User reviews

The Betty of the title is like a shooting star; she runs hot and bright, but she's burning up. _Betty Blue_ chronicles a torrid affair between a waitress and a handyman, initially in a broken down seaside resort. Betty is both passionate and unstable, almost childlike, and initially it is outsiders who bear the brunt of her anger - the piggish owner of the seaside bungalows, for example, or the playboy publisher who rejects Zorg's novel.

However, as Betty becomes more unstable and begins her descent into insanity, this rage is increasingly turned inward into self-punishing and self-mutilating actions. The same intensity that drives her sexuality and her love for Zorg is, ultimately, her downfall.

Over the course of the movie, which is quite long (I saw the 178 minute director's cut), Zorg goes to increasingly frantic lengths both to please Betty and to protect her from herself. In this regard, certainly, Betty and Zorg are almost identical, both going to extremes, in their own ways, to defend their relationship from outside interference.

As well as providing a narrative that may be read and interpreted on several levels, _Betty Blue_ is an exceptionally beautiful film in terms of cinematography and mise en scene. Colour is used to breathtaking effect - the blue floors of the piano shop, the yellow car, the yellow lighting which makes it seem as though, regardless of time, it's always afternoon twilight. Landscapes, city scenes, interiors are all set up and filmed beautifully.

A tale of love, sex and obsession not to be missed.

A happy-go-lucky odd job man (Jean-Hugues Anglade as Zorg) falls in to a relationship with a slightly unhinged -- but very sexy/sexual -- French teenager named Betty (Béatrice Dalle in her debut role.)

There are very few films that are totally different from anything you have seen before. While sexually explicit -- it is far from objectionable because the two parties are in love and passionate about one another.

Betty Blue/37°2 le matin doesn't really fall in to any one category -- going from farce to tragedy, stopping off at oddball. The two leads are amazing in their chemistry -- they really do look and act like they are in love. Also what an amazing debut by the Dalle, although her later life has shown that she has plenty of the Betty Blue in her for real.

(Was this script written with her in mind? -- my search for the truth goes on.)

Starting the film with a sex scene sets the film off on the totally the wrong foot. While the film is about sex -- and at times sexual repression -- there are times when it looks like it was set in a nudist camp. Even Jean-Hugues Anglade strolls around with it all on show -- thankfully he looks like he has kept up his gym membership.

The scene in which Betty throws the whole of the fixtures and fittings of the beach apartment out of the window was stolen by a famous car advert (in the UK) and it really is a stretch of the imagination in that Zorg doesn't respond to it. He just paints on and lets her get on with it -- like he doesn't care.

(I think we all know how we would react in a similar situation and it wouldn't be like Zorg!)

This has great cinematography with every scene framed to perfection. The dour insides of the French household and the generally dirty oven and sink (usually with two weeks worth of dishes in them.) Very true if you know that part of the world!

The repeating, irregular, piano theme tune is what cinema is about -- when in the hands of people that know how to marry both mediums. Images and music fitting together to form a perfect marriage. Fantastic and moving.

The famous Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gives this low marks -- citing too much flesh being on display (among other faults) -- and this is sad given that he gave Kill Bill Part One top marks. A woman making love to a man she is in passionately in love with is tasteless -- a homicidal woman slicing the arms of a whole room of gangsters is OK?

Roger -- I respect you a great deal, but you are as wrong as Leslie Halliwell (author of the world's most famous film guide book) when he gave Close Encounters no stars at all.

You should come over here (Europe) a bit more. Walk about the beaches of France and Spain and look at the amount of flesh on display and the way people show affection for one another without glancing 'round to see who is looking. True it has one or two sex scenes too many -- as I hinted before -- but it is sex that means something and is about something.

Betty Blue is one of my top 200 films of all time and while it has its limits and its faults (it does sag a little in middle) it remains a powerful piece of work about living with crazy people and how easily good times can slip in to bad. I think if the sex was toned down and there was a bit more of the comedy/romance in the centre than this could easily be part of the IMDb top 200. Not that this really matters all that much.

A product that only the French could make and one gets under your skin and stays there.

This review is a reference to the original cinema cut.

There are two versions of this movie. One is short version and the other is lengthy uncut version. Short version is just another romantic drama movie. Nothing special. But the uncut version is a real masterpiece. The experience of watching this movie is not like watching it as a spectator; but as a participant. If the actors felt happy, we feel it. If they are crying, we too are crying. If they made love, we feel the pleasure of it. Such strong acting. It is the experience of watching the actual lives of two people through a secret window.

As well as being one of the all-time erotic classics (and I mean "erotic" rather than "pornographic") this is simply a fantastic drama, poignant and harrowing, funny and sad. Beautifully shot with amazing colours, quirky characterization, excellent acting and imaginative direction this movie is a delight for all of its 185 minutes (the director's cut is the one to go for). But when is this coming out on DVD? Will the US film company's have enough imagination to bring it out? We can, like Zorg at the end of this movie, only live in hope.

"She was a flower with psychic antennae and a tinsel heart."

As poetic as that is, words fail to describe this character or the charming actor who plays her, Béatrice Dalle. The chemistry she has with Jean-Hugues Anglade is electric and clear from the beginning, with the opening scene of them having sex for a full two minutes. The pair have a languid eroticism about them that is the best part about the film, especially given that it came out in 1986, though it's overdone to say the least.

These two are in a loving but tumultuous relationship, one that is stressed by her anger management issues and occasional bursts of destructive behavior. I saw the director's cut which at 185 minutes was too long, because most of the action in the middle didn't seem to be driving the plot forward all that well. Unfortunately, I think the preponderance of nudity and sex were in there to cover for a mediocre story. On the other hand, the cinematography is as beautiful as the cast, and the film did just enough to hold my interest, well, until the final half hour or so, when it faltered rather badly.

Sometimes the comedy works, including the humorous rejection letters he gets as an aspiring writer. "I return this nauseating flower you call a novel ... leave that thing where it belongs, in the quagmire of your brain.," reads one. At other times it's just odd, e.g. The slapstick comedy with the sofa bed in the nude (full frontal, male and female), or the shopkeeper's wife who tries to seduce him, jamming his face into her crouch ("Eat my pussy! Eat it!").

In the end, however, the film decides to go dark, something it didn't lay enough groundwork for earlier, the anger problems notwithstanding. By the time she's suffering serious mental health issues and he's committing crimes, it's tough to truly care. The actions that happen from there seem more geared to shock, just like the nudity, than to really explore these characters and create a sensical story around them. It's a shame, as it had so much potential.

In music, a "blue note" is a note which departs from the expected major scale and instead goes minor (flat). You've heard it a million times in blues or jazz; it's "that note" that makes you go "oooooooh". In the film "Betty Blue", a meticulously crafted, deeply symbolic, allegorical tale of passion and madness, there's a wonderful scene where the 2 main characters slip away from a funeral wake in the middle of the night, find a room of pianos and play an impromptu duet. In this scene, the man and stable component of the relationship, Zorg, plays a chord progression while Betty, the volatile component, comes in with a simple melody hitting that powerful blue note.

Why am I harping on this one scene? It's because it shows how carefully planned and meaningful this film is right down to the music. And we haven't even touched the visuals: the incredibly surreal lighting, colors and set design, or the first class acting from everyone involved, or the hypercharged story itself. This is one of those films like "Citizen Kane" which experts can spend decades dissecting on a technical as well as artistic level. Whether you approach it like that, or whether you just sit back and take in the experience, either way, this film works.

"Betty Blue" is, on the surface, a love story. Underneath the surface it's the quintessential story of an artist and muse. Zorg is the artist (in this case, a failed writer) while Betty is the muse, a powerful, passionate force that suddenly drops in on him, adoring his simple scribblings to the point of obsessive madness, forcing her own passion upon him and driving him to write and believe in himself even though he barely knows or cares what he's doing. He simply wants to hold on to Betty as if his entire being depends on her because he knows what a rare force she is.

If you happen to be a writer, artist, musician, inventor, or anyone with creative leanings, you'll really grasp this angle. Even if you're not in those fields, you'll still grasp the story of a person who finds pure passion and will do anything to keep it.

Although I'm describing this story from Zorg's perspective, the movie is really about Betty. Zorg is almost just a bystander in his own life, experiencing the passion, volatility and violence of his lover. I thought this was a fantastic angle, even though you may be perplexed at his lack of reactions in some cases. For example early in the film Betty has a big flipout and throws all of Zorg's earthly belongings out the window. Zorg watches from afar with hilarious detachment, chatting calmly with a neighbor as if they're watching waves break on the beach. The film is full of surreal/comical moments like that, and that's what offsets the brutality of it all. Think of it: if your lover flipped out and destroyed everything you own, it probably wouldn't feel like a beautiful, artistic moment. But in this film it is. It's magnificent and oddly triumphant at the end of the scene.

Ok now the disclaimer: "Betty Blue" is a tough film for American audiences. This is mainly because there's a ton of very explicit nudity and sexuality bordering on softcore porn. Do NOT watch this with your parents. And for the love of all that's holy do NOT watch it with your kids. Honestly I wouldn't watch it with anyone because I would feel so uncomfortable. Full frontal nudity, both genders, kissing of private parts, and of course there's that opening scene: a brutally voyeuristic shot of the two having sex for a solid minute or two without any cuts, dialogue or distractions. But if you can handle that first scene, then your all set. Oddly enough, this film doesn't try to be erotic. It's hard to describe, but the explicit sex scenes convey passion without necessary getting bogged down in eroticism, thus avoiding any cheese factor that often comes when filmmakers try too hard to be sexy.

It may also be a difficult film for American audiences because it's just plain long (assuming you watch the 3-hr director's cut which you should). There isn't a clear, summarizable plot. The entire story is somewhat episodic and random, with sudden bizarre life changes happening that change the entire backdrop of the film. But this is precisely the point. Almost like a weird Alice in Wonderland fantasy, you have the main character(s) and everyone else is peripheral, everything surrounding them is surreal and inexplicable. This creates a sort of bubble around Betty and Zorg where we the audience feel what they feel: that the only thing that matters in the world is their love for each other.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who goes to the cinema for more than thrills and popcorn. I would rank "Betty Blue" up there with other artistic masterpieces by Kubrick ("Clockwork Orange", "2001") or Kieslowsky (Blue, White, Red Trilogy) or Wim Wenders ("Paris, Texas", "Wings of Desire", "Until the End of the World"). All of these films are somewhat difficult to watch because they're not easily digestible entertainment, and unfortunately that's why they're not marketed here and you'll probably drop a few bills ordering a rare import copy, but it's worth it.

Is "Betty Blue" as great a movie as most people seem to believe? Well...it's amusing at times, erotic at others, but overall the story it tells is so insubstantial that you wonder what exactly compelled Beineix to tell it. The shorter (120 minutes) version also has some huge narrative gaps - but I won't be searching for the three-hour version anytime soon, the movie is already too long as it is. The actors, however, are perfectly cast: Anglade is engaging as the constantly befuddled by Betty's personality hero, and Dalle, while not beautiful in a conventional sense, has a luscious body and sure isn't timid about showing it off (neither is Anglade, for that matter). (**)

In my personal list of the best films i have seen in my life so far, "37°2 le matin" is sometimes placed in the top 10, sometimes below, but until now there are not enough films to replace it, even if it is now 15 years old.

A wonderful book by one of France's best authors was turned in into a beautiful film, one of the best, European cinema has created so far. Not even a bit old-fashioned, full of life, passion, tragedy, madness and love. A real classic. And i am not sure, it will be replaced in my top-list by another movie in the next years.

It was ten years ago when I saw the two hour version. Watching the director's cut was like seeing it for the first time. This version concentrated more on Jean-Hugues' character Zorg and his love and devotion to the mentally disintegrating Betty. The story takes its time, allowing us to understand Betty's illness and appreciate Zorg's erratic behaviour. The English title can be off putting because the expectations focus on the character Betty, played brilliantly by Dalle.

The film is in no rush to get to where the IMDb synopsis says it's meant to go. It doesn't only focus on its titular character's "descend into madness", in lack of a less callous term. Instead, it follows the protagonists on their journey in 3 different parts of France, presenting vignettes from their everyday lives. Some of those were more connected to the spine of the story than others, but they were all equally exquisitely shot and acted. Few of them were, however, interesting enough to keep me invested for the 185-minute long runtime of the director's cut (the only version I could find)

I loved the first 40 minutes of the film. They were tight. Every scene was compelling and entertaining. The film started gradually losing me when the couple re-located for the first time. Throughout that second part of the movie, very few things happened to drive the plot. It was mostly detours and anecdotes, mainly ones intended to be funny. Nearly an hour worth of those. On the one hand, those made the movie more natural and prevented it from being a monotone melodrama. On the other hand, they completely deprived it of tension. The tone vacillated from serious to humorous way too often, at the expense of both the dramatic and the comedic scenes.

By the time the movie was (finally) ready to reach its dramatic conclusion, not only had I lost interest, but it also, somehow, managed to seem abrupt even though the film had 150+ minutes to set it up. The fact that I found the ending to be awful and unjustified made matters worse. In hindsight, I should have at least looked harder for the theatrical version

Its a great movie that shown the tragic life of a female that suffer from a borderline disorder. The sensitivity, she suffering and the way to love are the mean key for the tragedy in the life of the borderline. The movie focus into the life of a couple giving a huge brand of sense to the special way to love and to feel life trough Betty, a young borderline. The borderline disorder provide to the movies the best female personalities, but in real life, this rebel, intelligent, unpredictable people finish on a tragic end. Enjoy this amazing movie.

I saw this movie when I was a dorky NJ girl who just so happened to walk into a theater in NYC and caught Betty Blue. I remember being shocked and a little annoyed that I had to read the whole movie, I almost walked out (typical idiot!).. When it was over, I could barely get up and leave. When I did, I saw that it was going to play again in another 20 minutes so I went back and saw it again. I didn't want to read it that time, I just wanted to soak up the colors and the music.

I had ever seen anything like it before.

I saw Betty Blue many years and many European movies later and thought it was disjointed, seemingly jumping around; I never got really got their 'love' - his love especially. You sort of wondered why he was so nuts for her. The ending didn't really make sense to me either.

I just rented it from Netflix and didn't know it was the director's cut. 3 hours 5 minutes later I was sitting in a puddle of tears (& I'm no pus$y) so incredibly fulfilled and satisfied was I. Yes it's a bit long and it could use a couple of little cuts here and there.. but it's something to savor. Like a novel - which is perfect of course as Zorg is a writer and you imagine that he could have easily written it - no doubt the whole point.

This movie is spectacular and I can't think of a movie that moves likes this. The nudity is delicious and natural, the lovemaking is breathless and makes you squirm a little from the intimacy of it. The photography is straightforward, the sets and settings are very unforced parisian. The car is a bit precious perhaps.. scene with Bob and the liquid coming out of the truck is forced comedy.. but the rest is natural.

There's a reason there is so much chemistry between these two.. they made a massive film together full of a complex love and it's wonderful to watch the way the director intended.. It would be better if they offered both versions for discussion. I would love to see a very talented editor get his hands on this film, just for fun.

It's a complete love story. It fills you up. Worth every minute.

Is there one movie you've watched every night for a week? This was mine and I remember that strange feeling you get that every movie to follow will be disappointing in comparison. This movie was extraordinary in sight, sound, emotion, character. In overview it becomes a bit disjointed at a point, and the ending while powerful may not score high in originality. The rest is a masterpiece. This impact remains high because of some of the parallels to relationships I've had... I recall going to the company store on a business trip to Korea. One movie poster hung in the window, Beatrice Dalle in blue...

Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade) is a handyman working in France, maintaining and looking after the bungalows. He lives a quiet and peaceful life, working diligently and writing in his spare time. One day, Betty walks into his life, a young woman who is as beautiful as she is wild and unpredictable.

Although the film is widely praised, it was "hated" by Roger Ebert, who sees it as nothing more than a film about the lead actress being naked a good deal of the time. He says that is the plot, and anyone who gets more out of it is missing the point. Many people apparently miss the point, as the film received both a BAFTA and Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986, as well as winning a César Award for Best Poster.

Ebert exaggerates slightly, but I cannot completely disagree with him. For one thing, I am not a fan of explicit sex is movies as it never serves a purpose. But also, it just is not that interesting of a film. If people were not attracted to the scandalous nature of the film, it would probably not be a cult film today.

A stunning film which cuts across the entire narrative range from absolute farce to ultimate tragedy. This movie sums up, for me, France; the geography (from the beaches of the Riviera to the streets of Paris)and the people (between Betty's neurotic femininity and Zorg's sullen ennui). Cannot recommend it enough. Unbelievable and shameful that "37°2 le matin" is not available on DVD........

Again, I've heard a lot about the alleged steaminess of this film and, after finally catching up with it, I certainly am not disappointed in this respect. Sure, there are a few longueurs during the 185 minutes it takes to unfold but how can one complain when its radiant star, Beatrice Dalle whose first film this was, is seen stark naked practically every five minutes?

Dalle is excellent as the alluring Betty, a manic depressive whose volatile relationship with her long-suffering boyfriend Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade) is put to the ultimate test when she discovers a long-forgotten manuscript penned by him many years ago and convinces him to do whatever it takes to get it published. As the film progresses, however, so does Betty's mental deterioration which involves, among others, child kidnapping (after a failed pregnancy test) and self-mutilation. But, even though the film takes a tragic turn in its latter stages, it is nonetheless full of the quirkiness and irony one has come to expect from the maker of DIVA (1981). Even Dominique Pinon makes an appearance here as a dopey drug-dealer who gets conned out of his own supply! Gabriel Yared's melancholic score, then, beautifully captures every nuance of Beineix's emotional, rambling but compelling narrative. When BETTY BLUE was originally released in the U.S., it was severely cut down to 120 minutes although this did not hinder it from getting nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign-Language Film!

Having now watched 3 films from this inventive film-maker - including the charming circus fantasy, ROSELYNE ET LES LIONS (1989) - I look forward to catching the rest of his filmography, especially LA LUNE DANS LES CANIVEAU (1983; with Gerard Depardieu and Nastassja Kinski), IP5: L'ILE AUX PACHYDERMES (1992; which was Yves Montand's last film) and MORTEL TRANSFERT (2001; again with Jean-Hugues Anglade).

37.2 Le Matin(Betty Blue) is a brilliant piece of work. Jean-Huhues Anglades' natural performance as Zorg in this easy going - take life as it comes story line makes you want to see more of him. To see someone you love violently erode away is painful and Robins' beautiful camera work with the slow tracking makes the visual experience stimulating. The slow pace of this tale of love and friendship is no cause of concern. Very french, the nudity is handled beautifully. The subtle use of the color yellow is interesting. The film makes you want to be free to live a life of impulse and simplicity. A must watch for the film aficionado.

This classic 1980s French film opens a week after handyman Zorg meets the beautiful nineteen year old Betty. He works restoring beach houses at somewhat rundown resort on the Mediterranean coast. In his spare time he has written a novel; Betty is convinced that it is a work of genius; he isn't so sure. It soon becomes apparent that Betty is more than a little unstable. After one particular incident they move to Paris and Betty types up Zorg's manuscript and starts sending it to publishers... it is clear that they are less impressed with it than she is but Zorg hides the rejection letters to avoid upsetting her. As the film progresses she becomes more and more unstable but Zorg still loves her.

It is hard to categorise this film; it is sexy, it is funny but it is also tragic. The love between Zorg and Betty seems very real making it all the more tragic as it becomes obvious that rather than just being a bit wild she is gradually losing her sanity. This leads to violent outbursts against those who upset her. Thankfully the depressing aspects of the story are balanced out by some very funny moments. The opening scene makes it clear this film will not be for those put off by nudity as we see the protagonists having sex; both characters are seen naked regularly throughout the film. For the most part this is fairly matter of fact. The characters are fun to watch; not just Zorg and Betty but also the people they befriend during the film. The cast does a fine job, particularly Jean-Hughes Anglade and Beatrice Dalle as our protagonists Zorg and Betty. The version of the film I watched was the three hour long director's cut; I didn't feel I was watching such a long film though as I was enjoying the story so much.

These comments are based on watching the film in French with English subtitles.

The main characters are pathetic and unlikable, most of all Betty Blue. They go through an assortment of random, idiotic events that seem totally contrived and lead to nowhere. This goes on for 3 hours. All those words of praise this film gets from others is beyond me. It's a pretentious pile of crap!