Contempt (film)

Contempt
original film poster
Directed by	Jean-Luc Godard
Written by	Alberto Moravia (novel) Jean-Luc Godard
Produced by	Carlo Ponti Georges de Beauregard Joseph E. Levine
Starring	Brigitte Bardot Michel Piccoli Jack Palance Giorgia Moll Fritz Lang
Cinematography	Raoul Coutard
Edited by	Agnès Guillemot Lila Lakshmanan
Music by	Georges Delerue (French and US release) Piero Piccioni (Italian release)
Distributed by	Embassy Pictures Corporation
Release dates	October 29, 1963 20 December, 1963 October 1964 (limited) 18 December, 1964 (wide)
Running time	103 min.
Languages	French/English German/Italian
Budget	$900,000 (estimated)

Contempt (French: Le Mépris) is a 1963 film directed by Jean-Luc Godard. It is based on Alberto Moravia's 1954 Italian novel Il disprezzo.

Synopsis

American film producer Jeremy Prokosch (Jack Palance) hires respected Austrian director Fritz Lang (playing himself) to direct a film adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey. Dissatisfied with Lang's treatment of the material as an art film, Prokosch hires Paul Javal (Michel Piccoli), a novelist and playwright, to rework the script. The conflict between artistic expression and commercial opportunity parallels Paul's sudden estrangement from his wife Camille Javal (Brigitte Bardot), who is mysteriously aloof with him after being left alone with Prokosch, a millionaire playboy.

Production

Contempt was filmed and takes place entirely in Italy, with location shooting at the landmark Cinecittà studios near Rome and the Casa Malaparte on Capri.

In one notable sequence, the characters played by Piccoli and Bardot wander through their apartment alternately arguing and reconciling. Godard filmed the scene as an extended series of tracking shots, in natural light and in near real-time.

Acclaim

The film is often considered one of Godard's best, and an integral entry of the French New Wave.

Releases

The French, Italian and American releases differ significantly. The French release is multilingual (French, English, Italian and German), while American and Italian releases are dubbed entirely in English and Italian, respectively. The French and American releases differ only slightly in editing, while the Italian one is significantly shorter (82') and has absolutely different light jazz score written by Piero Piccioni instead of sober music by Georges Delerue.

External links

• Contempt at IMDb
• Criterion Collection essay by Phillip Lopate
• DVD review of Contempt
• Template:Peoples Archive

Jack Palance hurling a film canister like a discus in Le Mépris. Painted on the wall behind is a quote from Louis Lumière: "Il cinema è un’invenzione senza avvenire." ("The cinema is an invention without any future.")