Indie Inspirations

By Christopher P. Jacobs
Staff Writer

The ways movies tell stories to audiences still hark largely back to classic cinematic traditions popularized by Hollywood from the 1910s through the 1960s. But today’s most modern-looking, cutting-edge films, especially those by independent filmmakers, show a heavy influence of films from the “French New Wave” of the 1950s-60s, especially the early films of Jean-Luc Godard, who turned 80 last month.

While many Godard films have been released to DVD and VHS over the years, five of his key titles are now available for reappraisal on Blu-ray, four of them just released to the format over the past year. Unfortunately the best film of the bunch is also the worst-looking (the Lionsgate transfer of “Contempt”), but the other four (three from Criterion and one a region-free release from Britain’s Eureka) all have superb transfers that resemble new 35mm film prints. All five have nice selections of bonus features including illustrated booklets (with those for “Breathless” and “Une Femme Mariée” the most lavish at 80 pages each), but “Vivre sa Vie” is the only Blu-ray with an audio commentary.

Because Godard was so influential, his once avant-garde style makes these films look remarkably modern today. Because many of his experimental techniques never caught on widely, they also remain fresh and surprising, and possibly disconcerting. Besides an unconventional use of editing and sound, he sometimes has characters address the camera directly, loads his films with pop-culture references, and likes to leave out elements that might clarify his plots. His films are still an acquired taste and dedicated Godard fans might rate all five of these as masterpieces, whereas others may not find any of them particularly satisfying.

“À Bout de souffle” (1960), better known as “Breathless”, was Godard’s first feature-length film, and its success changed the look of films ever since. The simple story of a cheap crook who inadvertently kills a cop and hides out with a sometimes-girlfriend was inspired by an actual incident. It could have been a typical film noir thriller, and does indeed pay homage to American gangster films.

But Godard’s loose, free-form approach makes it something entirely different. He often avoids spelling out relationships and motivations, and neither of his protagonists is particularly likeable. He shoots largely on actual locations with natural lighting, but uses numerous jump-cuts that condense time while giving an edgy, frantic feeling to the film that purposely calls attention to the fact that we’re watching a film and not reality.

“Vivre sa Vie” (1962), sometimes called “My Life to Live”, is an interesting and off-beat character study of an aspiring Parisian actress who becomes a prostitute, played by Godard’s then wife, Anna Karina. This time he uses a documentary style with numerous long takes, including a substantial clip from the 1928 silent classic “The Passion of Joan of Arc”, and he divides the film into 12 individual episodes with a sudden surprise ending.

“Contempt” or “Le Mépris” (1963) is arguably Godard’s masterpiece, a multinational story of a French writer (Michel Piccoli) hired by an American producer (Jack Palance) to rewrite a German director’s (Fritz Lang) adaptation of the Greek epic “The Odyssey” being filmed in Italy. It’s a parallel plot of the writer’s failing relationship with his wife (Brigitte Bardot), alluding to the situation of Odysseus and Penelope, and the conflict of artistic vision with crass commercialism during the process of film production. More traditional in style than Godard’s other films, it still displays many of his trademark techniques and a vivid use of the mise en scene.

The Criterion Collection’s outstanding old DVD release (approved by the cinematographer) is the preferred version of “Contempt” to look for, rather than the disappointing 2010 Blu-ray version from Lionsgate. Moments of the Blu-ray look outstanding, and much of it is sharper than the DVD, but all the colors appear faded and muddy. Several scenes unaccountably switch from the high-resolution transfer into segments that look fuzzier than a VHS transfer, sometimes in the middle of a shot. This is a rare case where the DVD (which also includes an audio commentary) is far superior to the Blu-ray edition.

“Une Femme Mariée” (“A Married Woman”) (1964) is subtitled “Fragments of a film shot in 1964 in black and white”, giving an advance clue as to its much more experimental style of photographic composition and editing. Even more than most of his films, the images look like art photographs in motion. Its story of an unfaithful wife is also a provocative statement on male-female relationships.

“Pierrot le Fou” (1965) is a vividly colorful crime romance with a playful comic edge undercut by a number of dramatic and/or philosophical elements (or perhaps vice versa, depending on one’s approach). It may be the film that is most “Godardian” of Godard’s films, and one of the last before he became more explicitly (and tediously) political in his stories.

“BREATHLESS” on Blu-ray from Criterion— Movie: B+ / Video: A+ / Audio: A / Extras: A-
“VIVRE SA VIE” on Blu-ray from Criterion—Movie: B / Video: A+ / Audio: A / Extras: A-
“CONTEMPT” (“LE MÉPRIS”) on Blu-ray from Lionsgate—Movie: A / Video: C+ / Audio: B+ / Extras: A-
“UNE FEMME MARIÉE” on Blu-ray from Eureka—Movie: B / Video: A+ / Audio: A / Extras: B
“PIERROT LE FOU” on Blu-ray from Criterion—Movie: B / Video: A+ /  Audio: A / Extras: A-

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