Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4265 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-09-25
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 192 minutes

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.

Synopsis
Acclaimed 1974 French flick directed by Rivette.

Customer Reviews

Soft, strong and very, very long.
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.

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 attention span!). The second part I watched was easier as the plot sort of clicked. I would highly recommend this film - it is visually beautiful and well worth sticking with.

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.

It takes some patience and a great deal of dedication to watch for the first time, but if you can make the effort, each viewing after just gets better.

As reviews often point out, it's rather like an adult version of Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking glass, of which there are echoes throughout, and you never quite know what is real and what is hallucination. To be honest, it doesn't really matter, because the film is a triumph of ideas and imagination over rigid structure and stifling plot devices.

The early 70s setting seems to add to that feeling of hallucinogenic fantasy and illusion, and of a less cynical era when anything seemed possible. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you stick with it, Celine and Julie will take you on a far more satisying ride than any US blockbuster.