Remembrance Sunday: Le Mépris (15)
Brigitte Bardot channels maximum bombshell in Jean-Luc Godard’s melancholic, ultra-stylish break-up classic. Jaw-droppingly beautiful with the lushest soundtrack.
Brigitte, who died at the age of 91 earlier this year, swept away cinema's staid 1950s portrayal of women, personifying a new age of sexual liberation. She was the first foreign-language star to match the level of international success of America's most successful actors.
On screen, she was a French cocktail of kittenish charm and sensuality. One publication called her "the princess of pout and the countess of come hither", but it was an image she grew to loathe. Ruthlessly marketed as a hedonistic sex symbol, Bardot was frustrated in her ambition to become a serious actress. Eventually, she abandoned her career to campaign for animal welfare.
This Classic Sunday we pay tribute to this icon on French cinema who made her debut in Cannes, and plays up to the objectification with her iconic performance in this classic film industry metafiction.
Jean-Luc Godard's Le Mepris comes complete with cameos from Fritz Lang and Jack Palance. Micheal Piccoli's French writer's marriage deteriorates while working on Fritz Lang's version of The Odyssey (timely), as his wife accuses him of using her to court favour with the film's brash American producer.
The Electric Palace screens a classic film every Sunday afternoon at 3pm as part of our CLASSIC SUNDAYS slot. Make watching vintage movies a habit this autumn and come every week to polish up your film history!
Brigitte, who died at the age of 91 earlier this year, swept away cinema's staid 1950s portrayal of women, personifying a new age of sexual liberation. She was the first foreign-language star to match the level of international success of America's most successful actors.
On screen, she was a French cocktail of kittenish charm and sensuality. One publication called her "the princess of pout and the countess of come hither", but it was an image she grew to loathe. Ruthlessly marketed as a hedonistic sex symbol, Bardot was frustrated in her ambition to become a serious actress. Eventually, she abandoned her career to campaign for animal welfare.
This Classic Sunday we pay tribute to this icon on French cinema who made her debut in Cannes, and plays up to the objectification with her iconic performance in this classic film industry metafiction.
Jean-Luc Godard's Le Mepris comes complete with cameos from Fritz Lang and Jack Palance. Micheal Piccoli's French writer's marriage deteriorates while working on Fritz Lang's version of The Odyssey (timely), as his wife accuses him of using her to court favour with the film's brash American producer.
The Electric Palace screens a classic film every Sunday afternoon at 3pm as part of our CLASSIC SUNDAYS slot. Make watching vintage movies a habit this autumn and come every week to polish up your film history!
PART OF NATIONAL CINEMA WEEKEND
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