gotta disagree. he could have shortened the film without jump cutting it. the great performances are still there. the humor is still there. the unique intertextual references are still there. the unique location shooting with available lighting is still there. the spirit of the new wave which infected the whole world of cinema is still there.
Gotta side with Bobby on this one, It isn’t necessarily the Film as a film which draws my love and admiration (although I do think it is a fantastic film) and it isn’t the jump cutting (which i do think in the end was a cool innovation even if it was an accident) it is the spirit of the film, the things that Bobby mentioned, and especially the chemistry not only between the actors but that emanates throughout the entire film.
Why choose? These are two totally different films. Maybe, Godard’s early work vs his later work, in which both Breathless and Contempt can be winners.
Breathless
Oh I agree, there are many charms in Breathless, and the cavalier spirit and all the tossed-off gestures contribute to that.
But it’s still a stunt. Breezy, capricious, fun, a good stunt. But still a stunt. (Alphaville was a better stunt).
Whereas Mepris has the depth and gravity of a real work of art.
when have seen contempt 10 times you may feel bored about the leitmotiv music, but you’ll still be fascinated — dialogue, self-reflection on language translation/errors and reality of misunderstanding and everything … ok. if you’re teenaging you’ll prefer breathless
teenaging? i dont know about that. wow. its amazing to me that people are actually underrating “breathless”, the most important film made since “birth of a nation”. on the contrary, i think the importance and quality of “breathless” is impossible to overrate! but it seems my ranks are thin here. everyone seems to think “contempt” is a better film. the people have spoken. let them eat cake.
I’m with you Bobby! While I Love Contempt and all of the other Godard I’ve seen Breathless is my Favorite film of all time…
I shouldn’t be chiming in because I’ve yet to see Breathless, but I love Contempt. Godard is a filmmaker that I’ve seen very little of, and it’s partly because of my experience watching Pierrot Le Fou. I rented it after I watched Contempt and I couldn’t finish it. Recently I watched Masculin, Feminin and I found it scattered.
If I like Contempt, what would be the next best Godard film to see?
double post
Breathless!
couldn’t finish “pierrot”? “masculin feminin” didn’t suit your tastes? then you might not want to go further with godard. you can’t get better primers on his style (maybe equally good ones). if you dont like it, you probably wont like anything else.
man oh man, how i love “masculin feminin”!
its a tough decision, but I would definitely say go for Contempt.
My favorite godard movies:
Contempt
Pierrot le fou
Breathless
Band apart
Breathless. This is the better, more fun film. Contempt is excellent, but I wouldn’t recommend someone buy it blindly. Breathless, I would. My next favorite is probably My Life to Live, which I hope to see in the Criterion Collection soon.
I bought both blind, first Contempt, which I loved and immediately put in the ranks of my top ten, and also inspired me to blind buy Breathless, to see where it all started. It’s extremely interesting to see how different the two films are, even though they were made within three years of each other. I would suggest Contempt for those not too familiar with Godard or French New Wave in general, but Breathless for those who want to see where new wave got rolling. For instance, my girlfriend, not so much the cinephile, loved Contempt, but couldn’t get into Breathless.
re: Adam –
I would highly suggest Breathless for your next Godard.
i think “breathless” is the more popular hit, and “contempt” the more obscure one that’s hard to get into for newcomers.
Contempt.
I recommend watching any Godard movie you can get a hold of, buy every Godard movie you can afford. Breathless revolutionized my life. Every Godard movie I’ve seen has renewed the revolution, enlarged the revelation.
Seeing Breathless for the first time, I felt like Columbus discovering the New World, while driving across the Atlantic to get gas.
Contempt is a great movie, and includes a brutal, beautiful, delicate comic performance by Jack Palance, that no one could have accomplished but Godard.
Too many people when they hear the world Godard break out their pseudo-appreciative epithets: “Weekend is great, it’s got crazy shit.”
Orpheus M says: “When I hear the word ‘Breathless,’ I break out the Jump-Cuts”
Yesterday, there were kings here…
If you didn’t care for Band of Outsiders, I’d recommend you stay away from French New Wave cinema all together. It’s for the best.
Contempt is very near and dear to my heart. Someone mentioned the dry and distant feeling of it and that was part of the appeal for me, it had a very melancholy atmosphere about it.
Pierrot le fou is the last stone on the history of the novelle vaugue and also is Godards last statement of
film romanticisim before making i´s foray into radical marxist cinema with Tout va Bien
Mustafa: might I add, that if you didn’t care for Band of Outsiders, I’d recommend you stay away from cinema all together. It’s for the best.
lot of flms came in between “pierrot le fou” and “tout va bien”.
Might be a bit harsh but I agree Joel, ;)
i dont think “contempt” can hold its own with “band of outsiders”, for example.
You know, I hate to admit this…but I’ve tried 4 times to get through Contempt and each time I just pass out around the 45minute mark. I absolutely love Breathless, it’s one I can’t live without. Always has been…but as it turns out, Contempt seems to knock me out.
Upon reflection, I’ve realized this is partly due to WHEN I choose to watch it. Breathless I adore, so I can watch that any-old-time. Seems that I tend to always pop Contempt in during the wee small hours of the morning. 1am-4am block. Maybe this isn’t the best time to curl up and watch that one if I’m already sleepy…hmm…maybe I’ll get back to you on this one tomorrow. I might have to watch it again tonight.
Then again, I adore Brigitte so……yeah, be back soon. It’s time for Contempt.
you’re not alone. “contempt” can put the best of ’em to sleep! not because its a bad film. but that music can be a knock out pill. and its a very, very languid film too.
I know this is a HUGE blindspot for me, but I’ve never really like Godard’s early films—they seem glib and didactic to me—so for me it would have to be Contempt. I might take Notre musique over either of them, though.
“notre musique” is a great late masterwork, i think. i like the film more and more. i dont even think i’ve seen half of godard’s post-70s output, but i gotta imagine “notre musique” sits among the top tier of them.
Orpheus M.
No, Breathless would not work without the jump cuts. Godard realized this as he was putting together his first cut, at well over two hours, and realized it was unwatchable. So he slashed the movie apart with reckless abandon, tossed in sarcastic, goofball music cues, and we have a supposed masterpiece.