Overview
A tumultuous love story unfolds against the backdrop of a cinematic dream gone awry.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- sensual
- intellectually restless
- arthouse movie night
- classic cinema study
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a visually luxuriant and essential work of modernist cinema, praising its performances and self-reflexive ambition while finding its character motivations and intellectual editing uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Paul is hired to revise a commercial screenplay for Fritz Lang's production of Ulysses, while the filmmaking process mirrors the couple's unraveling.
The film's vivid primary colors and deliberately composed interiors turn the villa and domestic spaces into emotional landscapes.
Paul's professional bargain and perceived willingness to offer Camille to Prokosch transform marital trust into a form of exchange.
The production of Homer's Odyssey becomes a framework for examining estrangement, betrayal, and fractured identity in a modern marriage.
Films like Contempt, and why
8½
self-reflexive cinema, marital alienation, and modernist drama centered on the filmmaking world
Jules and Jim
french new wave experimentation, romantic disintegration, and intellectually playful film form
The Passenger
stylized relationship drama, psychological estrangement, and the tension between commercial cinema and artistic ambition
Movie Details
- Director
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Release Date
- 1963-10-29
- Runtime
- 103 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (997)
Cast
- Brigitte Bardot
- Michel Piccoli
- Jack Palance
- Giorgia Moll
- Fritz Lang
- Raoul Coutard
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Linda Veras
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- BFI Player Amazon Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Contempt about?
- A screenwriter's attempt to satisfy a demanding producer coincides with the collapse of his marriage in Jean-Luc Godard's radiant, self-conscious study of artistic compromise and contempt.
- What is Contempt like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Contempt as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Contempt violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Contempt as mild.
- What did critics think of Contempt?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a visually luxuriant and essential work of modernist cinema, praising its performances and self-reflexive ambition while finding its character motivations and intellectual editing uneven.
- Which films are like Contempt?
- Films with a similar feel include 8½, Jules and Jim, and The Passenger.
- How long is Contempt?
- Contempt runs 103 minutes.
- Where can I watch Contempt?
- In United States, Contempt streams on BFI Player Amazon Channel.
