Without pitting into an over-sized budget and effects, Jean-Luc Godard relies on his wits as an artist and filmmaker to adapt Paul Eluard's novel on a society of evil, satirical, 'logical', and demonstrative force. What achieves a film like Alphaville to the status of an audacious, superlative art-film (with the broad outlines of the noir attitude Godard eats up like pudding), is it isn't an entirely classifiable film to put to genre. One can go directly to the word 'science fiction', and it's near justifiable to do so. But this is like sci-fi for those who only read the books, both of the pulp kind and philosophical breed - thus one of the film's most accessible qualities is it translates novelistic techniques in a way.
That's another touch that Alphaville (aka The Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution, played by Eddie Constantine) puts forth both in technique of the photography (compositions) and music, as well as the script. As in his other films, particularly from the 60's, Godard seems to pepper these characters in the city with dialog and twists that spark good philosophical debate...the fact that so much of the dialog - along with the camera - moves to a beat of consistent poetry, in a environment where practically all don't know what the word means, is a feat that Godard is cool to handle. Like in Band of Outsiders he's toying with the aspects of the cinematic process, while presenting a cohesive narrative (at least far more so than something like his version of King Lear, which is Shakespeare cross-bred with H.S. Thompson and then edited through an acid-head's filtered imagination). It will depend on the viewer's taste of talent if they enjoy Alphaville, as naturally with his other films, i.e. Weekend.
But would contemporary audiences consider such experimental side-bars like a beep played whenever a certain word is spoken, or in heightening the tension by changing the exposure on the film so black is white and white is black? I wonder if my friends would find some of this pretentious after so many years of Star Wars and Close Encounters. Then again, maybe those who have read Orwell or seen Gilliam's Brazil, or even the old Bogart detective films, would find more interest than others. At a young age, Godard's films generally contain the qualities by a parent creating a film for his children, the audience- he prepares you for like by f***king with your head, and it will either tick an audience member off, or others will come to enjoy it and dig in to it with repeat interest. For example, the voice of Alpha 60, the head honcho and 'logical' leader of the city of Alphaville and its doped-up type civilians, at first had me a little bugged too. And much of what he was saying the first time around was intriguing, but befuddling for my mind to take all in.
And although Godard strikes up a chord with his main players (Constantine and Karina notably), it's Coutard and Misraki's show as much as his. Their touches add to Godard's vision, as Coutard brings the director some of his most indelible images: the long takes down the corridors of the hotel, the dank lighting in the darkness during Alpha 60's rant, the unusual angles...and the music cues are similar too, though in another context to say Contempt. The score rises and falls, is repetitive, and it's lyrical in a sense: threatening, mysterious, for a thriller that itself isn't entirely serious with itself.
But perhaps the most wonderful thing I found about Alphaville was how Godard juggled the philosophical/societal issues and schematics in a underlying serious way (as most great sci-fi pieces do), and also made it satirical and funny. You have the theme of segregation (err, Nazism in a sense, in Alphaville only a few nationalities of people are allowed to assimilate, while all others commit suicide or get killed in roves), dehumanization (a running gag is that the residents say "I'm very well, thank you very much"), the power that technology holds over a race of people, and destruction through war powers. However, it isn't all thought-provoking carp for the brainy among the audience. He's too smart a filmmaker for that. So, like in Pierrot Le Fou, he lets the audience in on the fact that this IS after all a movie, and you can't have an intellectual heap accompanied by the photography/sound of a poetic-painter without having fun. If a viewer gives him/herself, as I did, one can laugh at the little one liners, and gestures, that one doesn't notice the first time. Overall, I was impressed immensely by this film, and it's a great one, though it isn't the kind of popular sci-fi that'll play on the major cable networks. A+
That's another touch that Alphaville (aka The Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution, played by Eddie Constantine) puts forth both in technique of the photography (compositions) and music, as well as the script. As in his other films, particularly from the 60's, Godard seems to pepper these characters in the city with dialog and twists that spark good philosophical debate...the fact that so much of the dialog - along with the camera - moves to a beat of consistent poetry, in a environment where practically all don't know what the word means, is a feat that Godard is cool to handle. Like in Band of Outsiders he's toying with the aspects of the cinematic process, while presenting a cohesive narrative (at least far more so than something like his version of King Lear, which is Shakespeare cross-bred with H.S. Thompson and then edited through an acid-head's filtered imagination). It will depend on the viewer's taste of talent if they enjoy Alphaville, as naturally with his other films, i.e. Weekend.
But would contemporary audiences consider such experimental side-bars like a beep played whenever a certain word is spoken, or in heightening the tension by changing the exposure on the film so black is white and white is black? I wonder if my friends would find some of this pretentious after so many years of Star Wars and Close Encounters. Then again, maybe those who have read Orwell or seen Gilliam's Brazil, or even the old Bogart detective films, would find more interest than others. At a young age, Godard's films generally contain the qualities by a parent creating a film for his children, the audience- he prepares you for like by f***king with your head, and it will either tick an audience member off, or others will come to enjoy it and dig in to it with repeat interest. For example, the voice of Alpha 60, the head honcho and 'logical' leader of the city of Alphaville and its doped-up type civilians, at first had me a little bugged too. And much of what he was saying the first time around was intriguing, but befuddling for my mind to take all in.
And although Godard strikes up a chord with his main players (Constantine and Karina notably), it's Coutard and Misraki's show as much as his. Their touches add to Godard's vision, as Coutard brings the director some of his most indelible images: the long takes down the corridors of the hotel, the dank lighting in the darkness during Alpha 60's rant, the unusual angles...and the music cues are similar too, though in another context to say Contempt. The score rises and falls, is repetitive, and it's lyrical in a sense: threatening, mysterious, for a thriller that itself isn't entirely serious with itself.
But perhaps the most wonderful thing I found about Alphaville was how Godard juggled the philosophical/societal issues and schematics in a underlying serious way (as most great sci-fi pieces do), and also made it satirical and funny. You have the theme of segregation (err, Nazism in a sense, in Alphaville only a few nationalities of people are allowed to assimilate, while all others commit suicide or get killed in roves), dehumanization (a running gag is that the residents say "I'm very well, thank you very much"), the power that technology holds over a race of people, and destruction through war powers. However, it isn't all thought-provoking carp for the brainy among the audience. He's too smart a filmmaker for that. So, like in Pierrot Le Fou, he lets the audience in on the fact that this IS after all a movie, and you can't have an intellectual heap accompanied by the photography/sound of a poetic-painter without having fun. If a viewer gives him/herself, as I did, one can laugh at the little one liners, and gestures, that one doesn't notice the first time. Overall, I was impressed immensely by this film, and it's a great one, though it isn't the kind of popular sci-fi that'll play on the major cable networks. A+