There is a lot people about world obsessed with Jean-Luc Godard whose deep interest in the movies of Godard inspired such love and so did I one of they. Perhaps nothing explains this condition as much as when one watching everything of Godard moviesExcept for lack of evasiveness, in chronological ranking, over few months, more Over 20 years, as I did.
in time of Mine project About 20 years ago, Godard made About a hundred works – 131 at that time of for him deathas per the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) tally – counting features TV shorts programs and advertisements and other anomalies. Copy video of Most of them were rare or rare, so it necessitated finding them devoted campaign of Internet search.
The reward of Those works were a great immersion in Godard’s works. It was a great study of A relentless – even ruthless – film industry revolutionary. drive for I invention found To be absorbed endlessly. If Akira Kurosawa was cinema Shakespeare, as Steven Spielberg said, Godard was Samuel Beckett.
Mine first face.. accomplish with Godard one that started it all, was “breathless” of a path, in early eighties.
I got confused early onin the famous jumpCut the scene at the end of The opening sequence, when Jean-Paul Belmondo’s character, Michel, shoots the policeman. Michelle, busy under the cover of The car It was stolenby a motorbike cop on Country road. Michelle arrives at car for a gun. “Freeze!” says policeman. Close-up on The hand (who?) presses on trigger of pistol. It seems of gunshot. a body the fall. Wide angle shot of Michel is running across a field.
Jazzy cue music And cut for Michel in The back of a car coming in Paris, where he soon received Jean Seberg (Patricia) selling copies of New York Herald Tribune.
what or what just Event? I was still trying to figure it out out With the narrative rushing forward, I didn’t quite understand up. In the end, I was lost. I was amazed.
I stayed in my seat and watched it again.
nothing in Mine movieWatching life – I was twenty or so – took me back for He. She. I have no idea movies can you tell a story who – which way. after my second Watching that day, the narrative came into focus. And everything else – catchy soundtrack, handheld stills in black and white, motion, mixed montage, of Of course, Ultracool Belmondo and Adorable Seberg – attracted me to weird and wonderful new world. If what I was watching before was movies, what exactly was that?
The experience Sow what has become my permanent interest in world cinemaGodard in particular, decades later my strange idea to watch in succession of all movie It was made.
my interest in It arose when Godard embarked on Huge TV series called “Histoire (s) du Cinema”. he is made He. She in Eight parts, 1989 to 1999. Upon completion, series collected in a file movie of The same name, which many consider his greatest work. Drawing on Godard’s many years of watching and making moviesIt’s a sparkling mosaic of sound And the picture is sprawling in Its vision, invention and historical investigation, duration of 266 minutes in total. It is among favorite movies by Godard or anyone else.
But as the parts were shown in France, they are rarely checked in The United States, and there were rumors of video transcripts with English subtitles, but I couldn’t find any. I didn’t see any parts of “Histwar (s),” So I made a mission to find them. With that, I became interested in Find other anecdotes from Godard. From there my idea of watching everything sprang up of Godard’s works, from his short works in the mid-1950s to “History (Stories)”.
some of I found Godard’s most famous works way On DVD, but a lot more She was strictly on VHS, often long out of Produce. The rest apparently was not available what ever.
I do not remember how I first found Robert movie bootlegger – eBay or something – but claimed to have high-quality VHS copies of Many nicknames for Godard for Sale I could not find anywhere, including the eight parts of “Histoire.” Of course I bought them all. s and sound It was remarkably clean.
Robert, who Live in Colorado, somewhat vague e-mail description of classy deception machine Possessed, but he didn’t reveal his method at all of Godard hack (and others) moviesNor how He got this that looks like it doesn’t exist movies in The first place. Quality was not always goodbut he always disclosed when should Expect the bar to be substandard.
Robert chased down My requests for Nicknames he did not have on palm. I had to save up to me buy His tapes are not cheap, then there was a moral concern of bootlegs – though Godard freely borrows himself movie Clips and share with others, which helped me rationalize. I bought dozens of Goddard him movies over A few years: 32 Maxell VHS cassettes in Everyone with Note typewritten label one or more Desirable titles.
some of The discoveries were modest victories, out-of-Printing VHS titles that have eluded me despite years of Hunting: “Numero Deux” and “Comment ca Va” of mid seventies, for For example, Godard’s initial video trials that pre-selected his visually stunning hybrid movies of 2000s and 2010s.
Some of the bigger discoveries included the documentaries “1 AM” and “1 PM” resulting from Godard’s collaboration with DA Pennebaker. And a great TV series Featuring school children that Godard made with Anne Marie Meifel, his partner and longtime collaborator, entitled “France Tour Detour Deux Enfants”.
The biggest films of the Dziga Vertov group were Godard’s Marxist-themed projects made with director Jean-Pierre Guerin and Filmmaking Group in Late sixties and early seventies. How did Robert enjoy the films of the Vertov Group? He had all four of The main Including: “Pravda”, “Wind from the East”, “Struggle in Italy” and “Vladimir and Rosa.” Not to mention others from that period often attributed to Vertov’s group, including “See You at Mao” (also known as “British Sounds”).
Among the favorites of Robert set him series of Godard “minis” who arranged in six Volumes, each tape containing several rare (at the time) short films. These included the 1950s gem “Charlotte and Veronique, or All Boys Called Patrick” and “Charlotte and Her Jules”, two former shorts of “Breathless”, the latter showing Belmondo; and “Story of Water ‘from 1958, co-directed with Francois Truffaut. Some of the later rare films included “Meetin’ WA”, which Godard paired with in conversation with Woody Allen; documentary film on Manufacture of Godard’s every man for Himself”; a directed TV ad from Godard for Jeans Gerbaud and his mid-90s TV documentary “20×50 Years of French cinema of This I saw before my Robert call.
But Robert did not have it all. critical holes in My collection survived, including Godard’s two oldest films. It was years before I saw his “Operation Peyton” debut documentary of 1955, and “Une Femme Coquette” in 1956 feature Briefly adapted from Maupassant story “Signal.” For many other Godard titles, I’d also like to wait for future DVD, Blu-ray, or movie streaming galore enjoy today.
So when I finally showed my Godard retrospective, I was watching one Or several per session, ran from “Charlotte and Veronique” (1957) until complete “Histoire (s) du Cinema” (1999), as well as one or two new Those owned by Godard made While I was hunting strips from Robert. I had DVD copies of Quite a few of Movies, but most of them were on VHS, some of shaded quality. I didn’t count how I watched a lot in All, but I would have estimated that my Godard Festival consisted of about 70 films.
My systematic exploration into Godard has yielded a profound understanding of Enormity and trajectory of for him body of work. I didn’t realize that much of The great Movies versus the least ones, and no of Necessarily huge number, but of every part in As a whole larger, broad, multi-decade movie This is Jean-Luc Godard – Mosaic Construction of “Histwar(s)” exploded across the sprawl of His life in the film industry.
Godard’s artistic prowess was extremely daring movies He still feels modern today, as if he always strives for it dream up a new cinemaif not a new more Humane and habitable world. His films ranged from masterpieces to touring experiences, with Abundance of Well-made, elegant and cheerful in between. Most of them had equally rich talent art And entertainment, and even among his faults, Godard was always just fine worth Watch.
for him work It was literary like anything else in movie historybut for All book references and Godard’s frequent article that wanders through so much of That was, in the end it was visible art. as titles of for him final two features – “Farewell to Language” and “Picture Book” – suggested, for The Godard picture was the thing.
With Godard’s business now closed, pending releases after her death, chances are view his movies in Theater is scarce these days. But with Many Blu-ray releases, YouTube and other streaming systems, approx complete Collection of Godard more available to me us in Better quality than ever.
As I bid him farewell and think about him on My cinematic love, maybe it’s time for that start over And watch it all again.