Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Le Mepris 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 8, 2023

Jean-Luc Godard's "Le mepris" (1965) arrives on 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include the documentary "Once Upon a Time There was... Contempt"; two documentaries by Jacques Rozier; archival introduction by writer and film producer Colin Maccabe; and vintage trailer for the film. In French, with optional English, German, or French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Like most films Jean-Luc Godard directed, Le mépris is a fascinating character study, only this time around the key character is Cinema. Admittedly, the notable presence of French sex symbol Brigitte Bardot may encourage some viewers to seek a slightly different read of Le mépris, one where she is the focus of attention, but this would be a frustrating experience given that the events that are chronicled in are fairly uninteresting.

Le mépris has a complex, maddening construction. It effectively works on two different levels -- making a strong case for the ability of Cinema to create powerful illusions, and observing the mechanics of creating Cinema.

There are five protagonists. A powerful European director, Fritz Lang (playing himself), who has been hired to shoot an adaption of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey. A gifted playwright, Paul Javal (Michel Piccoli), who debates whether or not he could rewrite the script to the film. His beautiful wife, Camille Javal (Brigitte Bardot). A cocky American producer, Jeremy Prokosch (Jack Palance), who has financed the project. An experienced multilingual translator, Francesca Vanini (Giorgia Moll), who carefully observes and learns from the people around her. The experiences of each protagonist are used to highlight the creative hurdles Cinema must overcome before it becomes... Cinema. However, their individual stories are hardly of any interest.

The ideas, suggestions, and criticisms that give Le mépris its structure are communicated in French, German, Italian, and English. Even with Vanini present, the main protagonists routinely converse in different languages as well. Why? The idea is to stress that Cinema is a universal language, one that anyone could understand.

The ability of Cinema to create, erode, and destroy perceptions is also highlighted. For example, the sequences in which Lang views the raw footage with the Greek gods, which inspires an energetic statement that they are created by men, not vice versa, implies that myths and religions, like movie stars and films, exist because they welcome and encourage manipulation -- they can manipulate or be manipulated.

Oddly, sex, perhaps Cinema’s most powerful commodity, does not become a target. There are only a couple of short sequences where Godard's camera quickly studies Bardot’s naked body. Ironically, the combined footage was introduced only because the American financiers of Le mépris made it clear to Godard that they did not get what they paid for after they were presented a rough cut of it.

Cinematographer Raoul Coutard’s lensing is breathtaking and can gently soothe any frustration with the complex Godardian narrative. However, the violent finale quickly puts things back in a proper (Godardian) perspective.

Georges Delerue composed the haunting soundtrack after Le mépris was completed. Its main theme, an undescribably beautiful leitmotiv, is impossible to forget.

Le Mepris 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

StudioCanal's release of Le Mepris is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray release is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-B "looked". Also, the main menus of these discs can be set in English, German, and French, which means that the same combo pack is available in Germany and France with a different cover.

The release introduces a new 4K restoration of the film that was prepared at Hiventy in France. The same restoration is also made available on Blu-ray. You can see our listing and review of this release here.

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-32 are taken from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #38-40 are from 4K Blu-ray.

This classic film made its high-definition debut with this Region-B release in 2009. While the release was not flawless -- primarily because it showed obvious traces of aging and density inconsistencies -- I thought that its presentation of the film was quite pleasing. At the time, it was certainly the most satisfying on the market.

I received this combo pack last week and took the time to view the film in its entirety in native 4K and 1080p. I did this because I wanted to see exactly how some of the more problematic areas from the previous 1080p presentation are handheld in native 4K and 1080p. Why? Because in the past there were claims that the older presentation failed rather dramatically in these areas and essentially looked like upscaled material. However, the density fluctuations were inherited and similar fluctuations are present on the new 4K makeover. I am going to break my comments into two sections below.

The good -- It is obvious that attempts were made to match how the film has always looked in the past. As a result, it is impossible to place it next to massive fumbles like Le Cercle Rouge and La Piscine, which were recently restored at Hiventy as well. Density levels are far more consistent now. Trained eyes will still easily identify the areas where footage comes from the interpositive, not the original camera negative, but the transitions are not as obvious as they are on the previous release. Stability is outstanding. There are several areas where minor but meaningful stabilization improvements have been introduced. The surface of the visuals is impeccable. I did not see any traces of age-related imperfections.

The bad - While the color scheme is not immediately compromised by one of those green/cyan tints that frequently plague restorations of classic and cult films that are restored in France, it is not as convincing as it could have been. The restoration credits that appear before the film's opening credits inform that on previous versions "colors deviated from the director's specifications" and "thanks to documented information, the original contrasts, details, and saturation were restored". Unfortunately, there are numerous areas with anomalies that are very common on improper grading jobs. For example, it is very easy to observe how the new grade either destabilizes or eliminates proper blues, turning them into cyan/variations of cyan that give the visuals a digital appearance. If you compare this screencapture from the new 4K makeover with this screencapture from the previous release, you will see how the cyan/turquoise alter the projector light and other details. Also, the replacement of blues introduces far bigger anomalies that bring in digital qualities. For example, here contrast is effectively destabilized and it looks like there is filtering applied. This is not a 35mm appearance revived from the original camera negative or an interpositive. The improper grading alters the dynamic range of the visuals. Very similar anomalies are present on StudioCanal's disastrous 4K restoration of Purple Noon. Elsewhere, it is even easier to see how the color blue has been updated with cyan. See examples here and here. This being said, there are several areas where the new grade improves primaries that did not look very convincing on the previous release, like red, yellow, and white. Unfortunately, the new grade alters or replaces too many blues in crucial areas of the film that affect the overall balance and cause anomalies.

There are quite a few areas that look sharper, not digitally sharpened, on the previous release, and reveal better detail in darker areas. On the 1080p presentation, there are some particularly serious issues with grain exposure. Some can be traced back to the weak encode, but the crushing in darker areas was undoubtedly introduced when the new 4K makeover was graded. In native 4K, HDR hides some of these anomalies rather well, but on a larger screen, it becomes quite obvious that there is flatness that should not be there. (The density fluctuations on footage that was sourced from the interpositive are something else). So, instead of looking lush and vibrant, many sequences look anemic.

All in all, when viewed in native 4K, the new 4K makeover looks more convincing than it does in 1080p. However, while comparing the 4K makeover with the previous 1080p presentation, I encountered many unfortunate trade-offs that easily could and should have been avoided. My score is 3.75/5.00.

Le Mepris 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English, German, and French SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I viewed the film with the original French audio. I thought that the quality of the audio was very solid. I assume that some work was done to introduce improvements, though I would have a very hard time identifying them. On my system, the audio had a very pleasing fullness that is not always present on the lossless track from the previous Blu-ray release of Le mepris.

Le Mepris 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Le mepris. In French, with English subtitles. (1 min).

• Once Upon a Time There was... Contempt - this archival program examines the history of Le mepris. A co-production between FOLAMOUR, Ina, TCM and France 5, directed by Antoine de Gaudemar. In French, with English subtitles. (53 min).

• Introduction - in this archival piece, writer and film producer Colin Maccabe introduces Le mepris and highlights some of its strengths. In English. (6 min).

• Paparazzi by Jacques Rozier - this documentary film was completed during the production of Le mepris. It features plenty of footage from Capri, where some of the most striking footage in Le mepris was shot. The documentary was restored in 4K at Hiventy. Black and white. In French, with English subtitles. (23 min).

• Bardot Godard: The Patry of Things by Jacques Rozier - this documentary also features raw footage from the shooting of Le mepris at Capri. In French, with English subtitles. (11 min).

Le Mepris 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The new 4K restoration of Le mepris is not the definitive makeover the film deserves, but I would not describe it as a flop either. It is easy to see that efforts were made to ensure that the film looks as it should. However, it is just as easy to see that there are numerous areas of the new 4K restoration that should look a lot more convincing. Should you consider an upgrade if you already have StudioCanal's original Blu-ray release of Le mepris? I think that you should probably consider the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack, not the standard Blu-ray release, but be patient and try to acquire it when it goes on sale. Also, you should keep the original release in your collection because there are several very nice bonus features on it that are not retained on the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. RECOMMENDED.