Jacques Rivette

[Michael Kerpan]

Gang of Four was my introduction to Rivette -- and it is in my (large) top tier of Rivette films. All the same, Pont du Nord became my favorite as soon as I saw the (unsubbed) French video 5 (at least) years ago -- and has held onto that spot ever since.

[Tommaso]

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.

"Va savoir" is unusual in that it so 'light', with little of Rivette's usual 'fantasy' and 'irritation'. But I don't mean that negatively, it's one of the few films in his canon that can be really described as a comedy, a truly summerly film. Still there's enough of usual Rivette in it: the quest for that manuscript, the whole 'detective story' topic that you find more prominently in "Celine and Julie" and "Pont du Nord". The duel scene is indeed priceless. Unsurprisingly, "Va savoir" was one of his few real successes with the audience in France.

I'm aware that "Hurlevent" has often been dismissed as minor Rivette, too, though for other reasons I suppose. I can't give any real reason why I like it so much apart from comparing it to the novel. While Rivette's film leaves a completely different feeling in the viewer, I find it a very successful adaptation because it spares you any heavy-handed romanticism and diabolics but still manages to convey the feeling that something is going on that far exceeds normal experiences and emotions. And there's sheer beauty in the landscape images and the way he sets up his ensemble (this is very much an ensemble film, I'd say) in the filmic space.

Another favorite of mine is "Haut-Bas-Fragile", also an often overlooked film. Here it's basically the musical character that intrigues me, the songs and dance are just great fun and so is the acting in general. This is clearly a lesser film in his oeuvre, but if nothing more than a charming diversion, it certainly 'works'. Probably related to "Va savoir" in its 'lightness'.

[mattkc]

Hurlevent and Secret Defense: my two favorite Rivettes, though Haut-Bas-Fragile would not be far behind. The only Rivette I've seen that I would call relatively minor is L'Amour par terre, and that has some extraordinary moments and is overall quite great, AND I only saw the 2 hour cut version. I like Gang of Four more than many of his films, but not quite as much as the best. The three I'd really love to see and haven't been able to are Merry-Go-Round, Le Pond du Nord, and Jeanne la Pucelle. I'm pretty curious about La religieuse also, since some have compared it with Ne touchez pas la hache, which I thought was really great, one of his best films, and one of the strangest.

[Michael Kerpan]

"Up Down Fragile" is one of my Rivette favorites too -- and I've always loved Va Savoir. I'd love to see the long version released -- together with a performance of the Pirandello play it borrows from (we HAVE seen this -- and it is very useful to know the play).

If "Love on the Ground" is "relatively" minor, it is still filled with many delights.

[David Ehrenstein]

An important part of Rivette is his cross-referencing. Prior to production on Duelle he screened The Seventh Victim for the cast. Before Noroit it was Moonfleet. And before Haut/Bas/Fragile it was Give a Girl a Break.

[Barmy]

The Japanese "Pont du Nord" DVD is acceptable but not great. It is extremely grainy. Admittedly, the film itself is grainy (I believe it was shot in 16mm).

[justeleblanc]

The Japanese "Pont du Nord" DVD is acceptable but not great. It is extremely grainy. Admittedly, the film itself is grainy (I believe it was shot in 16mm).

Any screenshots available? I assume there is a Japanese subtitle track, is there also a French one?

[Barmy]

I don't have the technology to do screencaps. Removable Japanese subtitles. I doubt it has French subtitles but I'll check (the menu of course is in Japanese so it's not easy to tell).

[nosy lena]

No, Japanese subtitles only.

[David Ehrenstein]

Yes Le Pont du Nord was shot in Super 16. I've never seen a print that wasn't to some degree grainy.

[franco]

Is the Japanese Le Pont du Nord 1.78:1, as amazon suggests? I wonder whether the original aspect ratio is 1.33:1. Before I blow $150 for a movie I need to find out whether I am getting something decent... but WHOA WAIT... is thisthe individual disc? At that price I'll get it without a second thought.

EDIT: here it says 4:3.

Should I get it from CD Japan or Amazon? I think I will get it from CD Japan because my Japanese is not that good.

EDIT AGAIN: Yes Asia carries it... Problem solved.

[Michael Kerpan]

Is the Japanese Le Pont du Nord 1.78:1, as amazon suggests? I wonder whether the original aspect ratio is 1.33:1. Before I blow $150 for a movie I need to find out whether I am getting something decent... but WHOA WAIT... is thisthe individual disc? At that price I'll get it without a second thought.

EDIT: here it says 4:3.

Should I get it from CD Japan or Amazon? I think I will get it from CD Japan because my Japanese is not that good.

Check out Yesasia.com --which might have a comparable price AND free shipping.

[franco]

Thanks Michael. I just ordered it... Maybe I can do screenshots if by the time I get my disc people are still looking for them.

[Awesome Welles]

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

Gang of Four, Wuthering Heights This artwork is subject to change at present. Going by their other releases it seems that these are almost definitely temporary covers.

[Michael Kerpan]

Thanks Michael. I just ordered it... Maybe I can do screenshots if by the time I get my disc people are still looking for them.

I am sure this will look better than the DVD-R I made of my copy of the old French video (easier to watch -- and now I don't have to worry about my VCR eating the videotape).

[MichaelB]

For Gang of Four, Hurlevent, and Secret Defense, the Image discs don't look too shabby, if you could rent them somewhere... They aren't anamorphic though.

The Bluebell discs of Gang of Four and Hurlevent are definitely anamorphic (based on actual viewing, not written specs).

[justeleblanc]

Does anyone have a copy of Duelle and would like English Subtitles? I have the subtitles but no film.

Private message me.

[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

Gang of Four, Wuthering Heights This artwork is subject to change at present. Going by their other releases it seems that these are almost definitely temporary covers.

Those are actually the R1 OOP Image covers

[justeleblanc]

Does anyone know about the quality of this Merry-Go-Round disc?

[franco]

I was going to blind-buy that until I realized that shipping would cost € 38,12.

[Macintosh]

Does anyone have a copy of Duelle and would like English Subtitles? I have the subtitles but no film.

I have both the film with English subs. Bittorrent man, say it with me, BITTORENT!

[PimpPanda]

Does anyone know who owns the rights to Out 1/Out 1: Spectre? I missed them when they were in Toronto (I do have reasons...all though I heavily regret missing them now of course), and are they still playing anywhere else? I cannnot even begin to explain how much I want to see them.

[justeleblanc]

Does anyone know who owns the rights to Out 1/Out 1: Spectre? I missed them when they were in Toronto (I do have reasons...all though I heavily regret missing them now of course), and are they still playing anywhere else? I cannnot even begin to explain how much I want to see them.

Kino is supposedly releasing only SPECTRE at some point in the future, but this may just be a rumor. As for the full out one, my guess is you'll need to either wait for another retrospective or see if you can find a bootleg. There are a few floating around the internet sans english subtitles, and I assume at some point these will be turned into torrents once the right person gets a hold of them.

[PimpPanda]

Yeah, I've found the one without english subtitles. I also know that there is a guy on ebay who sells Spectre with subtitles, but the visual and sound quality is very poor. It's weird though, it seems to be like Noli Me Tangere isn't playing anywhere anymore, like there are no more screenings anytime soon. Is that true?

[Adam]

Does anyone know who owns the rights to Out 1/Out 1: Spectre? I missed them when they were in Toronto (I do have reasons...all though I heavily regret missing them now of course), and are they still playing anywhere else? I cannot even begin to explain how much I want to see them.

For the screening in Los Angeles that I organized with LAFCA and the UCLA Film & TV Archives, we obtained the print from Sunshine Films in France, 16mm only, no subtitles. The DVD with electronic subtitles came from England, I believe BFI, but I'm now blanking on that source.

Here is the Variety review by Bob Koehler