The Movie
Contempt (Le Mépris) is an apt title for this, the great French director Jean-Luc Godard's best-known work, as it is fraught with a bitter emotion that drives the story but more importantly its two main characters. This emphasis upon the central relationship over any sort of plot points--Act II is essentially a 35-minute conversation between a husband and wife, without interruption--is one of several dramatic stylings that might put off casual moviegoers, especially now, almost half a century later.
A screenwriter (Michel Piccoli) is hired to rewrite an adaptation of The Odyssey, being directed by the German screen icon Fritz Lang (portraying himself), which apparently creates no end of friction with his beautiful, younger wife (Brigitte Bardot in her prime, 'nuff said). Their marriage begins to unravel, perhaps as a consequence of recent developments, including the absurd and inappropriate behavior of the film's producer (Jack Palance), perhaps from some deeper issue, and the movie frustratingly probes the nature of the rift. Is the artist selling out for a big payday more than Camille can bear, or was their love doomed from the start? Contempt never spoonfeeds us the answer.
This special edition Blu-ray inaugurates Lionsgate's new "StudioCanal Collection" of great cinematic imports, in well-featured high-definition packages. Also released day-and-date with Contempt are Ran, Akira Kurosawa's epic retelling of King Lear; and the wonderful Ealing Studios comedy, the original British The Ladykillers.
The Picture
A 2.35:1 Cinemascope, GTC-color production of the era, Contempt displays deep, gorgeous colors on a bigger-than-life canvas, most scenes touched by a delicate film grain. Unevenly lit scenes can show noise in the darker areas of the frame, some shots are a bit soft in their original photography, and a handful of sequences restored for this edition represent a sometimes-drastic shift in color and quality. There's also an instance here and there of digital artifacts, as on a thin vertical line during a camera pan, or aliasing on the fine horizontal stripes of Brigitte's shirt, but in general this is a lovely early-'60s gem.
The Sound
Sonically, this disc is inherently limited by the source material. The original soundtrack (mostly French, Jack Palance speaks English) is always clear, although it does not appear to have been a spectacular recording. The music is fine, albeit without great detail or dynamic range. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2-channel track sends an identical signal to left and right main speakers, which creates a more room-filling effect than true, single-channel mono. It plays well at modest volume, but much higher than 50% power on my receiver and it became audibly strained.
The Extras
A fine assortment of video bonuses is supplied, beginning with a selectable introduction by film producer and Godard expert Colin McCabe (five-and-a-half minutes). "Once Upon a Time There Was... Contempt" (52-and-a-half minutes) and "Contempt: Tenderly" (31-and-a-half minutes) are a pair of substantial documentaries, the first a "making of" and the second about Godard more specifically. "Conversation with Fritz Lang" (14-and-a-half minutes) is a priceless vintage interview with the acclaimed director, here a co-star, while "The Dinosaur and the Baby" is a once-in-a-lifetime discussion between Lang and Godard (61 minutes). All of these are presented in standard definition.
The disc is also BD-Live-enabled, to access additional dynamic HD content online.
Final Thoughts
Contempt remains a beautiful, subtle piece of filmmaking, even more so against today's landscape of ultra-slick cinema. The new Blu-ray ably captures this bygone moment, with modern and classic extras that perfectly frame this work of art.
Product Details
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