Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by clarkjohnsen (R) on April 11, 2008 at 09:33:54

By Ty Burr

Boston Globe / April 11, 2008

Certain films are worth returning to periodically, the way a pilgrim would visit a shrine. Either they cut to the heart of the matter or they conjure up the passions of one's youth, when it felt as if a movie or a pop song or a book could re-orient the entire universe.


For some of us - a lot of us, actually - the movies Jean-Luc Godard made between 1960 and 1967 are that touchstone, burning with a fervor that's half Picasso, half John Lennon, and wholly original. Films like "Vivre Sa Vie" (1962) and "Pierrot le Fou" (1965) felt like the reinvention of cinema when they came out, and they still have the power to shame 99 percent of what passes for movies today.

So when I say that 1963's "Contempt" is playing at the Brattle in a brand-new print, those of you who know what that means know what to do. Those who don't - well, trust me, you want to see this on the biggest screen possible. Few movies have used color and CinemaScope with such aching precision.

• http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2008/04/11/classic_contempt_gets_a_new_life/   (Open in New Window)