing Godard, especially since Godard was not replying to producer/distributor Levine's telegrams in to making the film more erotic.
So, in essence "Contempt" was a not only a film that showed contempt onscreen, behind-the-scenes of the making of the film, there was plenty of it. This was Godard's test and perhaps his only taste of creating a film with such a high budget (despite most of that budget going towards Bardot, Palance and Lang) and once again, Godard showing that he would buckle to his producers and would create the film that he wanted. No compromises.
The fact is that "Contempt" because of the nature of what went on behind-the-scenes in making this film, is a sore point to Godard and even the producers, especially Levine and both men are in awe of how popular this film is still received by cinema fans of today. Nearly 50-years since the release of this film in the theaters, the interest in "Contempt" has not waned. More and more people who have discovered Godard's oeuvre have found "Contempt" to perfectly show the conflict of a husband and wife and it seems improbable for many people to think that one can have contempt towards a significant other in the manner that is displayed in the film but the fact is, Godard was having these issues in his personal life.
His connection to cinema is his passion, as the character of Paul. His life is embodied in cinema but their significant others are not. And for "Contempt", the film deviates from the novel as the premise of the screenwriter working on the film "Odyssey" has now been changed. In "Contempt", Paul is the rewriter of the film that is being shot by Fritz Lang. In the novel, the director uses "Odyssey" to showcase the deterioration of the couple but not in "Contempt". The dictator-ish American producer is the one wanting to make "Contempt" commercially viable. As Godard was using Paul and Camille as characters based on him and Karina, was Prokosch his way of giving the middle finger to American producer/distributor Joseph E. Levine? Quite possibly.
And that is what I enjoyed about "Contempt" and Godard's filmmaking. Although for "Contempt", the film was a compromise as Godard was literally pushed into the corner by the producers and had to compromise in trying to bring those erotic images of Bardot to the screen although not the way Levine had wanted it, but this was Godard's recognition that the years of the Hollywood film that he once watched and the artistic freedom that director's once had was no more. The dream that he had always wanted to become part of as a fan of cinema was fully learned by the director that his entry to a big budget film in which have artistic freedom wasn't going to happen.
But for those of us who watch this film and knowing what Godard was able to accomplish, especially with three angry producers and the talent he had been given, we can only judge what we see onscreen. For Godard-ites, we recognize the pain and the breakdown of the relationship of Godard and Karina, like we recognize Godard dying at the hands of Karina twice in the film "Made in U.S.A.". I found this film to be visual poetry and a highlight in Godard's career.
The DVD comes with plenty of special features and a wonderful commentary by film scholar Robert Stam and I know that there is a Blu-ray release by StudioCanal out in the market today and this Criterion Collection DVD edition is now out of print. I have not personally watched the Blu-ray version of "Contempt" yet, so I can't comment on how it compares to the DVD version in picture quality (which is a given that that the Blu-ray will be better in PQ and AQ).
But overall, "Le Mepris" (Contempt) is a film worthy of having in your cinema collection. If you are a fan of Godard films, personally, this is a must-own film. A wonderful DVD release from the Criterion Collection and is a release that I definitely recommend!
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