The Mother and the Whore
Click here to join our rewards scheme and earn points on this purchase!
Release Date: 20/01/2025
After the French New Wave, the sexual revolution, and the upheavals of May 1968 came the near religiously revered magnum opus by Jean Eustache. In his long-unavailable body of work, ranging from documentaries about his native village to closely autobiographical narrative films, Eustache pioneered a forthright and fearless brand of realism. The pinnacle of this innovative style, The Mother and the Whore follows Alexandre (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a Parisian pseudo-intellectual who lives with his tempestuous girlfriend, Marie (Bernadette Lafont), even as he begins a dalliance with the sexually liberated Veronika (Françoise Lebrun), leading the three into an emotionally turbulent love triangle. Through daringly sustained long takes and confessional dialogue, Eustache captures a generation navigating the disillusionment of the 1970s, and in the process achieves an intimacy so deep it cuts.
Film Info
France
1973
218 minutes
Black & White
1.37:1
French
Spine #1245
New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
[UHD ONLY] One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
New interview with actor Françoise Lebrun
New conversation with filmmaker Jean-Pierre Gorin and writer Rachel Kushner
Program on the film’s restoration
Segment from the French television series Pour le cinéma featuring Lebrun, director Jean Eustache, and actors Bernadette Lafont and Jean-Pierre Léaud
Trailer
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by critic Lucy Sante and an introduction to the film by Eustache
New cover by Eric Skillman