223 Le Pont du Nord

[Finch]

Freshly out of prison, ex-con Marie (Bulle Ogier, L’Amour fou) wanders the Paris streets in the odd company of self-proclaimed kung-fu master Baptiste (Pascale Ogier, Full Moon in Paris). Between all-too-brief visits from her ex-lover Julien (Pierre Clémenti, Belle de Jour), Marie looks for a place to sleep, or watches her new friend deface the eyes of street posters like so many prying enemies. In Julien’s briefcase, the unlikely duo finds a mysterious series of clues, which soon sends them on a mind-bending journey in a city of lights laid out like a board game. Paranoid eccentrics in a charming fairy tale, or truth seekers unveiling a dangerous conspiracy, mother and daughter Ogier shine in a classic by Jacques Rivette (Jeanne la Pucelle, Va Savoir), as ominous as it is entertaining.

4K UHD & BLU-RAY DUAL FORMAT LIMITED EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES

4K restoration from the original 16mm negative supervised by Jacques Rivette’s widow Véronique Manniez-Rivette and assistant director Caroline Champetier
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
Paris s’en va – short film by Jacques Rivette made with alternate takes from Le Pont du Nord
New interview with film critic Richard Brody (2026)
Archival French TV interview with Jacques Rivette (1989)
Interview with star Bulle Ogier and assistant director Caroline Champetier
Interview with producer Martine Marignac
Interview with locations manager Pierre Wallon
Interview with sound engineer Georges Prat
Interview with assistant editor Catherine Quesemand
Newly improved English subtitle translation
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by film critic Lillian Crawford and archival writing
Extras subject to change
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

[andyli]

I suppose this is the same 4K master found on the Potemkine disc? It has a very different look from that of Eureka. Expect a very grainy picture in 4K glory.

[JSC]

I'll be buying it, because I love the film. But releasing it in 4K will yield modest results at best. In the
end there's only so much information that can be gleaned from a 16mm source.

[therewillbeblus]

Great rescue from OOP status with copious extras. The included short is awful tho

[senseabove]

Bodes very well for the prospect of more Rivette that this is getting a UHD, but also, what a weird one to be the first Rivette UHD. Jeanne seems like the one it would have been fitting to make that jump for. Bring on La Belle Noiseuse + Divertimento.

[malachi_lui]

Very excited for this and Rivette on UHD is a huge win, but that new Filippo Di Battista artwork looks awful (and I usually like his work for Radiance). Glad the limited edition has the original poster on the reverse, I usually don't flip my Radiance LE covers but will for this one.

[nowhereisaplace]

Great rescue from OOP status with copious extras. The included short is awful tho

Why is the short awful?

[nicolas]

But releasing it in 4K will yield modest results at best. In the
end there's only so much information that can be gleaned from a 16mm source.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. 16mm makes for an excellent source for 4K masters even if filming conditions weren’t ideal. A proper scan, grade and encode can make a huge difference. I have no doubt that this will be a sizable upgrade.

[Finch]

Would this film be a good entry for a Rivette novice like me?

[domino harvey]

It’s some people’s favorite (Michael Kerpan, I believe) but I don’t like it at all. I think Celine and Julie is the general entry point recommendation for Rivette (though as I recall there are some contrarians here on that one too!)

[denti alligator]

What do you dislike about it (just curious--I haven't seen it yet)?

[soundchaser]

I love this one, but I also wouldn't call it a strong starting point. It's a little structurally loose, even by 70s Rivette standards. Agreed with DH that Celine and Julie is probably the way to go. (Even if, imo, Rivette's best work comes from his later period.)

[domino harvey]

What do you dislike about it (just curious--I haven't seen it yet)?

Pointless, endless, shabbily realized shaggy dog stuff. Doesn’t improve on the blank screen, as Siskel used to say. I actually bought the old MoC not long ago from someone on here to revisit so I may finally do that before this goes OOP, but this was the bellwether for me coming down hard on Rivette for all those movies in the Arrow set (and people’s positive reactions to this film always seem to me similar to Out 1heads in ascribing a lot more importance and gravitas to dicking around than I do) and I’m not sure my memory is off by much if at all

[TechnicolorAcid]

What do you dislike about it (just curious--I haven't seen it yet)?

Pointless, endless, shabbily realized shaggy dog stuff. Doesn’t improve on the blank screen, as Siskel used to say. I actually bought the old MoC not long ago from someone on here to revisit so I may finally do that before this goes OOP, but this was the bellwether for me coming down hard on Rivette for all those movies in the Arrow set (and people’s positive reactions to this film always seem to me similar to Out 1heads in ascribing a lot more importance and gravitas to dicking around than I do) and I’m not sure my memory is off by much if at all

Out of curiosity, what do you find is the difference between the dicking around here versus the dicking around found in something like Near Orouët. Just curious as someone who’s still relatively new to Rivette as a filmmaker

[denti alligator]

What do you dislike about it (just curious--I haven't seen it yet)?

Pointless, endless, shabbily realized shaggy dog stuff.

Sounds like every Rivette I've seen! Though the "shabbily realized" part varies from film to film.

[domino harvey]

What do you dislike about it (just curious--I haven't seen it yet)?

Pointless, endless, shabbily realized shaggy dog stuff. Doesn’t improve on the blank screen, as Siskel used to say. I actually bought the old MoC not long ago from someone on here to revisit so I may finally do that before this goes OOP, but this was the bellwether for me coming down hard on Rivette for all those movies in the Arrow set (and people’s positive reactions to this film always seem to me similar to Out 1heads in ascribing a lot more importance and gravitas to dicking around than I do) and I’m not sure my memory is off by much if at all

Out of curiosity, what do you find is the difference between the dicking around here versus the dicking around found in something like Near Orouët. Just curious as someone who’s still relatively new to Rivette as a filmmaker

Well I mean the difference is all the difference. Rozier focuses on the parts of a film that most filmmakers elide, but with purpose and attention to how real life weaves and bisects and disperses in all directions on its way from point A to B. Rivette films everything and includes it with the attitude that if he filmed it and included it, it matters, and there is thus far less intentionality and fewer surprises grounded in the logic of the story, at least in his misses