Jacques Rivette

[zedz]

I'm down for that! And I'd love to do the Out 1 commentary with Bill Krohn -- as we did on the McC discs of Murnau's Faust and Nick Ray's The Savage Innocents.

The whole thing? In one sitting? MoC could organise a Guinness Book of Records entry for the longest DVD commentary and generate some free publicity.

Actually, Out 1 seems like just the project to try out subscription-based funding on, should all other avenues prove fruitless. MoC (or whoever) costs the project and calculates that it needs 500 advance orders at 50 quid apiece, say, to underwrite it.

[justeleblanc]

OUT 1 needs is a privately funded restoration. I assume that's a pretty expensive and time intensive process, but should it ever happen, it would most definitely be followed by a few screens in select theaters in Europe and USA and then an R2 and R1 DVD release, much like Berlin Alex. We really shouldn't be petitioning companies to release films that (at least to them) don't exist yet, if you follow. Petitioning art preservation houses and other various foundations to start working on Rivette would probably be a better strategy.

As for more realistic titles:

THE NUN
DUELLE
NOIROT
UP/DOWN/FRAGILE
JOAN THE MAID (complete)
VA SAVOIR+

These films all have good prints available, in some cases they just lack subtitles, and it would be much easier for DVD houses to consider releasing or pursuing them. MERRY GO ROUND and LE PONT DU NORD both have been released onto DVD (in Germany and Japan respectively) and may also have decent prints as well, though no screen caps have been posted yet.

Anyway, if we are serious about trying to get companies to release more Rivette and starting some petition of some sort, then I really think we should do it one step at a time. It's just my two cents.

Koch Lorber
MoC
Kino
Fantoma

These may be decent places to start to get more of his films released. I've basically given up on Criterion, considering they fucking own a Rivette film and haven't touched it. Fuck em.

Also, for what it's worth, there are bootleg avi files of all 8 episodes of OUT 1 that float around the internet from time to time. They are in French with Italian subtitles. If someone wanted to work on English translations for those who aren't fluent in either language, then that could at least fill a void for those who haven't seen it and would like to. Certainly the forty minute sections of grunting would be easy to translate.

Thoughts?

[cinemartin]

I am not too disgruntled that Criterion hasn't released Paris Belongs To Us; it's one of his weakest films and it already is available in a great BFI disc. Same with New Yorker with Celine and Julie, but that seems to be their MO: releasing inferior discs of films we already have - instead of doing L'amour Fou, if they do indeed own the rights. I think the "safest" films to release of Rivette's would be Joan The Maid and Renoir The Boss. Both Joan of Arc and Jean Renoir have more name recognition than Rivette, and both films have been criminally tampered with by dvd companies.

But with all respect and humility, who cares about safe bets? I say swing for the fences and petition to get all these films released. Would it really make a difference otherwise? Some of these films, Spectre and Pont du Nord, have brand new prints blown up to 35. The time is right to use these.

I'm looking forward to the Bluebell films, and that's a start. And I've said this before, and maybe I'm just a hopeless optimist, but I really don't see the huge risk in releasing Out 1. A clever PR person could sell that picture easily enough.

But that's just a nickel's worth of my 2 cents.

[ptmd]

I feel like I should jump in here to add that, to the best of my knowledge, L'Amour Fou is no longer a New Yorker title. They had the rights at one point and I suppose it's remotely possible that they still have the video rights, but they don't have any prints and they definitely don't have theatrical/non-theatrical distribution rights anymore. We're showing this in 35mm next Friday here at Yale (anyone on this list is welcome to attend, PM me if you want more info) and both rights and print are coming from France. AMMI did the same thing for their Rivette retro last year.

To address the Out 1 screening issue, I have to agree with everyone who has been suggesting that it needs to be watched theatrically. Frankly, I can't imagine the film working properly outside the context of a theater since that interplay and the momentum built up by an intensive 13-hour screening over two days is such a crucial part of the experience of the film. I know it was partially financed by French TV, but I feel that the loss in viewing it that way would be enormous, particularly in the first four episodes. At the very least, the gradually developing rhythmic arc of the film is wholly predicated on an intensive screening and Rivette himself said that he only edited the first chunk of the film the way he did because he knew the audience was committing to a 13-hour film and would accept things that, in other circumstances, would cause them to leave the theater. Berlin Alexanderplatz works as a mini-series, but I really can't see Out 1 that way (which, by the way, is another reason a DVD release always seems like a very hard sell to me).

Anyways, leaving aside The Nun, Out 1: Spectre, and Paris Belongs to Us, I think the most likely candidate for a serious Rivette release in the near future is the full version of Joan the Maid. The subject matter is of intrinsic interest to many people and it's an absolutely tremendous film. Since Facets has already released the shortened version, though, this would almost certainly have to come from the UK. Perhaps Bluebell Films can be persuaded to look into this if their forthcoming releases do well.

[justeleblanc]

A clever PR person could sell that picture easily enough.

Wonderful, let us all know for which company this genius work and we'll go from there. For those who live in reality, I once again think asking companies to do something that's within their means and that seems relatively reasonable is a decent bet.

Has anyone had any contact with Project X, who gave us the Peter Watkins releases? Do we think they'd be up for doing some Rivette next?

Joan the Maid in R2 does sound the most promising. And for what it's worth, the BFI of Paris Belongs to Us has strange looking cigarette burns and squares that are relatively annoying, which is why a Criterion would be nice. Plus, it would introduce Rivette to a wider audience who don't think it exists if it's not released by Criterion. (And you're all fucked in the head if you say Paris is a bad film.)

ptmd, the screening at the NGA was credited with being from New Yorker, and I vaguely remember New Yorker Films at the beginning of the print, but I may be mistaken. Do you have any other reason to think L'Amour Fou is not New Yorker, besides the current print being shown at Yale not being from New Yorker?

[cinemartin]

I may be fucked in the head, but they let me right in whenever I go to IFC.

[justeleblanc]

I may be fucked in the head, but they let me right in whenever I go to IFC.

Shmo-hawk!

[ptmd]

ptmd, the screening at the NGA was credited with being from New Yorker, and I vaguely remember New Yorker Films at the beginning of the print, but I may be mistaken. Do you have any other reason to think L'Amour Fou is not New Yorker, besides the current print being shown at Yale not being from New Yorker?

That's very strange about the NGA screening. I'm the one who programmed the Yale screening and I spoke to New Yorker when booking. They told me they don't have the rights anymore.

[MichaelB]

I'm looking forward to the Bluebell films, and that's a start.

I have three DVD-R checkdiscs, though L'Amour par terre turned out to be a blank, which wasn't encouraging!

But Le Bande des quatre and Wuthering Heights look very promising indeed - very clean prints and nice anamorphic transfers with optional subtitles.

I can't be too detailed because (a) I've only dipped into them, (b) I'm watching on my MacBook and (c) they're single-layer DVD-R reductions of what I assume will be dual-layer final releases - but on this evidence there's nothing to worry about.

No extras, but I imagine that's not a surprise.

And I've said this before, and maybe I'm just a hopeless optimist, but I really don't see the huge risk in releasing Out 1.

Huge production costs, both in terms of creating the master in the first place (hours and hours of telecine plus subtitling), higher than usual distribution costs (because of four discs), so inescapably high RRP, which won't exactly encourage impulse purchasing.

And with the best will in the world, it's probably doing well if sales hit triple figures, and unfeasibly well if they nudge quadruple. So it's extremely likely that a release will lose money - so it really depends on whether the distributor is prepared to absorb the likely losses for Art.

[domino harvey]

That's great news, I was preparing myself for the possibility of the transfers being non-anamorphic.

[Michael Kerpan]

That's great news, I was preparing myself for the possibility of the transfers being non-anamorphic.

The French DVDs were anamorphic, so if they are just piggy-backing....

[MichaelB]

That's great news, I was preparing myself for the possibility of the transfers being non-anamorphic.

The French DVDs were anamorphic, so if they are just piggy-backing....

That's the most likely scenario, especially if there was nothing wrong with the French DVDs.

Given the running times (only one of the films is nearer two hours than three), licensing existing Digibeta masters would be vastly cheaper than doing new telecines, so my guess is that that's what they've done.

Which bodes well - because there may be a contractual reason why so many of the French DVDs like Noroit and Duelle have no subtitles: it was a quid pro quo in exchange for Bluebell (or any other anglophone distributor) buying up the rights in their territory.

[domino harvey]

Has anyone (maybe MichaelB?) seen the cover art for the three Bluebell Rivettes, I've been coming up empty at all the usual haunts

[MichaelB]

Has anyone (maybe MichaelB?) seen the cover art for the three Bluebell Rivettes, I've been coming up empty at all the usual haunts

Nope - all I have is a text-only press release and three DVD-Rs with Bluebell's logo.

Which is par for the course: the artwork is usually the last thing to be completed (because the designer needs final specs, BBFC classification, etc.), generally after check discs have been sent out.

On the other hand, the press release says "Rivette's three masterpieces have all been newly restored and re-mastered and will be released on DVD for the first time anywhere in the world as directors' cut versions on 25 February 2008"...

(According to the labels, L'Amour par terre is 168 mins, La Bande des quatre is 155 mins, and Wuthering Heights is 127 mins - presumably after PAL speedup, so those equate to 175 mins, 162 mins and 132 mins respectively)

[domino harvey]

Just to clarify, since you have the check-discs, they are releasing the longer version of Love on the Ground, right?

[MichaelB]

Just to clarify, since you have the check-discs, they are releasing the longer version of Love on the Ground, right?

According to the label, it's 168 mins (175 after PAL speedup), so that's a definite yes (the shorter version is only just over two hours).

But I can't confirm this against the actual disc, because they inadvertently sent me a blank!

[Michael Kerpan]

While the uncut "Love on the Ground" may be getting an English-subbed first release -- the French Arte DVD was restored and uncut.

As far as I can tell, the US DVDs of "Gang of Four" and "Wuthering Heights" were uncut. The only big objection to these DVDs seems to have been they were not anamorphic. The Arte DVD were restored and anamorphic (byut not subbed).

So, sounds like lots of (inaccurate) hyperbole on the part of Bluebell.

[MichaelB]

So, sounds like lots of (inaccurate) hyperbole on the part of Bluebell.

Yes, I raised eyebrows at that too. "The first release in anamorphic versions with English subtitles anywhere in the world" would appear to be slightly more accurate.

[Tommaso]

The arte discs had some nice extras in form of interviews, although these were all added on the eighth disc of the Rivette box set. Too bad that Bluebell didn't licence these as well, but I guess it's only a minor drawback if the transfers are the same. The arte discs look really good, especially "Wuthering Heights" (probably because that's the shortest of the films).

[domino harvey]

Now that 2/3 of the OOP Image discs are getting a proper release, I wonder who owns the R2 rights to Secret Defense?

[David Ehrenstein]

Secret Defense (which really should be translated as Top Secret ) is really something. A variation of Electra mixed with Vertigo it's climax is a lengthy series of train trips during which Sandrine Bonnaire decides that she has to kill Jerzy Radzilowicz. Rivette discloses her gradual resolve entirely through mise en scene.

Hurlevent is likewise a revelation. Introducing Fabienne Babe and Lucas Belvaux it's relatively short (just over two hours) but very exciting in its physicality -- echoing aspects of Noroit in this regard.

[Tommaso]

it's climax is a lengthy series of train trips during which Sandrine Bonnaire decides that she has to kill Jerzy Radzilowicz. Rivette discloses her gradual resolve entirely through mise en scene.

I simply couldn't believe this sequence when I first saw it in the cinema. I totally freaked out. 25 minutes without a single word spoken, but still Rivette manages to build up an almost unbearable tension simply by showing us the variations on Bonnaire's face and the varying landscapes and passers-by. As a whole, this isn't my favourite Rivette, but that sequence must be one of the greatest he ever made.

Hurlevent is likewise a revelation. Introducing Fabienne Babe and Lucas Belvaux it's relatively short (just over two hours) but very exciting in its physicality -- echoing aspects of Noroit in this regard.

Yep. I never thought anyone would ever do a really good version of "Wuthering Heights" (and no, Wyler/Olivier/Oberon doesn't do it for me, though I admit I haven't seen Bunuel's), but this is close to perfect in its subtlety. The final shot of that branch beating against the window would be completely superficial in any other film, but here it gets a heart-rending, almost magical quality. Stylewise, this always reminded me a lot of Renoir's "Regle du Jeu" in the way how Rivette manages to create abstract movements for his ensembles. But you are right: "Noroit" also has this.

[justeleblanc]

You, both Withering and Secret Defense didn't do it for me. I'm normally able to locate the text within Rivette's films, but I couldn't with these two. It's strange. Can anyone point me or nudge me in the right direction so when I watch these again I'm not left behind.

Meanwhile, I saw Marie and Julien once again and was absolutely blown away by it. What a masterpiece!!

[domino harvey]

I loved Secret Defense, and thought there was a lot to admire in Hurlevent though I'm not sure it's entirely successful-- though justleblanc you might be conforted to know that Rosenbaum singles out Hurlevent and Va Savoir as Rivette's weakest films, so you aren't the only one who feels that way. As far as unlocking the "key" to Secret Defense, I always considered it Rivette's riff on a Chabrol film, and it's marvelous at how easily Rivette is able to ascribe his aesthetics to any genre and make it a Rivette film first.

While on the subject of the Image-released films, I think Gang of Four is his best film (of the ones I've seen), or perhaps more correctly it seems the most perfect distillation of everything that makes a Rivette film a Rivette film.

[justeleblanc]

You know, I would agree about Va Savoir, but there are some very funny moments (the whole drunken duel, for one) that kept me from truly dismissing it.

And I did see a lot of Chabrol in Secret Defense, along with some truly amazing staging, especially everything that rhymes with that final last shot. it also seemed to cross the paths of Lost Highway and Spider a little, though that may just be me. The gravity that I look for in a Rivette film, mainly one character's new found role in some sort of plot that may only exist in abstraction, it was there but beyond that became lost. I may need to try again in a short while.

I like that you would put Gang of Four as his best film. It's pretty dense and manages to transpose the freedoms of Rivette's earlier films within a more tightly conceived form, at least for my buck. But I never thought of it as being top tier. I just might watch it again tomorrow.