GODARD: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
UK Distributor: Studiocanal
Bringing together five key early works from one of the most influential filmmakers of them all – the late, great, Jean-Luc Godard – this stunning new box set from Studiocanal perfectly captures the La Nouvelle Vague conventions and philosophies that established Godard as one of the greatest and most celebrated figures in world cinema.
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Disc One: Breathless [À bout de souffle]
Genre: Crime | Drama • Year: 1960 • Country: France • Running Time: 90 minutes [1:29:47] • Certificate: PG • Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 • Image: Black & White • Language: French • Region: B • Video: 1080p High Definition [Resolution] | MPEG-4 AVC [Codec] • Audio: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 • Subtitles: Optional English Subtitles [On/Off]
Stylish and sexy, Breathless [À Bout De Souffle] is the epitome of cinematic cool. A fast tale of a young man on the run in Paris at the end of the 50’s, Breathless shook up the film world upon its release and has made a lasting impression on cinema history. Starring Jean Paul Belmondo, the film was produced by Godard from an original treatment by François Truffaut in a production that united the four initiators of the ‘Nouvelle Vague’ – Claude Chabrol acted as artistic director while acclaimed director Jean Pierre Melville appeared in front of camera.
Special Features:
Introduction by Colin MacCabe [4:42]
Godard, Made in USA [50:17] (Documentary by Luc Lagier exploring Godard’s career as a filmmaker, the production of the film, his influence and his relationship with American cinema.)
Room 12. Hotel de Suede [1:18:50] (1993 documentary by director Claude Venture in which he interviews the various cast and crew members involved in the production of the film.)
Jean-Luc: According to Luc [7:36] (Long-term friend and Godard connoisseur, Luc Moullet, discusses the director’s work.)
Jefferson Hack Interview [8:15] (Director and publisher of Dazed Group, Jefferson Hack, discusses his relationship with the film.)
TEMPO: Godard Episode [16:31] (Profile of the director from the TV series TEMPO.)
Jean Seberg Featurette [12:11] (Short video essay exploring the career of Jean Seberg.)
Trailer [2:09]
Poster Gallery (A slideshow of poster artwork.)
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Disc Two: Une Femme est une Femme [A Woman Is a Woman]
Genre: Comedy | Drama | Romance • Year: 1961 • Country: France • Running Time: 83 minutes [1:23:19] • Certificate: PG • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 • Image: Colour • Language: French • Region: B • Video: 1080p High Definition [Resolution] | MPEG-4 AVC [Codec] • Audio: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 • Subtitles: Optional English Subtitles [On/Off]
Angela (Anna Karina) is a stripper living in Paris with her husband, Emile (Jean-Claude Brialy), who is a bookseller. She wants a child, he doesn’t. Emile’s obsession with cycling interferes with the love of his wife. Angela embarks on a dangerous game to try and reignite Emile’s passion for her, by involving Alfred (Jean-Paul Belmondo), a good friend of theirs, in her quest for a baby. Alfred is in love with Angela and, it seems, more than willing to be the third corner of his love triangle. Written and directed by Godard, the film was his second, winning both him and his wife Anna Karina awards at that year’s Berlin Film Festival.
Special Features:
Introduction by Colin MacCabe [3:18]
Anna Karina Interview [12:35] (A newly filmed interview with the star looking at her relationship with both the film and the director.)
Photo Gallery (A slideshow of production images.)
Poster Gallery (A slideshow of poster artwork.)
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Disc Three: Le Mépris [Contempt]
Genre: Drama | Romance • Year: 1963 • Country: France | Italy • Running Time: 103 minutes [1:42:56] • Certificate: 15 • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 • Image: Colour • Language: French | English | German | Italian • Region: B • Video: 1080p High Definition [Resolution] | MPEG-4 AVC [Codec] • Audio: French DTS-HD Master Audio Mono • Subtitles: Optional English Subtitles [On/Off]
Paul Javal (Michel Piccoli) is hired by an American producer Prokosch (Jack Palance) to commercialize director Fritz Lang’s adaptation of The Odyssey, about to begin shooting in Rome. Whilst attempting the rewrite in Capri, Javal’s wife Camille (Bardot) spends an unexplained hour in the company of Prokosch, possibly at the behest of her husband, although this is never made clear. This sets off an argument between the couple that hints at deeper problems within the marriage and the contempt Camille feels for her husband.
Special Features:
Introduction by Colin MacCabe [5:31]
Once Upon A Time There Was … Contempt [52:28] (Directed by Antoine de Gaudemar, this lengthy and highly informative documentary – a co-production between FOLAMOUR, Ina, TCM and France 5 – uses interviews with Godard himself to explore, in depth, the making and conception of the film.)
Contempt … Tenderly [31:31] (A co-production between Studio Canal Image, Point du Jour, and CineCinema. French writer Alain Bergala, author of “Godard au travail, les annees 60″talks about Godard’s lasting legacy and looks at how Alberto Moravia’s novel inspired the film.)
The Dinosaurs and the Baby [1:00:57] (Dialogue in eight parts between Fritz Lang and Jean-Luc Godard, including extracts from M and Le Mépris.)
Conversation with Fritz Lang [14:26] (A short documentary featuring interviews with the director.)
Trailer [2:31]
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Disc Four: Alphaville
Genre: Drama | Sci-Fi • Year: 1965 • Country: France • Running Time: 99 minutes [1:38:52] • Certificate: PG • Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 • Image: Black & White • Language: French • Region: B • Video: 1080p High Definition [Resolution] | MPEG-4 AVC [Codec] • Audio: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 • Subtitles: Optional English Subtitles [On/Off]
Written and directed by Godard, Alphaville is the strangely beautiful futuristic tale of Lemmy Caution, an American private eye sent to a planet ruled by Von Braun, a malevolent scientist who has outlawed human emotions in favour of logic. The film deals with the fight between indivualism in face of inhumanity and blind conformity, and won the Golden Bear award of the Berlin Film Festival in 1965.
Special Features:
Introduction by Colin MacCabe [5:16]
Anna Karina Interview [4:30] (A newly filmed interview with the star looking at her relationship with both the film and the director.)
Poster Gallery (A slideshow of poster artwork.)
Trailer
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Disc Five: Pierrot le fou
Genre: Crime | Drama | Romance • Year: 1965 • Country: France • Running Time: 110 minutes [1:50:02] • Certificate: 15 • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 • Image: Colour • Language: French • Region: B • Video: 1080p High Definition [Resolution] | MPEG-4 AVC [Codec] • Audio: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 • Subtitles: Optional English Subtitles [On/Off]
Based on Lionel White’s novel Obsession, Pierrot Le Fou is the story of a bored husband who runs away from Paris to the South of France with an unpredictable but beguiling young babysitter (Anna Karina) after a corpse is found in her flat. After an idyllic time at the seaside they hit the road once more and get by from stealing, soon becoming embroiled in the machinations of two rival gun running gangs and a man who may or may not be the girl’s brother. Belmondo was nominated for a BAFTA for his perfomance in this tragic tale of a romantic couple who cannot escape fate no matter how far they flee.
Special Features:
Introduction by Colin MacCabe [3:13]
Anna Karina Interview [6:29] (A newly filmed interview with the star looking at her relationship with both the film and the director.)
Godard, Love and Poetry [53:00]
Film Analysis by Jean-Bernard Pouy (Audio commentary, with hard-coded English subtitles)
Trailer [1:59]
German TV Advert [3:08]
Poster Gallery (A slideshow of poster artwork.)
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