Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

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jorencain · #76 Post by **jorencain** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 8:36 pm

duane hall wrote:Breathless surely gets some extra credit because it was first.

It's also good to start at the beginning with a director like Godard. I think it's the same with the films in the Cassavetes set; "Shadows" is my least favorite, but it was important to see first (for me at least) so I had a basis for where he was coming from and going to.

So, now that "Breathless" is out of the way, you're primed to check out "Alphaville", "Band of Outsiders", etc. and then maybe after a few of those, see "Weekend." I actually think (out of the 10 or so Godard that I've seen) that "Tout Va Bien" may be my favorite, so I'd check that out at some point too (maybe not next though).

porquenegar · #77 Post by **porquenegar** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 10:25 pm

I had a very bad reaction to Alphaville, my first Godard effort. I decided to stick with it and proceed to watch Band of Outsiders which I thought was good and Contempt, which stuck with me for days and continues to grow on me. Unfortunately, these CC's are the only ones i've seen to date.

lord_clyde · #78 Post by **lord_clyde** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 10:46 pm

I liked Alphaville the first time I saw it, even though I didn't understand it. Next I saw Contempt which I thought was great, then Tout va bien, which I had to watch twice to fully appreciate. By the time I got to Breathless and Band of Outsiders I already liked Godard, but with those two I fell in love.

blindside8zao · #79 Post by **blindside8zao** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 6:38 pm

I picked up Breathless first cause I found it in the library. I have so little time to watch films now that I'm at school. It's been two and a half weeks and the only things I've seen are Breathless, Intolerance, barton fink, un chien andalou, andDiscrete Charm. That is really really sad for me. Oh yeah, I got through 7 minutes of the first decalogue episode and then got flooded with more work. Tonight is Ragtime though.

Cinesimilitude · #80 Post by **Cinesimilitude** » Wed Aug 24, 2005 2:17 am

Breathless is so far the only godard film i've seen. I do have masculin feminin and weekend and band of outsiders on order though.

Napoleon · #81 Post by **Napoleon** » Wed Aug 24, 2005 10:48 am

The best approach would be to go through chronologically, there is no reason to go after the 'best' as from what I've seen, the quality doesn't vary much.

However, do not touch anything from Pierrot le fou onwards as a first film (certainly not Weekend), as if you don't like it, you really won't like it, to the extent where you may not bother going back to him.

nick · #82 Post by **nick** » Wed Aug 24, 2005 12:07 pm

I find that the more Godard I watch the more I like his work. There is something fun and captivating (IMO) about the way his ideas and style progress, as well as the references to ideas and moments from previous work.

lubitsch · #83 Post by **lubitsch** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 7:11 pm

My suggestion would be to drop Godard entirely and see some good movies instead

.
The mixture of genre destruction, hard to understand scenes without any real plot drive or interesting characters appealed and appeals only to very few. The late essayistic Godard after his return to cinema in the 80s is considered to be unwatchable by most people, but also the films of the classical period 1960-1967 are mostly merely annoying (Yes, I've seen all of them) with Made in U.S.A. being the toughest one. You should be aware that Godard is intentionally amateurish and intentionally breaks all rules which merely proves why some rules are after all a good idea. Even seemingly accessible movies like Le Mepris are disturbing with the already mentioned conversation in the apartment where Piccoli and Bardot talk about half an hour ... well mostly about why Bardot is so angry. Pretentious.
Better take a look at Julien Duvivier or Rene Clement who were unjustly bullied by these nouvelle vague amateurs.

David Ehrenstein · #84 Post by **David Ehrenstein** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:28 pm

Talking about Godard is like talking about amemebr of my family -- my father to be exact.I consider Godard responsible for the better part of my edication. When I was in high school (Music & Art class of '64) Breathless was far more important that Salinger or Hesse.it was the air we breathed, the way we moved. After that Contempt and Vivre sa Vie made their mark as keys to the nature of the cinema and culture in general -- thought I enjoyed A Woman is a Woman more than either.Band of Outsiders impressed me with the notion that films could do anything at all. Likewise Alphaville and Pierrot le Fou. When Masculine Feminine came along we declared it "our movie" as it expressed like no other film precisely what my generation felt -- and how.

Then came the "classic" period of 2 0u 2 Choses qu je sais d'elle, Made in U.S.A., La Chinoise and Weekend.

After that his life and art went all to hell with Maoism. Wind from the East is unwatchable.

He regained his footing with Prenom: Carmen, Je vous Salue Marie, Detective and
the telefilms France/Tour/Detour/Deux Enfants and Grandeur et decadenc d'un petit commerce du cinema, and the late masterpiece Nouvelle Vague. Since then it's quite spotty.

Not that he owes us anything.

blindside8zao · #85 Post by **blindside8zao** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 12:45 am

Still haven't gotten around to watching anything else by him... Soooo many good films out there. Makes me wonder why most people complain so much about not having anything good to watch because they aren't making them as good these days. Go back and see all the ones you missed!

justeleblanc · #86 Post by **justeleblanc** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:32 am

I'm actually going to be going through all of Godard's films on a weekly basis this January with some people from work. We're going to start with Breathless and move through chronologically until Weekend. I've never fully appreciated Godard as much as I think I could or should so I'm hoping for some good discussions. Of course, no one we know has access to an R2 player, so we're going to use R1 DVDs and VHS tapes.

I'm looking forward to possibly enjoying A Woman Is A Woman. I never made it through the first time... it gave me a headache.

Oedipax · #87 Post by **Oedipax** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 3:50 am

Why stop at Weekend (aside from the obvious problem - availability of many of the films from that point on)? In my opinion, it is this second "half" of JLG's career that is the most interesting, not so much the Dziga Vertov Group stuff (although it's worth seeing) but his 70s video work, and especially his films made from 1980 onward. There's so many incredible films from those years that only diehard cineastes seem to know about, relegated to obscurity by charges of incomprehensibility, overcomplexity, pretentiousness, difficulty...

While I would certainly acknowledge Godard's range of reference points is daunting - philosophy, film, literature, poetry, history - I think there is also a fundamental aesthetic to these later films, in terms of the glorious 1.37:1 compositions and the peerless sound design, that can be appreciated by anyone regardless of whether they fully "understand" all of it. Although I enjoy many of the 60s films, I could almost take 'em of leave 'em compared to something like Hail Mary (that's probably just me). Point is, though, don't stop at '68, there's a whole lot more to the story!

David Ehrenstein · #88 Post by **David Ehrenstein** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:06 am

While I would certainly acknowledge Godard's range of reference points is daunting - philosophy, film, literature, poetry, history

They're also essential to understanding Godard. His films were made in the context of their time, and not knowing about events that were current in the 60's (especially th Algerian war's impact on the home front which figures in Vivre sa Vie) is to lose a whole dimension of understanding. It's worth your while to know precisely who Brice Parain and Francis Jenson are, for example. Moreover there are cross-references between Godard's films and those of Truffaut (obviously due to their sharing of Leaud) Rivette, Resnais (the poster for Muriel in 2 ou 3 Choses isn't on Marina Vlady's wall for nothing) Rohmer and Jean Rouch. In other words Godard is a dense and complex as James Joyce.

justeleblanc · #89 Post by **justeleblanc** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:25 pm

oedipax, as much as i would like to watch the post dziga vertov group works, they are very hard to find and i've hear dthey are really hit or miss. which films from the 70s and 80s do you recommend?

David Ehrenstein · #90 Post by **David Ehrenstein** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:19 pm

Passion is also teriffic late Godard.

iangj · #91 Post by **iangj** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 12:03 am

JusteLeblanc wrote:oedipax, as much as i would like to watch the post dziga vertov group works, they are very hard to find and i've hear dthey are really hit or miss. which films from the 70s and 80s do you recommend?

I've seen nothing from the seventies except for TOUT VA BIEN. But from the eighties I'd definitely recommend PASSION; PRENOM:CARMEN; JE VOUS SALUE, MARIE; and DETECTIVE.

justeleblanc · #92 Post by **justeleblanc** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:31 am

what's the verdict on king lear? i probably will see it when i get to godard's 80s work just because.... should i expect much?

Kirkinson · #93 Post by **Kirkinson** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 2:07 am

JusteLeblanc wrote:what's the verdict on king lear?

The jury will be out on King Lear until the end of time. Like the Godardian equivalent of Freddy Got Fingered it farts in the face of expectations. I think it's either one of the very best or very worst films he's ever made. And I haven't ruled out the possibility that it may be both simultaneously.

My only warning is that it's definitely not a good starting point for his 80's work, just in case you find yourself considering it. See a few of the others first (Prenom Carmen and Hail Mary are my favorites).

justeleblanc · #94 Post by **justeleblanc** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 11:42 am

i have seen breathless, contempt, and masculine feminine, but when i was in college i remember starting a lot of godard films and then turning them off after 10 minutes (a woman is a woman and king lear are two i remember). so my goal is to try godard again. i've read a bunch of the online essays and i was able to dig out some of the readings from when we watched contempt in school.

i did this with de palma two years, only with de palma it was trying to respect him as a director and it was successful.

David Ehrenstein · #95 Post by **David Ehrenstein** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 11:51 am

What caused you to turn them off? What do you demand that films provide you? Do you do this turn-off bit as a rule? Name some other films you've turned off.

justeleblanc · #96 Post by **justeleblanc** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 12:07 pm

David Ehrenstein wrote:What caused you to turn them off? What do you demand that films provide you? Do you do this turn-off bit as a rule? Name some other films you've turned off.

i remember turning off a woman as a woman because i rented it the same weekend that i rented umbrellas of churbourg and i thought a woman is a woman was going to be more of a traditional musical. i found the in-and-out of the sound really annoying at the time. i turned off king lear because i just read king lear and again i was expecting king lear. i think at the time i was expecting something else, and godard's style was too abrassive. keep in mind this was many years ago, when the only filmmakers from the 60s that i was familiar with were bergman, kubrick, and wilder.

other films i've turned off in the middle... Down By Law, Cavemen, Faster Pussycat Kill Kill, Zelig... it's not common and i do intend to watch the jarmusch again.

David Ehrenstein · #97 Post by **David Ehrenstein** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:43 pm

Well I'd give the Russ Meyer another try too. Can't imagine turning off that slice of cinematic insanity.

GringoTex · #98 Post by **GringoTex** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:59 pm

JusteLeblanc wrote:i remember turning off a woman as a woman because i rented it the same weekend that i rented umbrellas of churbourg and i thought a woman is a woman was going to be more of a traditional musical. i found the in-and-out of the sound really annoying at the time.

Once you watch A Woman is a Woman enough times, it begins to feel like a traditional musical. One of those rare texts that both deconstructs and fulfills the genre conventions at the same time.

Billy Liar · #99 Post by **Billy Liar** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 2:07 pm

Anyone who turns off Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! deserves a Tura Satana karate chop!

Getting back to Godard I recently viewed Weekend for the first time and I'll admit to struggling through this one. I think it's due to me not fully understanding the political situation at the time the film was released.

David Ehrenstein · #100 Post by **David Ehrenstein** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 3:31 pm

Well how old are you, Billy? Were you around in 1967? Are you familiar with the writngs of Georges Bataille and the Comte de Lautreamont? Do you know who Paul Gegauff was?

These aren't minor questions.