With his aptly titled "Contempt", Jean-Luc Godard embraced the widescreen splendor of Hollywood while thumbing his nose at Hollywood itself. A rebel with a cause, Godard pursues an iconoclast's agenda, using the Franscope format to undermine the grandeur of widescreen melodramas. The story ostensibly concerns an innovative production of Homer's "Odyssey" and the struggle of a respected screenwriter to please a pugnacious producer, a veteran director, and a petulant wife who's grown tired of their turbulent relationship. It's all pretense, however, for Godard's mischievous (and yes, contemptuous) deconstruction of commercial Hollywood filmmaking, potently infused with film-buff in-jokes, astute observations about love, stardom, and artistry, and enough glossy style to suggest that Godard had mastered the craft he so willfully rejects. "Contempt" is one of his most accessibly fascinating films.

-KENTFLIX