




Jacques Rivette, Out 1 : Noli me tangere, 1971
A decade or so ago, this was the Holy Grail of long-sought-after New Wave treasures (along with Eustache's La Maman et La Putain), and it was Ed Howard here - long gone from IHM it seems, but I wish you well for the New Year and beyond Ed if by any chance you end up reading this - who informed me that it was available over at Karagarga, and duly invited me to join there. The rest, as they say is history. Meanwhile, in the intervening years, Rivette's 13-hour magnum opus (and the four-hour shorter but substantially different "remix" Out 1 : Spectre) has seen not one but two smashing remastered DVD/BluRay boxset reissues (Seems the Eustache is still mired in legal controversy, but we live in hope - and, yes, there is a 1080 HD rip over at KG). Anyway, fourth time through - I've also painstakingly transcribed the cuts and scene changes with a view to seeing how Rivette completely reworked them in Spectre, but haven't got round to revisiting that one yet. Numerous reviews to pore over here http://www.dvdbeaver.com/rivette/OK/filmography.html, but see it for yourself and make up your mind first. Don't be put off by the length: these days, nobody bats an eye about binge-watching a season of the latest series, so you can think of it as a series if you like, if that helps. Anyway, with months of enforced lockdown still to come I guess, it'll be something to launch yourself into. Happy New Year!