Product Description

The astounding success of Roger Vadim's And God Created Woman revolutionized the foreign film market and turned Brigitte Bardot into an international star. Bardot stars as Juliette, an 18-year-old orphan whose unbridled appetite for pleasure shakes up all of St. Tropez; her sweet but naïve husband Michel (Jean-Louis Trintignant) endures beatings, insults, and mambo in his attempts to tame her wild ways. Criterion presents this milestone of cinematic naughtiness in a stunning new 16x9 Eastmancolor transfer, supervised by the late director.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58218 in DVD
• Brand: Image Entertainment
• Released on: 2000-11-21
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 92 minutes

Amazon.com
Roger Vadim's directorial debut is more titillation than continental cool, but it broke box-office records and censorship taboos in its teasing display of sex and eroticism in the sunny vacation playground of the Saint-Tropez seashore. Vadim ushered in the era of continental attitudes toward sex and christened the voluptuous Brigitte Bardot (his wife) the world's original sex kitten: earthy, innocent, and all fleshy curves. Bardot is Juliette, a pouty child-woman orphan prone to nude sunbathing and playful flirting. Though pursued by a rich widower (Curt Jurgens) and attracted to the brawny fisherman Antoine (Christian Marquand), she marries Antoine's shy younger brother Michel (Jean-Louis Trintignant), an earnest, innocent kid hardly older than she but far less worldly. Despite her sincere efforts to "be good," Juliette gives in to Michel's advances, setting off a chain of events that ends in fraternal conflict. Vadim keeps the display of skin this side of an R rating, but only barely, teasing the male audience with skimpy outfits, barely concealing sheets, and often conveniently arranged scenery. Bohemian Bardot frolics through the film with nary a self-conscious moment, culminating in a passionate mambo, her pent-up frustration and sexual confusion exploding in a mad dance as bongos pound away on the soundtrack. Who needed Viagra in the '50s when Bardot was around? --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

FUN WITH BRIGITTE IN THE SUN! DATED, BUT STILL GREAT.
Although the movie's sensuality wouldn't raise an eyebrow nowadays, it's easy to see how audiences from the 50's would have been affected by Brigitte Bardot's sensuous form and how this movie revolutionized the foreign film market. A real delight to watch, wild-child Brigitte teases with her bouncy walk and her tight sweaters. And, yes, she can even act! In the role of Juliette, an incredibly beautiful orphaned young woman living in a seaside village, Brigitte keeps the delicate balance between the constant flirt (who's misunderstood as being the loosest girl in town) and the woman who yearns to have a "normal" married life despite her attraction to her brother-in-law. Contrary to popular belief and despite Juliette's regrettable infidelity, there's really no sex in this movie, unless you consider a one-time tush shot to be overly sexual. The DVD booklet mentions how some audiences originally misperceived this film's sexuality to be so bold that rampant gossip soon generated complaints about scenes that weren't even in the movie! The cinematography is breathtaking, with the Riviera beckoning you to move there...or at least visit for an extended period of time. The only aspect of the movie that is dated and very much out-of-sync with modern times is the attitude that men are superior to women and that, with proper discipline and control, women can be kept in line and "forced" to love their husbands.

The Criterion edition is, as always, fantastic. With director Vadim's approval prior to his passing away, the movie was restored to its original uncut version in a beautiful widescreen format. The digital tranfer is impressive and one of the extras on the disc illustrates the clean-up process and provides before-and-after comparisons. The colors are now bold and vibrant, and the print is crisp and clear. Excellent restoration and clean-up! The original US theatrical trailer is included and is hilarious as it makes the movie seem so cheap, sleazy and lurid.

Now here comes the downer: this movie deserves better English subtitles and infinitely better English dubbing. If you're trying to learn French, you don't want to do it with these subtitles. I found them to be quite inaccurate during a few scenes and, with no rapid-fire dialog in this film to justify it, not as expansive as they should have been. These inaccuracies don't detract from the story as a whole, but given that this is a Criterion release, I feel more attention should have been paid to this aspect of the film. As far as the dubbing is concerned, don't even bother. After a minute or so of listening to the dubbed version, it's apparent why the dubbed feature isn't listed on the DVD case. The actors' readings are flat and lifeless. Criterion has proved repeatedly they can do much better than that, so what happened here?

I still give the movie itself 5 stars for it is an interesting time capsule into 50's psychology, and it's a good story as well. And how can you not give 5 stars to Brigitte Bardot! I did subtract one star for the quite imperfect subtitles. Still, for around $20, you can get a fun romp with Brigitte in the Riviera of the 1950's. Sounds good to me. Worth owning.

BARDOT IS THE NAME
After having seen so many movies during the last 25 years, I'm beginning to understand two or three things about cinema. For example, it's impossible to profess a passion for cinema if the movies you see are only masterpieces. Believe me or not, but I'm not able to watch three Fellini or Bergman's movies in a row without feeling a bit bored. I MUST cool down and refresh my neurones by watching a bad sci-fi movie or a John Wayne movie of the 50's ( he starred in a lot of very cheap films...).

Director Roger Vadim's AND GOD CREATED WOMAN is, in my opinion, one of these movies you cannot neglect if you truly love cinema. Not because Roger Vadim is an unknown genius but because of the actress who plays the main character : Brigitte Bardot. You simply have to possess one of her movies in your library and since only three or four movies starring BB have passed with success the test of time, AND GOD CREATED WOMAN could be your first choice.

But remember that Roger Vadim was not Billy Wilder and that the french Marilyn Monroe had to count solely on her sex-appeal to attract the audience. And it still works. Brigitte Bardot shot a lot of terrible movies, she was not, in my opinion, a good actress but she ignited the screen. She was a real Star. And I'm not ashamed to have this DVD in my library.

The copy presented by Criterion is simply perfect, a trailer and a restoration demonstration as bonus features, the choice between the standard and the widescreen version, and english subtitles.

A BB DVD.

God Created Woman, But the Devil made Bardot..
I have seen this movie many times and think it's very entertaining. Brigitte Bardot is absolutly beautiful, and she has a free sprited bohemian style that makes her unlike anyone in movies, yet she can be as vulnerable & innocent as Marilyn Monroe .. I can see how this movie caused a uproar in 1956, But it's nothing compared with movies today. The opening scene with BB nude sun bathing wouldn't cause any commotion today, In fact, some parts are really funny to watch. The plot was loosely based on Marilyn Monroe's life as an orphan who is forced to marry so she doesn't have to go back to the orphanage. The problem is she is in love with two brothers, when she is married to one. There is also a older rich man offering her a life with him. It all leads to a wild erotic dance with BB in a sexy opened skirt, bare feet, and hair flying.. "This woman needs to be tamed" lol! I think Juliette was just a misunderstood, lost, lonely, girl, who's only power seemed to be her beauty and the attention she got from her many male admirers.. I would love to see the restored copy of the film, but I don't think it has any "English Dub" and I don't like reading sub titles. I hope they release another dvd with a dub option on it. This is one of the great classics of the era.It's easy to see how BB inspired the hippy generation with her bare feet and untamed hair. The Beatles said she was their favorite pin up girl! This was the movie that made her a internation star..