Jean-Luc Godard’s Le Mépris hits 4K UHD for its 60th Anniversary

To mark the 60th anniversary of one of the most notable examples of the French New Wave, STUDIOCANAL has announced a brand-new 4K restoration of Le Mépris. Fresh from its inclusion in the Cannes Classic selection at this year’s festival, this landmark in world cinema from cinema’s original enfant terrible; Jean-Luc Godard will be available to own on 4K UHD for the first time, on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital on 26 June.

The film will also screen at BFI SOUTHBANK from June 2nd as part of their Michel Piccoli season.

Featuring the style icon Brigitte Bardot (And God Created Woman, Viva Maria!) as Camille, and legendary French talent Michel Piccoli (Belle De Jour, The Things of Live) as Paul, LE MÉPRIS boasts a strong and eclectic supporting cast featuring ‘master of darkness’ Director, Fritz Lang as himself, renowned American actor Jack Palance as Jeremy, and the infamous Giorgia Moll as Francesca. The restoration also features the original and unforgettable soundtrack, ‘Theme of Camille’, which has gained worldwide admiration in its own right, by multi award-winning composer, Georges Delerue.

Set around the extraordinary Villa Malaparte on Capri; LE MÉPRIS tells the tragic romance between Paul and his wife, Camille. Paul is enlisted the task of re-writing a film script. Whilst he becomes engrossed in writing, he appears oblivious to the film producer’s interest in his irresistibly beautiful wife, Camille. In turn, we witness the hurtful unfolding of Paul & Camille’s marriage.

LE MÉPRIS was restored by STUDIOCANAL, with the support of the CNC. The image was scanned and restored in 4K at the HIVENTY laboratory. In order to optimize the 4K restoration, the original 35mm negative and the interpositive were used, as well as the reference print re-worked in 2002 by Mr. Raoul Coutard, Director of Photography on LE MÉPRIS. The restoration took 220 hours, allowing to compensate for the defects linked to the wear of time, such as deviations in colours and lighting. This new restoration will enable audiences to discover LE MEPRIS as it was intended to be viewed.

Born in Paris in 1930, Jean-Luc Godard came from a bourgeois Franco-Swiss family, where he attended school until his parents divorced in 1948 and he moved to Paris. A contemporary of François Truffaut, Eric Rohmer and Jacques Rivette, Godard first became involved in cinema through literary criticism, writing several articles under the pseudonym Hans Lucas. After supplying funding to films by Rivette and Rohmer, with whom he had also founded a ‘Gazette du Cinema’ for their writing, Godard’s family withdrew their financial support, and he took to living a Bohemian lifestyle, often stealing food and money when necessary. After becoming a scriptwriter and having made several short films, Godard made his memorable directorial debut in 1959 with À Bout de Souffle, cementing his reputation (earned from his articles and screenplays) as being at the forefront of La Nouvelle Vague.

LE MÉPRIS is a welcome addition to the ever-growing VINTAGE WORLD CINEMA collection.

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