Céline and Julie Go Boating & Paris Nous Appartient

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feihong
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Céline and Julie Go Boating & Paris Nous Appartient

#1 Post by feihong » Fri May 06, 2005 10:01 pm

Celine and Julie Go Boating

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Following its release on a new print by BFI Distribution in May 2006, during the major Jacques Rivette retrospective at the NFT, BFI Video releases his magical 70s favourite Cline and Julie Go Boating.

Rivette's rarely seen yet biggest commercial hit, is an exhilarating combination of the themes of theatricality, paranoia and la vie parisienne, all wrapped up in an extended and entrancing examination of the nature of filmmaking, and film-watching.

Celine (Juliet Berto), a magician, and Julie (Dominique Labourier), a librarian, meet in Montmartre and wind up sharing the same flat, bed, fiance, clothes, identity and imagination. Soon, thanks to a magic sweet, they find themselves spectators, then participants, in a Henry James-inspired 'film-within-the film' a melodrama unfolding in a mysterious suburban house with the 'Phantom Ladies Over Paris' (Bulle Ogier and Marie-France Pisier), a sinister man (Barbet Shroeder) and his child. The atmosphere, however, is more Lewis Carroll, with Juliet Berto and Dominique Labourier as twin Alices. The four main actresses improvised their own dialogue in collaboration with Rivette and scriptwriter Eduardo de Gregorio.

Acknowledged by director Susan Seidelman as a huge influence on her own hit film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Celine and Julie Go Boating was Rivette's greatest commercial and critical success - its freewheeling, playful spirit still capturing the imagination of new audiences today.

Extras:

- New filmed introduction by Jonathan Romney on Rivette and Cline and Julie Go Boating
- Toute la mémoire du monde (Alain Resnais, 1956, 20 mins, English subtitles)
- The Haunted Curiosity Shop (R W Paul, 1901, 2 mins, silent)
- Illustrated booklet including a review by Tom Milne; interviews with Dominique Labourier, Juliet Berto and Jacques Rivette; Susan Seidelman's reflections on her Rivette-inspired Desperately Seeking Susan; director biography

Paris Nous Appartient

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Following its release on a new print by BFI Distribution in April 2006, during the NFT's major Jacques Rivette retrospective, the BFI releases Paris nous appartient, the remarkable first feature from the great cinematic visionary and probably least known of the major French New Wave directors.

Anne, a student in Paris, becomes involved with a group of her brother's arty friends and gets sucked into a mystery involving Philip, an expatriate American escaping McCarthyism; Terry, a self-destructive femme fatale; theatre director Gerard; and Juan, a Spanish activist who apparently committed suicide, but was he murdered? Philip warns Anne that the forces that killed Juan will soon do the same to Gerard, who is struggling to rehearse Shakespeare's Pericles. Anne takes a part in the play in an attempt to help him and also discover why Juan died.

Jacques Rivette started making his first feature in 1957 and completed it slowly over a period of two years, as money allowed. Finally released in 1961, Paris nous appartient brilliantly captured the mood of paranoia and uncertainty of that Cold War period. Rivette's rarely seen debut is one of the most important and far-reaching of the early New Wave films.

Rivette's disquieting film, suffused with sexual and political tension, is as much about its setting a long-vanished Paris full of fleabag hotels and corduroy-clad intellectuals as about its story. It features guest appearances from fellow New Waver directors Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Demy, a striking musique concrte score, and stunning cinematography in black and white, which manages to be luminous and ominous at the same time.

Extras:

- New filmed introduction by Jonathan Romney on Rivette and Paris nous appartient
- Le Coup du berger (Rivette, 1957, 27 mins, English subtitles)
- Illustrated booklet with a review by Tom Milne; feature by Louis Marcorelles, originally published in Sight & Sound; director biography

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Gordon
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#2 Post by Gordon » Sat May 07, 2005 3:13 pm

I heard BFI was preparing a DVD of CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING for 2005 release. True?
Well, that depends on where you heard it. This is the first time I have read about this, so I'll need to do some digging. I would LOVE to see this on DVD with an excellent transfer (it was shot on 16mm) and English subtitles (which the French DVD does not have) and perhaps some extras.

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Ovader
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#3 Post by Ovader » Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:41 am

I received a response from BFI about the upcoming Celine And Julie Go Boating after I e-mailed them if the DVD would include the bonus features from the Editions Montparnasse DVD released in France.
bfi Video are producing our own version of Celine and Julie which will feature an interview with Johnathan Romney and possibly Tout la memoire du monde (1956) by Alain Resnais amongst other things depending on rights and sourcing materials.

It is due out in September along with Rivette's Paris nous appartient.
Toute La Memoire Du Monde has nothing to do with the Rivette film so I suspect that was an error. Maybe the person meant to state a Rivette short film may possibly be included. The Resnais short is a bonus feature already on the Last Year At Marienbad Optimum DVD. I was surprised to hear about Paris Nous Appartient.

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ellipsis7
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#4 Post by ellipsis7 » Sat Jun 10, 2006 7:34 am

Two Rivettes from the bfi in September - PARIS NOUS APPARTIENT" (1960) & "CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING" (1974)...

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ellipsis7
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#5 Post by ellipsis7 » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:20 pm

Did it mention the 2 Rivettes - CELINE & PARIS?

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ellipsis7
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#6 Post by ellipsis7 » Tue Aug 15, 2006 7:23 am

According to moviemail the specs of the 2 bfi Rivettes are -
CELINE & JULIE GO BOATING

Film Description
A brilliantly allusive meditation on the nature of fantasy and regarded as Rivette's most accomplished film. Two girls meet up and wind up sharing each others lives - same flat, same bed, same fiancé, same clothes, even the same imagination while the film spins a circular, torturous fantasy around their lives. Described by David Thomson as "the most radical and delightful narrative film since Citizen Kane...the experience of a lifetime".

DVD Extras
2 discs. Filmed Introduction With Critic Jonathan Romney; "Toute La Memoire Du Monde" - Alain Resnais' playful film on memory filmed in the National Library Of France; "The Haunted Curiosity Shop" (R.W.Paul, 1901); Fully Illustrated Booklet.

PARIS NOUS APPARTIENT

Film Description
Anne, an innocent student, is sucked into a mystery involving an American political refugee (a victim of McCarthyism), a self-destructive femme fatale and a Spanish activist who may or may not have committed suicide. Gradually Anne becomes convinced of the existence of a vast, malign conspiracy. Rivette's disquieting film, suffused with sexual and political tension, is as much about its setting - a long-vanished Paris full of fleabag hotels and corduroy-clad intellectuals - as about its gripping story.

DVD Extras
Filmed Introduction With Critic Jonathan Romney; "Le Coup Du Berger" - Short Film By Jacques Rivette; Fully Illustrated Booklet
NB - this 28 minute short from 1956 apparently features appearances by Rivette, Chabrol, Truffaut & Godard i.e. the New Wave
Last edited by ellipsis7 on Tue Aug 15, 2006 3:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Scharphedin2
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#7 Post by Scharphedin2 » Tue Aug 15, 2006 4:54 pm

Gordon McMurphy wrote:And it's pretty short-sighted of the BFI to include Toute La Memoire Du Monde when it is already available on the UK edition of Marienbad.
I wondered about this myself when I saw the specs. I confess to not being very familiar with Rivette, but what relevance does Resnais' short film (aside from being wonderful in its own right) have to Rivette's film?

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Gordon
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#8 Post by Gordon » Wed Aug 16, 2006 1:55 am

Scharphedin2 wrote:but what relevance does Resnais' short film (aside from being wonderful in its own right) have to Rivette's film?
I have no idea. Not that I am really bothered; I feel that it is one of the greatest pieces of non-fiction Cinema ever made; it expresses everything I feel about books and knowledge in a stylish, yet concise way and should be seen by all.

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Gordon
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#9 Post by Gordon » Sun Sep 10, 2006 2:33 pm

Now listed at CD-WOW for £13.99:
Celine And Julie Go Boating

- New filmed introduction by Jonathan Romney on Rivette and Céline and Julie Go Boating
- Toute la mémoire du monde (Alain Resnais, 1956, 20 mins, English subtitles)
- The Haunted Curiosity Shop (R.W. Paul, 1901, 2 mins, silent)
- Illustrated booklet including a review by Tom Milne; interviews with Dominique Labourier, Juliet Berto
and Jacques Rivette; Susan Seidelman's reflections on her Rivette-inspired Desperately Seeking Susan; director biography

Paris Nous Appartient

- New filmed introduction by Jonathan Romney on Rivette and Paris nous appartient
- Le Coup du berger (Rivette, 1957, 27 mins, English subtitles)
- Illustrated booklet with a review by Tom Milne; feature by Louis Marcorelles, originally published in Sight & Sound; director biography

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MichaelB
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#10 Post by MichaelB » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:27 pm

Gordon McMurphy wrote:I confess to not being very familiar with Rivette, but what relevance does Resnais' short film (aside from being wonderful in its own right) have to Rivette's film?
It probably helps if you know that Celine and Julie are, respectively, a magician and a librarian...

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Gordon
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#11 Post by Gordon » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:29 pm

MichaelB wrote:
Gordon McMurphy wrote:I confess to not being very familiar with Rivette, but what relevance does Resnais' short film (aside from being wonderful in its own right) have to Rivette's film?
It probably helps if you know that Celine and Julie are, respectively, a magician and a librarian...
Tenuous!

mikebowes
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#12 Post by mikebowes » Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:50 pm

I just pre-ordered both of BFI's Rivette DVDs from Amazon.co.uk and the check out price was a bit below the listed price:

Celine And Julie Go Boating [1974] £10.20 - Quantity: 1
Paris Nous Appartient [1961] £11.91 - Quantity: 1

In addition, shipping of these + one other DVDs were approx. £5.50. I went through Bensonsworld's checkout and shipping was approx. £15!!

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godardslave
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#13 Post by godardslave » Mon Sep 11, 2006 8:53 pm

Gordon McMurphy wrote:
MichaelB wrote:
Gordon McMurphy wrote:I confess to not being very familiar with Rivette, but what relevance does Resnais' short film (aside from being wonderful in its own right) have to Rivette's film?
It probably helps if you know that Celine and Julie are, respectively, a magician and a librarian...
Tenuous!
just because a dvd special feature is "tenuous", doesn't mean it can't be "good"!

Basic Logic!

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MichaelB
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#14 Post by MichaelB » Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:03 am

godardslave wrote:just because a dvd special feature is "tenuous", doesn't mean it can't be "good"!

Basic Logic!
Also, which is more tenuous: two shorts with a clear thematic relationship to the main feature, or two shorts by the director of the main feature (or starring someone in it), but which otherwise have nothing in common?

cinemartin

#15 Post by cinemartin » Tue Sep 12, 2006 7:30 pm

I think all shorts by Rivette, aside from Le Coup du Berger, are lost. I know the three he made before it were suppressed by Rivette himself.

solent

#16 Post by solent » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:48 pm

Come to think of it do BFI still issue films with fixed subtitles? I assume CELINE's will be optional. I'm also wondering about the transfer. This was a 16mm film was it not? I've never seen a good video but the SBS-TV version was OK. If the film was blown up for theatres then some grain might be evident on DVD.

As to the running time. Is this version longer than the theatrical version [which I timed at 185 m] or should one take the 192 m listed with a pinch of salt?

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MichaelB
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#17 Post by MichaelB » Wed Sep 13, 2006 5:30 am

solent wrote:As to the running time. Is this version longer than the theatrical version [which I timed at 185 m] or should one take the 192 m listed with a pinch of salt?
I don't know, but 185 mins is what you get (after rounding up) when you apply PAL speedup to a 192 minute film.

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#18 Post by evillights » Thu Sep 14, 2006 12:23 pm

davidhare wrote:Does anyone have any idea of the state of the sources for the Rivettes?
re: Céline and Julie, I would assume they're using the same master as the Editions Montparnasse disc in France, which looks nice.

As Jonathan Rosenbaum has noted, prior versions of the film, theatrically and on video, included the piano music over the closing credits, but now they run silent. Perhaps this was a new choice by Rivette, I don't know.

Another "I don't know": I don't know why Susan Seidelman will be telling us about how important Rivette's film was to Desperately Seeking Susan. One of the great films, by one of the great cinephile-critic directors in film history, and this is what we get? Very disappointing. If I were producing the disc, I would have shot a one-hour panel discussion between Hélène Frappat, Bernard Eisenschitz, and Jean Douchet (in place of Seidelman), and an intro by Jonathan Rosenbaum (in place of Jonathan Romney, who is nevertheless BFI).

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ellipsis7
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#19 Post by ellipsis7 » Thu Sep 14, 2006 12:34 pm

The bfi ran a Rivette season @ the NFT recently, so they would have fresh prints from then, and there was further limited national theatrical release by their distribution arm of the 2 titles...

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#20 Post by Narshty » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:22 pm


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Barmy
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#21 Post by Barmy » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:41 pm

I'm not overly impressed by the screencaps.

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#22 Post by Narshty » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:56 pm

Why not? It's a low-budget 16mm film from over 30 years ago. It's never going to look significantly better. I think the BFI disc is gorgeous.

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Michael Kerpan
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#23 Post by Michael Kerpan » Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:00 pm

The BFI C&J screen shots _look_ duller than (what I remember from) the French DVD -- but I'll need to see these side by side before I can know whether they really are.

New Yorker is still working on its release....

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Barmy
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#24 Post by Barmy » Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:20 pm

It's not a big deal--image quality on some early Rivette films is a bit dodgy and the cinematography is not the most important aspect of Celine. In the screenings of Celine that I have attended, I remember colors as not being particularly vibrant, but nevertheless the screencaps are blurrier than what I remember.

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Andre Jurieu
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#25 Post by Andre Jurieu » Thu Sep 21, 2006 4:40 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:New Yorker is still working on its release....
Which will probably just be a poor quality NTSC port of some PAL version anyway.

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