Le pont du Nord (1981) Blu-ray

The culmination of New Wave master Jacques Rivette ' s legendary middle period (which ranged from L' Amour fou through Out 1, C éline and Julie Go Boating, Duelle, Noroît, and Merry - Go - Round), Le Pont du Nord envisions Paris as a sprawling game - board marked off with tucked - away conspiracies, where imagination and paranoia intermingle; where the hinted - at stakes are sanity, life, and death.

Regular Rivette actress Bulle Ogier stars as Marie, a claustrophobic ex - con who, shortly after wandering into Paris, encounters the wild and potentially troubled young woman Baptiste (Pascale Ogier, Bulle's actual 22 - year - old daughter). Baptiste, a knife - wielding, self - proclaimed kung - fu expert with a drive to slash the eyes from faces in adverts (including, in one instance, those on a placard for Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha), accompanies Marie on her quest to solve the mystery behind the contents of her former lover's (Pierre Cl émenti's) suitcase: an amalgam of clippings, patterns, and maps of Paris that points to a vastly unsettling labyrinth replete with signs and intimations whose menacing endgame remains all too unclear.

Gorgeously shot by the master cinematographer William Lubtchansky, Le Pont du Nord is a free - wheeling, powerful experience whose hypnotic rhythm and ominous undercurrents resolve into a frightening and exhilarating portrait of post - revolutionary, early - ' 80s Paris - and in turn form a prime example of Rivette's uncanny, occult cinema. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Jacques Rivette ' s rare and essential feature Le Pont du Nord on Blu - ray for the first time anywhere in the world.

SPECIAL BLU - RAY EDITION

• Gorgeous new 1080p presentation of the film in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio
• Optional English subtitles
• A lengthy booklet with writing about the film by Arthur Mas, Andy Rector, Serge Daney, and Caroline Champetier; writing from the original press - book by Jacques Rivette, and Jean Narboni; rare archival imagery; and more!