Jane B. par Agnès V. (1988) [Criterion Collection]

Jane B. par Agnès V. (1988)
The interests, obsessions, and fantasies of two singular artists converge in this inspired collaboration between Agnès Varda and her longtime friend the actor Jane Birkin. Made over the course of a year and motivated by Birkin’s fortieth birthday—a milestone she admits to some anxiety over—Jane B. par Agnès V. contrasts the private, reflective Birkin with Birkin the icon, as Varda casts her variously as a classical muse, a femme fatale, a Spanish dancer, Joan of Arc, and even a deadpan Laurel opposite a clownish Hardy in a fanciful slapstick spoof. Made in the spirit of pure, uninhibited play, this free-flowing dual portrait unfolds as a shared reverie between two women as they collapse the boundaries between artist and subject.

The Complete Films of Agnès Varda:
A founder of the French New Wave who became an international art-house icon, Agnès Varda was a fiercely independent, restlessly curious visionary whose work was at once personal and passionately committed to the world around her. In an abundant career in which she never stopped expanding the notion of what a movie can be, Varda forged a unique cinematic vocabulary that frequently blurs the boundaries between narrative and documentary, and entwines loving portraits of her friends, her family, and her own inner world with a social consciousness that was closely attuned to the 1960s counterculture, the women’s liberation movement, the plight of the poor and socially marginalized, and the ecology of our planet. This comprehensive collection places Varda’s filmography in the context of her parallel work as a photographer and multimedia artist—all of it a testament to the radical vision, boundless imagination, and radiant spirit of a true original for whom every act of creation was a vital expression of her very being.

Agnès Forever — Varda by Agnès (2019), Les 3 boutons (2015) Early Varda — La Pointe Courte (1955), Ô saisons, ô châteaux (1958), Du côté de la côte (1958) Around Paris — Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962), Les fiancés du pont Macdonald (1962), L’opéra-mouffe (1958), Les dites cariatides (1984), T'as de beaux escaliers, tu sais (1986) Rue Daguerre — Daguerréotypes (1975), Le lion volatil (2003) Married Life — Le bonheur (1965), Les créatures (1966), Elsa la Rose (1966) In California — Uncle Yanco (1968), Black Panthers (1970), Lions Love (. . . and Lies) (1969), Mur Murs (1981), Documenteur (1981) Her Body, Herself — One Sings, the Other Doesn't (1977), Réponse de femmes (1975), Plaisir d'amour en Iran (1977) No Shelter — Vagabond (1985), 7 p., cuis., s. de b. . . . (à saisir) (1985) Jane B. — Jane B. par Agnès V. (1988), Kung-Fu Master! (1988) Jacques Demy — Jacquot de Nantes (1991), The Young Girls Turn 25 (1993), The World of Jacques Demy (1995) Simon Cinéma — One Hundred and One Nights (1995) La glaneuse — The Gleaners and I (2000), The Gleaners and I: Two Years Later (2002) Visual Artist — Faces Places, codirected with JR (2017), Salut les cubains (1964), Ulysse (1982), Ydessa, les ours et etc. . . . (2004) Here and There — Agnès de ci de là Varda (2011) Beaches — The Beaches of Agnès (2008)

Special Features:
- Introduction to Jane B. par Agnès V. from 2012 (1080i; 1:52)
- Agnes V. By Jane B. (1080p; 15:30) a 2020 interview with Jane Birkin, where she discusses her friendship and collaborations with Varda
- Trailer for Jane B. par Agnès V. (1080i; 2:36)
- Introduction to Kung-Fu Master! from 2012 (1080i; 2:21)
- Bonsoir (1080i; 17:40) a joint interview with Varda and Jane Birkin conducted for Swiss television in 1988.