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DVD Description
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, finance, 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 Schroeder) 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 Celine and Julie Go Boating Toute la memoire du monde (Alan 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.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: French ( Mono ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Biographies, Booklet, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: A story about story-telling, Jacques Rivette's self-referential classic centers on the fanciful world of two women literally lost in the stories they tell each other. Celine (Juliet Berto) and Julie (Dominique Labourier) go from sharing a story about a haunted house to being part of a story about a haunted house -- or is it a real haunted house that has been called up by the story? The film blurs the line between the telling of the story and the story itself, as Celine and Julie, like Alice in Wonderland, become part of a surreal, drug-induced parallel universe; also like Alice, they ultimately become the heroines of the story that first imprisoned them. Rivette celebrates the magic of stories, and more broadly of imagination, adventure, and friendship, as essential elements of life; the themes are familiar from his other movies, but the tone is more playful. This enigmatic and fanciful film is not for all tastes, but, for its many devotees, it is one of the most distinctive and imaginative movies ever made. ...Celine and Julie Go Boating 2-DVD Set ( Céline et Julie vont en bateau ) ( Phantom Ladies Over Paris )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
61 of 62 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This film isn't for everybody. When I saw it recently at the National Film Theatre, more people walked out over the course of it's 3+ hours than I'd ever seen at a cinema screening, not out of offense but out of boredom. To begin with, it feels loose and airy and virtually plotless as the two title characters encounter each other and gradually become inseperable. As they begin their odyssey, the film tightens up and kicks in to a series of repetitions of a bizzare scene Celine and Julie are drawn back to again and again. I've read reviews which would suggest that this is a surreallist film but, far from being completely irrational, it is shot through with meaning - it's themes are friendship, childhood and memory, coming to terms with the past; and then there's always the strange mystery story unfolding directly on the screen.
It isn't the sort of film that will effortlessly entertain you - the viewer is expected to take a few steps to meet it: it requires a commitment that few other films do in terms of suspension of disbelief, emotional involvement, not to mention the sheer time it takes. If you feel ready though, I'd suggest a darkened room, phones turned off, watch it from beginning to end. There's a good chance you'll find it as delightful as I did.
It isn't the sort of film that will effortlessly entertain you - the viewer is expected to take a few steps to meet it: it requires a commitment that few other films do in terms of suspension of disbelief, emotional involvement, not to mention the sheer time it takes. If you feel ready though, I'd suggest a darkened room, phones turned off, watch it from beginning to end. There's a good chance you'll find it as delightful as I did.
47 of 48 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I've never done reviews before but feel compelled to write something about this glorious film, which i saw at the NFT last year. As we sat down to watch and then realised it was over 3 hours long, my girlfriend and I agreed to give it an hour or so before nipping out to get something to eat as planned.
Try as we might, it just proved impossible as the narrative, although at times bordering on painfully slow, gripped us both with the question of what was going to happen to the women, their relationship, and in that house! There are a lot of surreal aspects to this film but that doesn't make it irrational, rather it draws you in and, if willing, makes you think about the various pictures, objects and characters and their relation to each other, as well as the nature of reality.
A lot of the difficulty with watching this film comes during large, slow-moving scenes in the middle, but if you persevere as we did, you are rewarded with an increasingly fascinating and amusing finale in which the narrative becomes progressively quicker and the scenes ever stranger.
In the end, the desire to work through the story provided our incentive to stay, and i'm so glad we did; the twist at the end as well as one of the most sublime pictures in a film i've seen making it, for me, a captivating experience.
Against my expectations, I loved this film, and hadn't been so enraptured by a movie since seeing Cinema Paradiso (though for very different reasons).
Try as we might, it just proved impossible as the narrative, although at times bordering on painfully slow, gripped us both with the question of what was going to happen to the women, their relationship, and in that house! There are a lot of surreal aspects to this film but that doesn't make it irrational, rather it draws you in and, if willing, makes you think about the various pictures, objects and characters and their relation to each other, as well as the nature of reality.
A lot of the difficulty with watching this film comes during large, slow-moving scenes in the middle, but if you persevere as we did, you are rewarded with an increasingly fascinating and amusing finale in which the narrative becomes progressively quicker and the scenes ever stranger.
In the end, the desire to work through the story provided our incentive to stay, and i'm so glad we did; the twist at the end as well as one of the most sublime pictures in a film i've seen making it, for me, a captivating experience.
Against my expectations, I loved this film, and hadn't been so enraptured by a movie since seeing Cinema Paradiso (though for very different reasons).
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Even by the French New wave's standards, director Jacques Rivette's films come across as, shall I say..'Unique'.
Which is probably the reason he isn't as well known as the other New Wavers, such as Godard and Truffaut.
Yet surely fans of the French New Wave are actively looking for films that are a little strange and obtuse aren't they? If that person is you, then I wholeheartedly recommend that you give this film a try.
Celine and Julie meet for the first time at Montmartre. They suddenly end up sharing everything, life, flat, fiance, job, everything. On discovering a magic sweet, they find themselves participating in a film within a film. A young girl has been murdered and the duo must piece together the clues to find the culprit and save the girl. (if that plotline isn't the embodiment of genius, I don't know what is).
Apart from the baffling, magical plot, Celine and Julie works due to the natural chemistry of its leading ladies, Dominique Labourier and the late Juliet Berto. Just watching them impersonating each other during several awkward moments is a joy to behold.
But what resonates most is how Rivette's camera seamlessly enters these characters lives. The viewer almost becomes a third member of this team. As they piece together the plot, we are just as confused as they are.
Then there are the visuals. All hazy loveliness and sweet dreams, this is a place that lies somewhere past the end of the rainbow.
They sure don't make them like this anymore.
Which is probably the reason he isn't as well known as the other New Wavers, such as Godard and Truffaut.
Yet surely fans of the French New Wave are actively looking for films that are a little strange and obtuse aren't they? If that person is you, then I wholeheartedly recommend that you give this film a try.
Celine and Julie meet for the first time at Montmartre. They suddenly end up sharing everything, life, flat, fiance, job, everything. On discovering a magic sweet, they find themselves participating in a film within a film. A young girl has been murdered and the duo must piece together the clues to find the culprit and save the girl. (if that plotline isn't the embodiment of genius, I don't know what is).
Apart from the baffling, magical plot, Celine and Julie works due to the natural chemistry of its leading ladies, Dominique Labourier and the late Juliet Berto. Just watching them impersonating each other during several awkward moments is a joy to behold.
But what resonates most is how Rivette's camera seamlessly enters these characters lives. The viewer almost becomes a third member of this team. As they piece together the plot, we are just as confused as they are.
Then there are the visuals. All hazy loveliness and sweet dreams, this is a place that lies somewhere past the end of the rainbow.
They sure don't make them like this anymore.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
One of the most memorable films I have ever seen
I first saw this film in the seventies, in an almost empty cinema, with a very small audience, half of whom walked out during the intermission (!). Read more
Published 18 days ago by Tuesdale
Celine and Julie sent me to sleep!
Most of my favourite films are from the early 70s, far more artistic license was available to directors then than has ever been allowed before or since. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Apostasy Now
Tripping the light fantastic
Loved this film.It's a sort of glorious,silly romp full of spirit and joie de vivre,with a feel of the 60s, but filmed in the 70s Montmartre. Read more
Published on 22 Jun 2009 by technoguy
C'est fantastique
At first I found it hard to get into and had to watch it in two sections as I got lost after the first 90mins (it is a whopping 192 mins - I say whopping as I have a short... Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2007 by C. Buckley
You will probably either love this or hate it - but it's a masterpiece
I am so grateful for Film-Four for showing this rarely seen masterpiece, which has hopefully brought this film to a wider audience. Read more
Published on 23 July 2007 by Tonkfan
Wonderful, entertaining, fun
This is a brilliant, wonderful film. I have never seen a film more hilarious, enjoyable, charming and magical. Quite possibly the best film ever made. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2007 by Archie
A Masterpiece
On first viewing I wasn't sure just how much I actually liked this film, but the characters are so memorable (if slightly annoying at first, particularly Julie's repetoire of... Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2006 by lensman 23
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