French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF)
presents
Brigitte Bardot, Femme Fatale
A CinémaTuesdays Film Series
December 4–18, 2012
FIAF · Florence Gould Hall; 55 East 59th Street, NYC
Presented in conjunction with the exhibit BB Forever at the Sofitel New York
New York, New York, November 16, 2012—This December, the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), New York’s premiere French cultural center, presents the newCinémaTuesdays film series Brigitte Bardot, Femme Fatale, a selection of films featuring the legendary actress and icon. The series is presented in conjunction with BB Forever, a photo exhibition in her honor, on view through Thursday, December 20 at the Sofitel New York.
If God created woman, many might argue that Brigitte Bardot—with her indefinable mix of mystery, allure, and longing, embodied her. Known for her luscious bouffant, sensuous curves, and carefree spirit, the French fashion model, actress, and singer became one of the best-known sex symbols of the 1960s, and her era-defining films launched French cinema into the international spotlight. In her 1959 essay, The Lolita Syndrome, Simone de Beauvoir described Bardot as a “locomotive of women’s history,” fittingly declaring her the most liberated woman of post-war France, and Bardot would become the first woman to represent Marianne, symbol of liberty and of the French Republic.
Bardot makes a cameo appearance as herself in Jean-Luc Godard’s Masculine, Feminine a hilarious portrait of the restless youth of the 1960s, with Jean-Pierre Léaud as an idealist intellectual and Chantal Goya as his aspiring pop star girlfriend. …And God Created Woman, which catapulted Bardot to international stardom, chronicles the experiences of Juliette, an 18-year-old orphan who pushes sexual boundaries, shaking up the sunny resort town of Saint Tropez. Considered a masterwork of modern cinema, Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt offers a brilliantly devastating portrait of a screenwriter (Michel Piccoli) and his disillusioned wife (Bardot), as they watch their marriage fall apart. Bardot brings charm and intrigue to the role of a young girl in René Clair’s The Grand Maneuver, the story of a dashing dragoons officer (Gérard Philipe), who attempts to seduce a beautiful divorcée (Michèle Morgan).
BB Forever–Brigitte Bardot, The Legend marks the first-ever photo exhibition of the actress to be presented in North America. Designed in collaboration with French journalist and author Henry-Jean Servat, BB Forever includes 30 exclusive, never-before-seen photos documenting Bardot’s rise to fame. For more information, please visit www.sofitel.com.
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About Brigitte Bardot
Born on September 28, 1934, in Paris, Bardot was the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. While studying ballet, she was approached with the offer to begin modeling, and by 1950 her image had already graced the cover of ELLE magazine. There she was spotted by director Marc Allegret, who had earlier discovered the young Simone Simon. Soon Allegret's assistant, Roger Vadim, contacted Bardot for a role in the picture Les lauriers sont coupés. While Allegret did not cast the young model in his film, Vadim became immediately smitten by her pouty sensuality, and in 1952 he became her husband. That same year, Bardot made her film debut in Jean Boyer's comedy Le trou normand; a series of bit roles followed before she appeared in Warner Bros.' 1955 production of Helen of Troy. The studio was sufficiently impressed to offer a seven-year contract, but Bardot refused, to accept her largest role to date opposite Jean Marais and Isabelle Pia in Futures vedettes.
After traveling to Britain to appear in 1955's Doctor at Sea, Bardot returned to France to begin work on her first starring role in 1956's La lumière d'en face. The film's producer, Christine Gouze-Renal subsequently became her mentor and handled her career for a number of years. While still largely an unknown, Bardot soon enjoyed a string of hits, including Cette sacrée gamine, Mi Figlio Nerone, and En effeuillant la marguerite, which positioned her as France's top sex symbol by 1957. As Bardot's popularity continued to soar, producer Raoul J. Levy offered Vadim the opportunity to direct his wife in …And God Created Woman, an erotic melodrama co-starring Jean-Louis Trintignant. The film made Bardot an international star, earning over four million dollars in the U.S. alone.
Unfortunately, her marriage to Vadim did not last, although their respective careers remained intertwined for years to come. Bardot's popularity with American audiences was unprecedented for a non-English speaking actress, and after Levy cut a reported $225,000 three-picture deal with Columbia for her services, she next starred in the sex romp Une Parisienne, followed by Vadim's Les bijoutiers du clair de lune. Bardot next appeared in 1960's Babette s'en va-t-en guerre oppositeJacques Charrier, who briefly became her second husband, followed by Henri-Georges Clouzot's La Vérité, which became France's top box-office hit for the year.
Bardot teamed up with Roger Vadim again for the 1961 comedy La bride sur le cou, and then starred with Marcello Mastroianni in Louis Malle's La vie privée, delivering a semi-autobiographical turn as a young celebrity unable to cope with the pressures of stardom. The picture was intended as Bardot's swan song, but she was quickly coerced out of retirement to star in Jean-Luc Godard'sContempt. While today recognized as a classic, at the time of its release the film received mixed reviews, with considerable editing required for release outside of France. After finally making an American film, 1964's family comedy Dear Brigitte, Bardot began work on Malle's comedy Viva Maria!, which paired her opposite Jeanne Moreau.
In the 1970's, Bardot starred in the hit film L'Ours et la Poupée, as well as the Vadim-helmed Don Juan (or if Don Juan were a Woman) and The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot. In 1973, after starring in 47 films, she retired from the film industry and became an influential advocate for animal rights.
Brigitte Bardot was chosen as Empire magazine’s 100 Sexiest Stars in film history and was also ranked #49 by the same magazine as “The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time.” She recorded a number of popular songs during the ‘60s and ‘70s, including Harley Davidson, Je me donne à qui me plaît, Bubble Gum, Contact, Je reviendrais toujours vers toi, L'appareil à sous, La madrague, Le soleil de ma vie, On démenage, Sidonie, and Tu veux, tu veux pas. (Source :
All Movie Guide : Jason Ankeny, Rovi)••••••••••••••••••••
Brigitte Bardot, Femme Fatale
Masculine, Feminine (Masculin, féminin)
Tuesday, December 4 at 12:30, 4 & 7:30pm.
Jean-Luc Godard, 1966. B&W. 110 min.
With Chantal Goya, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Marlène Jobert
Brigitte Bardot makes a cameo appearance as herself in this candid and wildly funny examination of youth culture in 1960s Paris, mixing satire and tragedy as only Godard can. The film follows a gang of restless youths engaged in hopeless love affairs with music, revolution, and each other.
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…And God Created Woman (Et Dieu… créa la femme)
Tuesday, December 11 at 12:30 & 4pm
Roger Vadim, 1956. Color. 95 min.
With Brigitte Bardot, Curd Jürgens, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jane Marken
Vadim’s showpiece for his then-wife remains a durable, frothy comedy fifty years after its release. The film’s gorgeous St. Tropez scenery is the perfect backdrop for the tale of a town frenzied by a young orphan.
“The location is the quaint town of St. Tropez, with its mellow, pastel-colored houses against the blue of the Mediterranean Sea. And the outstanding feature of the scenery is invariably Mlle. Bardot. She is a thing of mobile contours—a phenomenon you have to see to believe.”—Bosley Crowther, The New York Times
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Contempt (Le mépris)
Tuesday, December 11 at 7:30pm
Jean-Luc Godard, 1963. Color. 102 min.
With Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli, Fritz Lang, Jack Palance
Arguably Godard’s best film, Contempt centers on a screenwriter and his wife (Bardot), who helplessly watches their marriage fall apart. The beautiful score and Raoul Coutard’s cinematography bolster the quietly devastating lead performances.
“They don't make them like this anymore. Point of fact, they never did; Godard's Contempt is a once-a-century cultural constellation.”—Nick Pinkerton, The Village Voice
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The Grand Maneuver (Les grandes manoeuvres)
Tuesday, December 18 at 12:30, 4 & 7:30pm
René Clair, 1955. Color. 106 min.
With Michèle Morgan, Gérard Philipe, Jean Desailly, Brigitte Bardot
Just one year before international stardom, Bardot had a charmingly innocent performance in this luscious tale of courtship set 100 years ago. Though the main plot concerns the budding relationship between a divorced shopkeeper and the officer who admires her, Bardot is enormously winning as Lucie, a young girl with her own designs on love.
