Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Le Mepris Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 18, 2023

Jean-Luc Godard's "Le mepris" (1965) arrives on 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-B "locked".

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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Le mepris arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

Earlier this month, we reviewed the 4K Blu-ray release of Le mepris here. If you have seen it, you already know how I feel about the recent 4K restoration of the film. I decided to put up a separate review of the Blu-ray release because I have spent quite a bit of time comparing the native 4K presentation with the 1080p presentation and even the original Blu-ray release from 2009.

The 1080p presentation has a number of very shaky areas. The worst produce visuals that look very flat and even smeary and quite a few have strong digital qualities. Why? It appears that there are several issues that cause the damage. On one hand, there are color grading anomalies that affect negatively the native dynamic range of the visuals. On the other hand, there are encoding anomalies that further compromise delineation, clarity, and depth. This screencapture is an obvious example of multiple issues causing serious damage at the same time, and there are many more such examples in 1080p. This is another example of a shaky area that looks filtered because of multiple issues. So, if you must have Le mepris in your collection, I suggest paying slightly more and acquiring the 4K Blu-ray release. While not perfect, the native 4K presentation most definitely handles the majority of the problematic areas better. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Le Mepris 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.

While comparing the 1080p and native 4K presentations of Le mepris, I did not encounter any issues. The comments below were used in our review of the 4K Blu-ray release of Le mepris.

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 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 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you wish to have Le mepris in your collection, I suggest you invest in the 4K Blu-ray release even if you do not have a 4K Blu-ray player yet. I think that the native 4K and 1080p presentations both have issues, but the latter is plagued by a wider range of issues, some of which could have been avoided with a better encode. To be honest, the more time I spent with the 1080p presentation, the less I like it. There are pretty large areas of Le mepris that have a dated appearance but look better on the original Blu-ray release from 2009. A review of the 4K Blu-ray release can be seen here.