RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Contempt
Contempt

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Contempt (1964)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
94 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

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]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Sep 29, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

Blu-ray Disc Features:

  • Region [unknown]
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Contempt

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
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
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
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
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
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
11/04/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

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

No review available.

comment Comment
01/07/05
Philip Martin
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
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

No review available.

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

No review available.

comment Comment
12/01/03
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views

No review available.

comment Comment
08/23/03
Aaron Hillis
Aaron Hillis
Premiere Magazine

No review available.

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

No review available.

comment Comment
08/15/03
Michael Szymanski
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
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
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
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
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
Matt Langdon
Filmcritic.com

A powerful, uncomfortable and essential work.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
11/25/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

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...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
95% 95% Star Trek
67% 67% Bruno
47% 47% My Sister's Keeper
66% 66% Is Anybody There?
82% 82% Thirst

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Avatar

Avatar

Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes video!

Friday Harvest

Friday Harvest

This week's best pics, posters, and videos!

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

What to Watch?

What to Watch?

Read our Holiday Movie Preview!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
50
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
110
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
62
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
  • McTeigue Says Superman Is "In a Weird Place" Source: MTV
204
  • Rachel McAdams Debunks Spider-Man 4 Rumor Source: Entertainment Weekly
117
  • Avatar: Gambling on Film's Future Source: Los Angeles Times
128
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
115
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
96
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: 2012 Destroys the Competition
85
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
66
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
49
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Star Trek, Bruno, and Cheaper Sopranos
32
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
26
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
25
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
16
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
41
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Contempt at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Star Trek DVD Exclusive
Star Trek DVD Exclusive External Link

TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

New Moon Portraits
New Moon Portraits External Link

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Unsexiest Men Alive
Unsexiest Men Alive External Link

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.