I’ve watched this on YouTube as well; I found it charming; but it’s always amusing to listen to Woody Allen (and Godard) speak. If anyone is interested, here are the links:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDgDYTU8N9Y
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0hwfBOjE78
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpaGvEZwCTY
Nothing exceptional, actually.
I’m capped at the moment but will defiantly be bookmarking. thanks.
You’re welcome, Jesse. I hope you like it. To me it was a real eye opener and a delight.
thanks for sending the links. i love being able to tap a few keys and watch an rare godard film immediately. then again, i guess its impossible for it to be rare if its on the internet. youtube no less.
my thoughts? i also feel its nothing exceptional. i can feel the lack of passion that went into making the film. didn’t quite break any new ground for godard’s style. i expected a much more interesting conversation on cinema from the man who’s my favorite film critic and one of my favorite filmmakers. far from a minor masterpiece, and extremely far from being the best thing he’s done since the 60s.
that being said, i loved seeing it, if only to cross one more thing off my list of godard projects to watch. an obscure one at that.
oh, didn’t you love the cutting to film still of Liz Taylor screaming and the Hunchback of Notre Dame when Allen was talking about struggle? I loved the way the interview itself was fragmented by sudden bursts of music and elliptical dissolves. Or when Godard slowed Allen down to accentuate some funny look he was making. Also, the moment when Godard and the interpreter are just going on and on in French and there’s a close-up of Allen smiling nervously, not knowing what’s going on. I also loved the shot of Godard in red socks slamming books and dvds down on a pile, and the close-ups of him smoking a stogie and staring at Allen through those yellow tinted sunglasses. I thought it was beautiful from start to finish. A master class in editing.
and yes, Daniel, thanks for providing the links.
Maybe it’s nothing special, but I thought it was interesting to watch. It’s not everyday you get to see one well-known filmmaker interviewing another.
Sorry, this video was a waste of time, not funny. Woody Allen has a number of excellent interviews but this is not one of them, and you can blame Godard for playing it off as some sort of joke. I cant bring myself to respect a person like that, not that he cares either way :O
“I just watched this short film by Godard on Youtube today and I think it’s a minor masterpiece”
Now that is funny :D
oh, I had no idea that this short was on youtube, I’m eager to watch it!
Moderated
Its definitely not a masterpiece , but it is very fun to watch.
I did like it. Obviously Allen wasn’t sure how to answer some of Godard’s questions, I find it very funny.
It just makes me feel embarrassed for Godard, he’s such a buffoon, asking really stupid questions and the whole style is just horrible. It is quite funny though
You can say many things about Godard (he very often gets on my nerves), but he sure is no buffoon. He used to say he liked Woody Allen because he thought he was lonesome. Well, Godard also is lonesome, therefore he felt close to Woody Allen and wanted to meet him . As for me, that makes the interview quite beautiful.
Do you really think the things Godard are asking are intelligent or that the way it’s shot and edited actually are anything more than showy? How everyone thinks Godard some sort of intellectual power house I have no idea and this isn’t coming from a Godard hater, I love many of Godard’s films, but I don’t think they’re particularly intellectual infact I think Allen’s films are more intelligent.
Well, I get what you’re saying and I’m not going to particularly defend Godard on this one. I have to say I often don’t understand what Godard is saying. And, well, I didn’t really understand his questions to Allen (neither did Allen obviously).
However, I think it was a time where he was obsessed with TV. He wanted to find out the difference between TV and cinema, just as painters did when Photography arrived. For me, his editing is a way to question this difference (with the various shots of buildings as a response to TV and to Allen’s similar shots in Hannah). And he does say some interesting things: when you watch a movie in a theatre you look up, when you watch TV you look down.
But I’m not saying it is his best picture, because it obviously isn’t. I’m just saying there are some aspects that affect me in this “meeting”.
Justin Biberkopf
I just watched this short film by Godard on Youtube today and I think it’s a minor masterpiece. It’s an interview he did with Woody Allen, and it’s just brilliantly edited and actually quite funny. Godard kind of making fun of himself in some ways. It features that great use of still photographs that Godard did in Letter to Jane. But this film has a real sense of humor. It’s probably the best thing of his I’ve seen since his 60s heyday. It’s posted on Youtube under the title Meeting with Woody Allen (1986) Godard. It’s in three separate parts. The first part begins with some un-subtitled French, but then becomes English-friendly after about a minute.
If you watch it, please let me know what you think.