A Bout de Souffle.
Im going to go way out on a limb here and say that I dont really like Godard that much.
I have seen Breathless, Alphaville, Vivre se Vie, Notre Musique, Weekend, Pierrot Le Fou, and some of Band of Outsiders. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what he has done for cinema, and how important he is to the history of auteurist cinema, but for me his movies just aren’t any fun to watch, they feel like a chore and I’m usually glad when they’re over.
His films are really just a bit too pretentious for me to take him seriously (also i think he takes himself seriously enough that he covers me on that one) , because i feel like he’s really just playing some big joke on the audience, and each film is like a dare to make sense out of it. There are a lot of other talented directors out there, and I dont really feel that Godard deserves all of the praise that he gets.
Max,
You’re just thread farting. The thread isn’t tell us how you feel about Godard now is it?
I have the experience of enjoying Godard’s films the first time around. Then I slowly digest them, ponder them and they grow on me.
Alphaville, À Bout de Souffle, and Bande á Part are the films of Godard I have seen, yet it seems like I’ve seen more because of the the substance that is there in his films.
I think I really came into my love of Jean-Luc Godard films after I had laid a better foundation of Jean-Pierre Melville. THAT made Nouvelle Vague so much more enticing; seeing where the genre/movement had seen it’s own origins.
Filmsyncs, You are absolutely right. My post did not answer the question posed by the originator of the thread, but i also felt that the thread was falling a bit flat because there was a lack of discussion taking place on this discussion board, and I hoped that my post might be able to stimulate some thoughtful responses, be them positive or negative. I figured that rather than start my own thread about how people feel about Godard I would just post my feelings about him here, even though they may not have fit into the original discussion.
I recognize that i did get a bit out of hand, and moved from the realm of thoughtful response into the realm of annoying rant, but I will stand by the intent of my post, because i think that the potential for great DISCUSSION is completely attainable on a message board like this, where we can assume that everyone here is an intelligent and thoughtful individual who more or less knows what he/she is talking about.
I would love to know how other people feel about this issue, because i really feel that threads like this should have the potential to evolve. Not into annoying shit flinging message board arguments, but true thoughtful socratic discussion about topics that all of us care about.
However, if other people feel that i did step way out of bounds, I will very gladly stop posting in this manner, and would love to work to figure out a way to make this a more enlightening discussion experience for everyone.
any oppositional discussion is good. that’s how you learn, and get at the truth.
for me, godard is the greatest thing that ever happened to cinema. of course, i can understand how some might not like him. not everyone is for everyone. but godard, for me, seems to be one of the only directors who is beyond reproach, even when he makes a bad film. his whole body of work is monumental. when he dies, it will truly be the passing of a giant. maybe the last great one in cinema.
Max,
I don’t see your post as a rant but obviously it doesn’t fit the O.P. objective for the thread.
If you want to start a thread such as ‘what do you think about Godard and his films?" I’d be glad to participate. And yes I’m all for thoughtful posts that move from the superficial. I’d be interested to know why you think Godard is pretentious and examples of that in his film …
TOUT VA BIEN – His funniest.
Vivre sa Vie.
Contempt and A Woman is a Woman. Hands down.
For now WEEK END and LE MEPRIS that are sort ot two extremes of the first period.
Vivre sa Vie
Hail Mary
Best- Contempt
Worst-Weekend
I’ve always found Contempt an irresistable, complete work … Weekend may have been Godard’s most ambitious … however, Breathless has always retained it’s youth and freshness and that is where I always choose to begin with Godard.
Steve Oerkfitz clearly hates Bunuel films.
I’ll go with Breathless, but there still quite a few of his ‘big’ ones I’ve yet to see. Can’t say I’ve ever fallen for his stuff in quite the same way I have for the other Cahiers directors.
Breathless
Corononel X-Actually I love Bunuel. I have just about all his films that are available. I don’t find him and Godard to be very much alike.
Pierrot le Fou is my favorite Godard film and also my favorite movie in general.
Alphaville
I’m sure you’re smarter than that Oerkfitz, Week End is a film very close to Bunuel and a guy who brags about having all of his available films sure must know that.
Coronel X-I find Bunuel more playful and never pretentious. Godard is very hit or miss with me and I just find Weekend insufferable. Others love it.
I came across this thread on JLG through google. I’m a graphic design student and I’m designing a fictitious JLG film festival (his new wave films). I had not heard of him before this project came along (woops!), but I accepted the challenge.
I’m trying to watch his films, read books and proceed with my project, but I’m struggling with naming my film festival and finding a robust common thread in his films (apart from politics, “all u need is guns and women”, anna karina, silliness, humor, love triangles…). Since you all are well-versed with his work, can someone please help me with figuring it out? Any help will be much appreciated! :) Thank you!
he didn’t make that many new wave films. the french new wave didn’t last that long anyway. so you can show all of them!
I’m focusing on his 8-year “golden period” where he made 15 new wave films. So I’m struggling with a common thread(s) between them and an appropriate french title for it….I was thinking of “filles et fusils” since he once said ‘all u need is a girl and a gun…" or even tete-a-tete or voir l’invisible….to see the invisible estranged relationships between the male/female actors
i think the common thread would be politics. all of godards films can be seen as a certain coefficient of the amount of politics in them. so your title could be “to make political films, or to make films politically”.
@SONIYA – “… his 8-year “golden period” where he made 15 new wave films.”
This sounds like a sweet project for a design student.
Aside from politics, one thread that is common in most Godard films, though rarely discussed – is the frequent use of pop iconography (I worked professionally in illustration and design, so you can trust me on this one).
Perhaps the value is on aesthetics, but watch his films and you’ll notice a few things – consistent use of bold and solid typography in opening sequences and title cards; product placements and iconic logos like Shell, Coca-Cola, TWA, PANAM and most especially Esso Oil; Jukebox; red, yellow, blue automobiles; movie posters; Comic books; photographs from the war in Vietnam and Samuel Fuller. These are more evident in Breathless, Pierrot Le fou, Weekend, Masculin Feminin, A Woman Is a Woman, Made in U.S.A., Contempt and Two or Three Things I Know About Her.
Good luck and best wishes on your project!
‘My Life to Live’ is wonderful and sad. ‘Pierrot le fou’ is hilarious and wild.
slayare
Contempt is CINEMA (in all caps).