Contempt (BD)

Through a number of his films during the French New Wave Cinema  period (1958-1967), Jean-Luc Godard used his films as a medium to depict his real-life interrelationships, be it with women, cinema, or the political landscape, all intertwined in some form or another. After the miserable showing of “A Woman Is a Woman” (1961), a lot was expected from Godard’s “Contempt” (1963). As it turns out, upon its release “Contempt” became the seventh highest grosser in France that year, primarily owing to the effervescent presence of a beautiful blonde model, Brigitte Bardot.

Based on the novel by Alberto Moravia, “Contempt” tells a simple tale of a married couple, Paul (Michel Piccoli) and Camille (Brigitte Bardot). Unhappy with Fritz Lang’s script (played by himself), an American producer, Jeremy Prokosch (Jack Palance) hires Paul to write a screenplay for his movie, “The Odyssey.” While working on a script for “The Odyssey,” Camille for some reason falls out of love with Paul and starts to despise him. Meanwhile, Prokosch flirts with Camille, and Paul is trying to find a workable solution for their ailing marriage.

The opening montage very well sets the tone of things to follow. In the initial cut, Godard filmed the opening scene with no nudity. However, the producers demanded the presence of a  Brigitte Bardot. To satisfy this requirement, Godard re-shot the entire scene. In the final cut, we see Paul and Camille on the bed together, with Camille’s naked back facing the camera. Camille at this point asks Paul how much he loves her. However, the question does not evoke a simple answer like “Honey, I love you until I die” or “I love you more everyday.” Instead, Camille sensually describes her body parts with questions, to which Paul responds by expressing his degree of affection. It can be interpreted as a poem, or as a song. As this conversation continues, Camille’s nudity is never a distraction to their intense discussion. In fact, under the masterful direction of Godard, Brigitte Bardot’s nude body is artistically and sensitively filmed. To ensure that the entire sequence is done tastefully, Godard decided not to use a high-angle frame. Instead, her naked body is only shown in profile, in a straight-on angle as she lies on the bed with no frontal exposure.

However, during this shot, it appears that for an initial few minutes a dark, red polarizer was used to make the scene deliberately dark with red hues. Soon after, Godard switches the scene to the normal mode with more golden hues, and finally the scene ends with a dark blue shade and a heavy, grainy look. Every shade here represents the state of their relationship.  The red palette is probably how Paul and Camille made love for the first time, with the second color switch to a golden tone depicting their state of marriage in its initial blissful years as a couple. The final color state to a bluish, grainy look is their current state of marriage.

Scene-by-scene, the entire movie rests on Brigitte Bardot’s shoulders, and she delivers a top-notch performance. Bardot was twenty-nine years old when she was signed for “Contempt.” Before signing-up for “Contempt,” Bardot had only one movie to her credit, as a lead actress in Loius Malle’s “A Very Private Affair” (1962), although prior to this, she starred in Roger Vadim’s “And God Created Woman” (1956). A lot of people close to Godard warned him of a possible risk and the disaster waiting if the movie tanked at the box office. However, with her radiant and glittering personality, Bardot elegantly adapts herself to Camille’s character. With her effective facial expressions, she aptly displays the multifaceted character of an emotionless Camille. Her dialogue timing, ambivalent behavior, and emotional tantrum at the breaking point of her marriage are very well exhibited. With her performance in “Contempt,” Brigitte Bardot influenced both Hollywood and French actresses with her bold display of a sexually liberated woman. She not only became a moderate mythological figure in France during the 60s, but she also extended her charm outside France, thereby making her a sensation in the world of cinema. Not surprisingly, moviegoers were stunned by her beauty in “Contempt.”

Interpreting “Contempt” reveals a number of layers that indicate the unspoken complexity the characters are stuck in. Even though Camille is slowly becoming disenchanted with her marriage, it is never explained in greater detail why this is the case. If you watch closely, frame-by-frame, the reason is not hard to understand. However, there are two factors that will govern your level of enjoyment for “Contempt.” First, it is the subtlety by which the entire issue of Camille’s unhappiness towards Paul is intertwined with the commercial film industry that only acts as a metaphor for events and makes “Contempt” a complex and difficult film to watch. Second, on one hand, as a viewer you are trying to empathize with the characters on their marital situation, but then their sheer display of emotional coldness to each other makes the characters too distant to be emotionally attached to. At this point you can either completely connect or disconnect with the characters and their circumstances. Even if you catch all of the nuances thrown in by Godard, you might still be searching for answers to these questions: Is it Camille’s obsession or sensitivity that is breaking up their marriage? Is it Camille’s unspoken and unconditional expectations from Paul that are tearing them apart?

The middle act takes us right into their turmoil. It is Godard’s way of providing an inside view on Camille and Paul’s marriage, a style reminiscent in the latter part of the Ingmar Bergman movies like “Scenes from a Marriage” (1973) and “Saraband” (2003). There are no outdoor shots, just Camille and Paul in an apartment discussing their relationship. Godard deliberately mixes long and medium shots to create a realistic view of their marriage. The long shots are provided as a marker of couple’s privacy beyond which the outside world will not get a glimpse of their relationship, although a lot is revealed about their current state. However, it is the medium shots that delve deeper into complex issues surrounding their marriage and whatever future that holds for them. Nonetheless, “Contempt” somewhat draws a parallel to Godard’s real life in the mid 60s.

Having said this, Godard shows his immense love and admiration for Fritz Lang. He casts Fritz to play the director of a fictional movie, “The Odyssey.” The fact that Prokosch is unhappy with Lang only highlights the end of the German Expressionism era during the 60s. Later in the film, Camille is reading a book about Fritz Lang. Furthermore, Godard along the way uses a self-citation technique to address the world of cinema. The narrated opening credits show Godard shooting the opening scene of the film. At one point, Penelope (the character in the film) describes how Italian filmmakers have wound down their operations due to a lack of funding. Likewise, the scene rightly points out the end of the Italian Neorealism period, and its influence on the French New Wave. It is Godard’s tribute to the German and Italian cinema.

I enjoyed the movie, its characters, and the situation they found themselves trapped in. There is hardly a bad stroke coming from Godard’s paintbrush. My only minor quibble with the story is that Camille’s unexplained cold behavior toward Paul only leaves room for more interpretation. In a rhetorical sense, there is no complete closure.

Video:
Lionsgate/ Studio Canal present the movie in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1, rendered in an AVC format that averages over 30 Mpbs. Just like its predecessor, “A Woman is a Woman,” (1961) and his later films, “Pierrot Le Fou” (1965) and “Made in USA” (1966), Godard’s “Contempt” has an abundant presence of primary colors such as red and blue. The colors are sharp, vivid, and vibrant. The movie, for its first hour or so, renders everything beautifully. Close-ups reveal enough details, and the outdoor scenes are bright without over-saturating the colors. The red on the sofa and Camille’s towel look colorful and stupendous. Furthermore, the print is devoid of any abnormalities such as dust and damage, although in a few scenes, specks do pop up.

Having said this, I found the transfer on this release to exhibit varying quality in terms of sharpness, grain, and contrast. In a scene after Camille and Paul’s first visit to Prokosch’s house, the quality suffers for some reason. Camilla’s black dress does have deep blacks, yet appears to be washed out. Instead, the entire scene has a certain haziness to it with poor contrast. Background objects like trees lack any color definition. In addition, the image is grainy. In another scene that occurs later in the film, when Camille leaves the apartment in a taxi, the scene suddenly turns to nighttime, and at that point the image is overly grainy. But then we have a gorgeous scene in Capri where Camilla is sitting on a boat against the backdrop of an ocean. I am not sure if Godard deliberately shot the scenes in this manner.

Apart from this minor issue, the visual quality is very pleasing to the eye, and this Blu-ray edition perfectly represents the director’s intention in a realistically film-like rendition for home video consumption.

Audio:
Due to the absence of a multichannel surround-audio technology during the 60s, Lionsgate/ Studio Canal has rightly decided not to remaster the audio for the 5.1 channel format. Instead, we get lossless audio in the form of a French DTS-HD Master 2.0 track. Since there are no explosions or loud noises, this audio option perfectly suits the overall mood of the movie. The dialogue is sampled at a higher level, making it consistently clear. The background music by Georges Delerue is appropriately balanced without interfering or distorting the dialogue. Also, included is the option to view the movie with English subtitles.

Extras:
First, we have an introduction segment (5 minutes, 16x9) with Colin McCabe, who talks about how “Contempt” is the most conventional and expensive of Godard’s film. He talks about the influence of Brigitte Bardot in France and how important it was for Godard to cast her in the film.

Next, we have a documentary on the film called “Upon a time There was…Contempt” (53 minutes, 16x9), where Michel Piccoli, Jean-Luc Godard, and other people close to Godard talk about Brigitte Bardot and how she influenced French and Hollywood actresses. We also get insights on Godard’s admiration for Fritz Lang.

Following this documentary, we have another featurette on the film, “Contempt…Tenderly” (30 minutes, 16x9) in which Alain Bergala, a film critic and screenwriter, talks about the influence of the novel by Alberto Moravia on the movie, and how Godard adapted it. He specifically highlights the importance of impeccable casting in the film, which is primarily comprised of superegos.

Up next, we have a lengthy interview featuring Fritz Lang and Jean-Luc Godard, “The Dinosaur and the Baby” (60 minutes, 4x3, B&W). Both provide details on how they work on various technical aspects of a film. Fritz Lang discusses the pace of films in the 60s and censorship, specifically in the movie “Woman in the Window.” Both converse about how they differ greatly in their working styles, more from a technical perspective. Fritz Lang praises Godard on his great sense of vision.

Following this interview, we get another interview with Fritz Lang (14 minutes, 4x3, B&W) that is filmed on-site while he is shooting “Contempt.” He talks about how important it is for producer and director to get along.

Rounding off the extras, we have an original theatrical trailer (16x9).

Parting Thoughts:
“Contempt” is Godard’s most conventional and mainstream movie. The film is a harrowing, layer-by-layer examination of the emotionally disgruntled world of Camille and Paul. Enjoying “Contempt” will depend on how well you connect with the characters and their marital situation. For some viewers, the story can be a bit uneven due to the presence of emotionally distant characters. However, if you let yourself be immersed in the story, it will eventually provide a more satisfying experience. As Godard describes it in the interview, to this very day he still does not know what “Contempt” is about.

Viewers interested in films by Jean-Luc Godard, should also check out “Breathless,” “Band of Outsiders,” and “Pierrot Le Fou” (Chris Long’s review <a href = “http://www.dvdtown.com/review/pierrot-le-fou-the-criterion-collection/blu-ray/7301 “>here </a>).

As far recommending this Blu-ray edition goes, this disc is a complete winner. With an informative set of extras and great audio and video qualities, fans of Godard’s work should check this out.