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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:

Feb 16, 2010

[DVD Details]
 
 

Blu-ray Disc Features:

  • Region [unknown]
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Contempt

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A profoundly sad yet beautiful fable about the cinema.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The star pouts prettily, as always; Palance is fascinatingly evil; and famed director Fritz Lang plays himself with aplomb.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Boxoffice Magazine

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

It emerges as one of Godard's most emotional films.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor
Salon.com

No review available.

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

A fine film about the pressures of filmmaking. And it's an even finer film about the tragedy of marital dissolution.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
David N. Butterworth
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews

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

It is not just the uniqueness of the narrative structure or the boldly original story that make Contempt such a fantastic film, but also Godard’s typically original and mind-bogglingly beautiful imagery that make the it one of a kind.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
09/21/02
Derek Smith
Derek Smith
Apollo Guide

It takes its artistic agenda seriously, but also luxuriates in the sensuality and plasticity of film images.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Edward Guthmann
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

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

Bardot's icy, almost lifeless cipher of a blond is Godard's metaphor for cinema: a big, plastic bit of good-looking nothing.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
G. Allen Johnson
G. Allen Johnson
San Francisco Examiner

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

This one has too much forced intellectualism to it, even though it is an engrossing time capsule.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Millar
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Godard fascinatingly wraps the two stories around each other and plays the dark humor very subtly (one of his best comedic touches is having the crassly commercial producer character spout Communistic philosophy).

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

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

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

I would argue that Godard's eclecticism must be acknowledged and understood before one can genuinely appreciate the film.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
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

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 fresh rating)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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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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