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Movies / On DVD / Contempt
Contempt

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Contempt (1964)

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Reviews Counted: 34

Fresh: 32

Rotten:2

Average Rating: 8.3/10

Consensus: This powerful work of essential cinema joins "meta" with "physique," casting Brigite Bardot and director Godard's inspiration Fritz Lang.

Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: Jean-Luc Godard's cynical look at the art of filmmaking follows a screenwriter in his attempts to recount Homer's THE ODYSSEY. Full of insights into the compromises required of filmmakers, as well... Jean-Luc Godard's cynical look at the art of filmmaking follows a screenwriter in his attempts to recount Homer's THE ODYSSEY. Full of insights into the compromises required of filmmakers, as well as autobiographical allusions, especially concerning the failed union of Godard and actress Anna Karina, 1964's CONTEMPT is one of the most widely recognized films about the filmmaking process. It is also considered the film that made Godard realize that lavish productions were not for him, sending him back into a lower-budget world where he could maintain complete control over his films. Shot in glorious CinemaScope by Raoul Coutard, CONTEMPT is a poignant artistic commentary and a dramatic exposé of a dying marriage. Paul Javal (Michel Piccoli) is struggling with Jeremy Prokosch (Jack Palance), the manipulative American producer financing his big-budget venture, and is frustrated by Fritz Lang (playing himself), the film's egotistical director. Concomitantly, his marriage to his gorgeous wife Camille (Brigitte Bardot) founders, and the emotional distance between them weighs heavily upon him. [More]

Starring: Brigitte Bardot, Jack Palance, Michel Piccoli, Giorgia Moll

Starring: Brigitte Bardot, Jack Palance, Michel Piccoli, Giorgia Moll, Fritz Lang

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Screenwriter: Jean-Luc Godard
Producer: Carlo Ponti, Georges De Beauregard, Joseph E. Levine
Composer: Georges Delerue

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Dec 10, 2002

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Contempt

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What's the price of selling out? Contempt asks the question of its characters, its audience, and its own director.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
04/11/08
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Godard has finally dared to get serious, achieving not mock pathos but a perfect tragedy.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
03/14/08
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Time Out

It's talky and filled with broken rhythms and a running stream of thoughts, and is boldly told in exaggerated stylized terms.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/06/05
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
11/04/05
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
06/14/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
01/07/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

An expensive international production, but still one of Godard's most personal and most perverse films.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
08/09/04
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

No review available.

comment Comment
05/28/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
12/01/03
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views

No review available.

comment Comment
08/23/03
Aaron Hillis
Premiere Magazine

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
08/15/03
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com

Godard sets interesting scenes, with provocative color combinations and a suggestive pictorial flow. But out of it all comes nothing -- or very little that tells you why this wife is so contemptuous of her husband. Maybe he should be contemptuous of her!

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment 2 Comments
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Leonard Schwarz
Palo Alto Weekly

Screw Adaptation and its lack of temerity. Contempt is a meta-movie that places the onus back on the viewer. How are we to sensibly respond, and is there any sense in that at all?

Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com | comment Comment
02/15/03
Jeremiah Kipp
ToxicUniverse.com

While Contempt is seen by many as Godard’s most "commercial" or "mainstream" film, it is also one of his most emotionally stirring and deeply felt.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
12/29/02
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

A superlative film about many things, including the making of a film, the break-up of a married couple, and the parallels between the contemporary New Wave world (of 1963) and the classical (Old Wave) world of Homer.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
12/12/02
Matt Langdon
Filmcritic.com

A powerful, uncomfortable and essential work.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
11/25/02
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
 
 
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Latest News for Contempt

October 01, 2008: EW Looks Back on 30 Unforgettable Nude Scenes Opens in new window
The MPAA doesn't like it, but America has never been able to get enough of naked people on the big screen -- and Entertainment Weekly has honored our fondness for flesh with a... More...

November 10, 2006: One-Armed Push-ups All Around in Honor of Jack Palance
Jack Palance, who made a career out of bullying good guys and portraying stern, craggy-faced menaces, died Friday. Surrounded by family at his California ranch, he passed away... More...

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