Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Catherine and Co. (1975)

We end ...yes, this is the last post until some new DVD or information surfaces - with this post, we've covered it all. I WILL update this blog when there's info that belongs here, though - so keep checking back. So, we end at the beginning, with Catherine Breillat's first film: 1975's Catherine and Co. (Catherine et Cie).

Catherine Breillat cowrote the script to this French sex comedy with producer Léo L. Fuchs, and it was directed by Michel Boisrond. In it, Catherine (Jane Birkin) is a young Parisian prostitute who decides to incorporate herself after learning the ins and outs of big business from her clients.

MoonInTheGutter.blogspot.com has a great write-up for this film. You'll have to click the link to read the whole thing, but here are some excerpts, "None other than controversial director Catherine Breillat penned the original screenplay for this seemingly inconsequential Jane Birkin vehicle. Written in her early twenties when Breillat was right at the beginning of her career, the silly CATHERINE AND CO. does contain many of the themes that she would explore much more seriously in her later films such as the prostitution of oneself and women's position in modern society. I'm not trying to apply any serious meaning to the very daft CATHERINE AND CO. but Breillat's involvement in the film shouldn't be overlooked and it definitely shares some of the themes of her later works... CATHERINE AND CO. isn't a great film by any means but for the talent in front of and behind the camera it remains well worth searching down. It is currently unavailable on dvd but used copies of it on VHS can be found."

He's right about that, I'm afraid. There is no DVD of this film available in any region. There are however NTSC VHS tapes available in the US that were released from VidAmerica. Definitely disappointing, especially since MoonInTheGutter describes the tape as "an eye sore," but its prospects for a DVD release don't look too good, and at least we do get to see it in English.

So, I hope this blog has been helpful for you... I've learned a lot just putting it together. Like I said at the start of this post, there will be updates when new information comes about (hopefully an English Last Mistress DVD will gracing the pages of this blog rather soon, or an update on Blue Beard) - this will always be the best, most up-to-date source for information on Breillat DVDs - but until then, this is goodbye.

2 comments:

Nostalgia Kinky said...

Thank you for the link to my write up on this film. I am a big admirer of Breillat and I look forward to any future posts...I have also added a link to your blog at Moon In The Gutter.
Thanks again...

Anonymous said...

Can you say something regarding the part of Mehdi El Glaoui who is supposed to be in that movie. I'm quite a fan of his and it would be helpful to know if he has enough screen time to make the purchase of the VHS worthwile.
Thank you!
Luke