Review of Contempt (1963) by Rainer G — 19 Jun 2009

Brecht-like written under the screen in the screening room, just before Palance knocks reels of films from a hapless assistant, is the Lumiere quote: Cinema is an invention without a future. Godard's whining about the business-end of the trade is nascent here, but not yet the end-in-itself later shown in "Hail Mary" or "King Lear," and the itemized Bardot reification fuck-you inserted at the beginning is a sort of triumph.

Luscious tracking in Capri, Fritz Lang, a celebrated 30+ minute relationship meltdown, Delerue's "Camille's Theme." Enfant perdu with no future in studio to-do sez j'accuse.