BETTY BLUE: The Director's Cut, opens at the Nuart July 3, 2009

BETTY BLUE, the 1986 international hit by Jean-Jacques Beineix (Diva), which titillated viewers worldwide with its full frontal nudity and unapologetic sexuality, will charm audiences once again this summer when it is released in select markets beginning in New York on June 12 at the Cinema Village. The film will be released for the first time in US theatres as a Director’s Cut with an additional hour of footage on a recently struck 35mm print.

Quintessential French cinema, BETTY BLUE is the uninhibited and tumultuous story of an obsessive relationship that descends into madness. Zorg, an aspiring novelist who gets by as a handyman at a dilapidated beach resort, is happy with his life until he meets Betty; beautiful, wild and unpredictable. Life with Betty becomes a carnival ride filled with prolific sex and increasingly madcap adventures, until Betty’s mental state turns dark. Based on the novel by Philippe Dijan the film introduced the effervescent Beatrice Dalle to the world accompanied by the handsomely attributed Jean-Hugues Anglade.

BETTY BLUE: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT features an additional 60 minutes of footage from the version shown previously in US theaters. The characters of Zorg and Betty are more fully realized, with the leads’ performances and the voluptuous, early days of their relationship fleshed out in more detail. Betty’s crossover from obsessive passion to full-on emotional breakdown is more fully depicted and this version gives more screen time to the secondary characters who add a sense celebration and wild abandon with plenty of extremely funny moments along the way. A darker and even more memorable ride.

The film’s running time is 185 minutes; it is not rated. In French, fully subtitled in English.

AWARDS
Nominated - Academy Awards USA 1986 - Best Foreign Language Film
Nominated – Golden Globe – Best Foreign Language Film
Nominated - BAFTA - Best Foreign Language Film
Winner – Best Foreign Film – Boston Society of Film Critics
Winner - Best Director & Best Actress -18th Seattle International Film Festival (Golden Space Needle Awards)
4 wins at Montréal World Film Festival: Best Film / Most Popular Film / Grand Prize of the Americas / Jury Prize
9 Nominations at the Césars: Best Film / Best Director / Best Actor / Best Actress / Best Supporting actor / Best Supporting Actress / Best Music / Best Editing / Best Poster
2 wins at Paris: Prize of Youth / George de Beauregard Prize for Best Producer

“****…fully establishes the movie’s artistic bona fides… The movie is still an organic whole, its exuberant lovemaking and drunken carousing alternating with a committed relationship’s natural lulls.” - Time Out New York

Critic’s Pick “The movie was colorful and swirling and oppressive all at once…” - New York Magazine
“BETTY'S back, bigger and bolder than ever.” - New York Post
“A tribute to amour fou…” - Village Voice
“A master of style who manages to turn complex narratives and popcorn action sequences into spectacles of formal beauty…” - The L Magazine

Official Website: http://www.bettybluedirectorscut.com