LE LIT DE LA VIERGE

“I believe my point of view on the Christian myth is quite clear in LE LIT DE LA VIERGE (THE VIRGIN’S BED). It is a non-violent parable in which Zouzou incarnates both Mary and Mary Magdalene, while Pierre Clémenti incarnates a discouraged Christ who throws down his arms in face of world cruelty. In spite of its allegorical nature, the film contains a denunciation of the police repression of 1968, which was generally well understood by viewers at the time.”

— Philippe Garrell

Zouzou and Pierre Clémenti in LE LIT DE LA VIERGE

Zouzou and Pierre Clémenti in LE LIT DE LA VIERGE

 
 

SPECIAL MENTION

“Born in 1948, Philippe Garrel was the wunderkind of French cinema in the 1960s. His fifth feature, LE LIT DE LA VIERGE, is a parable about Jesus set in modern times. Shot in the aftermath of the uprisings of May 1968, the film reverberates with the rebellious spirit of that period. Pierre Clémenti plays a Christ reluctant to assume his earthly mission, while the Virgin Mary (Zouzou, doubly cast as Mary Magdalene) attempts to reconcile him with his duty. Garrel invokes the Christian narrative only to reject a strict retelling in a chronicle that is episodic and nonlinear. In naming his characters Mary and Jesus, Garrel reminds us of the contestatory attitude of the ’68 generation, for whom Jesus was a hippie avant la lettre. Made without a script and under the influence of LSD, LE LIT DE LA VIERGE is minimally concerned with traditional religion. It does, however, suggest the ways in which Garrel and his friends saw themselves as belonging to a kind of religious sect, engaging in ritual behavior.”

— David Pendleton, Harvard Film Archive

Clips from Frédéric Pardo's Home Movie, filmed in Morocco 1968 on the set of Philippe Garrel's Le Lit de la Vierge. Music: Tamaryn - Haze Interior

 
 
 
 

  Contents

Format: DVD-PAL / Region 0
(No Regional Code); Inquire for downloadable DSL file/s

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LE LIT DE LA VIERGE
(FRANCE, 1969)

Director, Writer, Editor: Philippe Garrel
Cinematographer: Michel Fournier
Sound: Claude Jauvert & Jean-Pierre Ruh
Music: John Cale & Nico, “The Falconer”
Producer: Sylvina Boissonas & Philippe Garrel
Production Company: Zanzibar Films
Cast: Pierre Clémenti, Zouzou, Tina Aumont, Philippe Garrel, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Valérie Lagrange, Margareth Clémenti, Pierre-Richard Bré, Nicole Laguigner, Babette Larny, Didier Léon & Jaime Semprun

• 95 minutes
• 35mm
• B&W
• Sound

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Bonus Material

HOME MOVIE, AUTOUR DU LIT DE LA VIERGE
(France, 1969)

Director: Frédéric Pardo

• 39 minutes
• 16mm
• B&W
• Sound

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Total Running Time: 02:14:25

Language: French. English, Spanish, German & Italian subtitles.

Booklet Text: Philippe Azoury (French & English)

Published By: Re:Voir Video

Institutional Price: $250 (plus shipping), Digital File Download $500

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