Brigitte Bardot 5-Film Collection (Naughty
Girl/Love On A Pillow/The Vixen/Come Dance With Me/Two Weeks
In September//Lionsgate)
Picture: C+
(C for Pillow + Weeks) Sound: C Extras: C- Films: B-
With the
current swarm of skinny, talentless, starvation/drug-ridden “pop star”
pseudo-stars vying to be divas and turning out to be far from it, it is always
nice to see the real thing in action. In
the 1960s, Brigitte Bardot was one of the greatest female stars and sex symbols
in the world, starring in a long series of moderate hits with only the
occasionally noteworthy art film (Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt, reviewed elsewhere on this site) and upscale productions
(Viva Maria!, also reviewed
elsewhere on this site) to speak of.
Lionsgate has issued five of her blatantly commercial comedy/dramas with
some nudity and comedy in a new 5-DVD set.
The films include:
Naughty Girl (1956, aka Cette Sacrée gamine/2.35 X 1 CinemaScope) offers Bardot as the teen
who moves in with the entertainer she falls for at her father’s nightclub with
conflicting results. Director Michael
Boisrond knew what he had in this rising star, even if she is not totally in
control of her screen persona yet.
Come Dance With Me (1959, aka Voulez-vous danser avec moi?/1.66 X 1) has Bardot married to a
dentist in this comedy that turns into a mystery when her husband seems to be
framed for murder! Dawn Addams also
stars.
Love On A Pillow (1962, aka Le Repros du guerrier/2.35 X 1 Franscope) has Bardot’s character
save a man from killing himself, only for him to be an alcoholic who turns
around and try to control, dominate and ruin her life. When she turns out to be a woman who loves
too much, he has found a perfect target.
Not surprisingly, it is directed by Roger Vadim.
Two Weeks In September (1967, aka A coeur joie/2.35 X 1 Franscope) has Bardot in director Serge
Bourguignon’s love triangle tale including an older and younger man. Melodramatic, but she is good in it. Jean Rochefort and Murray Head also star.
The Vixen (1969, aka Les Femmes) has Bardot as a secretary who becomes the target of her
womanizing boss (Maurice Ronet) in Jean Aurel’s comedy that is interesting just
by not being so melodramatic, though it too is more competent commercial
product while Bardot seems to be getting bored at this point. Look quickly for Maria Schneider of Last Tango In Paris.
The various
aspect ratios run from 1.66 X 1 to 2.35 X 1 for the scope films and all are
anamorphic, though the prints and transfers for Pillow + Weeks tend to
be pasty and weak. All films were
printed in EastmanColor and the remaining three transfers really show this
off. The Dolby Digital French 2.0 Mono is
tiny in all cases, sounding second-generation and needing upgrades for future
HD presentation. Le Studio Canal needs
to do more work here in both cases, but Bardot is at her attractive peak
throughout. The only extra is a good
featurette called Larger Than Life:
Brigitte Bardot & The Mythology Of The Sex Symbol whose interviews
include Hugh Hefner hitting the nail on the head again.
Of
course, the films show Bardot nude or semi-nude in all cases, but clothed or
not, the camera loved her and this is the first time some of these film are
finally hitting DVD. All are worth a
look just for her, even if the scripts are not always top notch.
- Nicholas Sheffo
