Contempt (film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Wikipedia
Featured:  |
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. The film is the fourth highest rated of Godard's films and a quintessential entry to the French New Wave.
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; the character is named after her real name), 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.
