Le Mepris

For the 60th anniversary of Godard’s New Wave cult classic, Studiocanal presents LE MEPRIS (CONTEMPT) in a stunning 4K UHD release. When a successful French playwright accepts an offer from an American producer to rework the script for a new version of the ‘Odyssey’ it also marks the collapse of his marriage. The eclectic cast includes Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli, Jack Palance and legendary director Fritz Lang as himself.

The opening scene sees commercially successful playwright Paul Javal (Michel Piccoli) in bed with his naked wife Camille (B. Bardot) who asks him countless questions regarding her appearance, that is to say whether he finds her back attractive, her hips attractive, her bum attractive, her arms and legs attractive, her facial features attractive… The scene does go on a bit but then, we are talking Godard. While Camille is concerned that Paul desires her as much as ever, Paul, who loves his wife, is concerned with his latest project: he has accepted a job as a scriptwriter (although he feels much more at home as a playwright) working on a project concerning a new screen adaptation of Homer’s ‘Odyssey’. The director is none other than Fritz Lang (playing himself) and it’s Paul’s task to rework the script. The project is produced by American Jeremy Prokosch, a vulgar and brash individual prone to violent outbursts, who soon seems at loggerheads with all the others. Prokosch also has his own attractive secretary for the project, Francesca Vanini (Giorgia Moll).

On the first day at Cinecitta studios in Rome, Camille arrives to join her husband and the others, although – not surprisingly perhaps – she feels out of place: originally a secretary, she now whiles away the time doing nothing while Paul is busy with his new job, although he reassures her that his new job will benefit her as well because it pays towards the new flat which both currently inhabit and which they haven’t finished decorating. After the heated discussions in the studio, not helped by that fact that Prokosch neither speaks French nor Italian while Lang mainly speaks German and Paul can only speak French (leaving poor Francesca to translate the various languages), Prokosch invites everyone back to his rented villa and offers Camille a ride in his flash car, which she initially refuses. Only after Paul insists does she accept Prokosch’s offer, though secretly wondering as to why her husband won’t take her along in his pre-booked taxi. While Paul’s seem purely professional (he simply doesn’t want to rebuff the producer’s offer), back in the apartment it gives Camille enough ammo to begin an argument with her husband about the state of their marriage… with Paul insisting he still loves her, whereas she is convinced he wanted her to accept Prokosch’s offer to have her out of the way, so he could have a bit of a fling with secretary Francesca (which he denies). Camille also points out that she dislikes Prokosch and finds him a disagreeable person altogether. It’s all quite childish really and the scene goes on for far too long (almost half an hour) – you don’t need that much time to establish a marriage is in trouble and that perhaps Camille and Paul were never really right for each other in the first place.

Another reason for them arguing is that the production is about to transfer to the island of Capri for some filming and Paul would love for his wife to come along because it would help him work better (or perhaps save face). Once again, Camille refuses on grounds that she wouldn’t know what to do on the island while everyone is working but later agrees to come. It’s on the island that Camille finally admits to Paul that she no longer is in love with him (something he had suspected for some time) and that she feels nothing but ‘contempt for him. While Paul and Prokosch disagree with the director’s vision, a short time later, Camille arranges a moment which ensures that Paul sees her embracing and kissing Prokosch – she does so to prove that Paul is a weak man who sold his soul to Prokosch, whilst Paul now has reason to leave his wife due to her infidelity. Of course, what unfolds on set mirrors in fact what happens in the ‘Odyssey’.
After an almighty blow up, Camille and Prokosch decide to return to Rome together, with fatal consequences. Unaware of what has happened, Paul decides that his real vocation is writing plays for the theatre and he too prepares to pack his suitcase and leave for Rome while director Lang is left to his own devices.

Adapted from Alberto Moravia’s novel CONTEMPT, Godard made little secret of the fact that the main pulling point were La Bardot’s numerous nude scenes, in fact, half of the film’s budget went on her fees. The real beauty here, however, is not BB’s perfect physique but the absolutely gorgeous Mediterranean background, dipped in rich colours (no doubt a result of the film’s magnificent restoration)! That said, both Piccoli and Palance are in top form while Fritz Lang had the relatively easy task of playing, well, himself as a film director.

LES MEPRIS is also available on Blu-ray and DVD, the Bonus Features include:
Il était une fois… Le Mépris (52mn) on the Blu-ray UHD / An introduction by Colin MacCabe (6mn) UHD / Paparazzi by Jacques Rozier (22mn) / Le parti des choses by Jacques Rozier (10mn)