[atsonicpark]

Originally Posted by Dr. Eugene Felikson

You should definitely check out Alphaville. I'm still working my way through his massive filmography, but it's my favorite of what I've seen.

Alphaville's pretty good, it seems to be the one Godard film that even non-Godard fans like.

thedom, here are my thoughts..

Like I said, I'd reccomend all of his films aside from Detective and Les Carabiners. Seriously. Maybe you can skip a few shorts and a television series. But everything else is indispensable. He's easily the best director ever. And he has inspired TAKESHI KITANO (check out Sonatine: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1217243/), JON JOST (check out Bed you Sleep In: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106372/), PHILLIPE GARRELLE (check out Regular Lovers: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443844/) -- aka the 3 OTHER best directors in the world. So, you've got nothing but quality by him and the people who dig him. Look at the (sadly deceased) Fassbinder. Look at the best female director of all time, Chantal Akerman. Both of them say, "Pierrot Le Fou" "week End" "Godard". You know? Those are the films, that is the man who got them directing to begin with. I'm not a great director, but I will say Pierrot Le Fou (and 12 Oz Mouse.. and Dog Star Man) is what got me into filmmaking as well. He's just god.

All the films I just mentioned, and all the films I'm about to mention are on btjunkie. I HIGHLY reccomend picking up some box sets, Criterion's PIERROT LE FOU and TOUT VA BIEN are awesome too.. supposedly, they're going to do a WEEK END -- which is rtheir most requested DVD -- and that would be amazing!

Let's see... My favorite work by him is Histoire(s) du cinema -- I think it's one of the most important works of art of the past 50 years or so. But it's not really a "Film", it's an essay, so you can ignore that one for a while.

..His "most important" film is, perhaps, Breathless, where a lot of people start and stop. But to be honest, Breathless (as well as Contempt and Band Of Outsiders) has never been one of my favorites. Still a decent film, and worth a watch, and it's important for its use of jump cuts, the energy of the direction (camera constantly moving), and how it feels "plotless" at times (like everything was made up on the spot). It kinda invented modern "indepedantn film" as we know them and is a great film, but he would refine all of the techniques he used in it on later films.

Anyway, here are my top 10 Godard films, with some comments here are there:

1. Every Man For Himself/Slow Motion (bleak/dark as hell; this was Godard's "2nd first film", as it was his first film -- with actors and a "plot" -- in 13 years up to that point; an absolute masterpiece of sound, editing, direction, cinematography, and experimentation -- indeed, quite a bit of the film is done in "slow motion", and the results are staggering. A lot had changed since his last film, and it shows here. The world has become a cold dead place. No more dance numbers.)

2. Pierrot Le fou (his most colorful and best-looking film; was a huge influence on everyone. The direction on this one is probably Godard's best from his older films; sometimes, the camera is completely static; other times, it's following character around for many minutes... there's a great scene where the camera is zoomed in for miles and you see some action, and then the camera abruptly zooms out and spins around to show some action in the apartment. Also, can't forget the scene where they drive the car into the sea! SO MANY iconic shots, bits of dialogue, etc... this is truly an unforgettable film experience, with a haunting score and a freewheeling attitude to plot that makes it truly revolutionary. A must-watch.

3. Oh, Woe Is Me (this was the 2nd film I saw by Godard -- after Week End -- and it's probably not the best place to start, not one of the better films to see by him when you start your Godard journey since it's so damn dense, lyrical, poetic, and nuts... but, yeah, it's still absolutely one of my favorite films by him, period. Just from watching it, you can tell there was a very troubled shoot, as a lot of things don't seem to make sense; everyone seems angry, in my opinion. After reading Richard Brody's book, I now know why everything is so damn dark and depressing in this film. There is an atmosphere here you will likely not see in any other film, and the INSANE editing and how Godard plays with image and sound is absolutely genius in this. Might technically be his best film, and definitely his most densely layered. A staggering brilliant and rewarding film, one you may need to watch a few times to "get", but also one of his most addictive and beautiful.)

4. Week End (first film I saw by him, and I was hooked! Lots of long takes; the 9 minute traffic jam being probably my favorite scene in the history of cinema. This film is mostly made up of lots of great vignettes put together. Lots of interesting stylistic diversions, as well. A brilliant movie, and also quite a strange movie to boot, this was a cinematic middle finger at the time; but nowadays, it just seems ahead of its time -- there still hasn't been another movie like it, in my opinion.)

5. My Life to Live (his darkest film, perhaps, from his early period, but one of his most engaging and straightforward. Every scene in this movie is great... I especially like the guy who acts like a little kid blowing up a balloon. Anna Karina complained in real life that Godard made her look ugly, but she looks beautiful in this film -- everything does. Some of the most amazing cinematography ever; the black and white is unbelievable. An extremely depressing film.)

6. King Lear (this one's a controversial pick, to be certain, as the people who love it REALLY REALLY love it.. and the people who hate it.. well.. you know. I happen to be one of the people who thinks it's one of the best films ever made. It's downright strange, and it takes a few watches to see its brilliance.. but it's definitely Godard's most bizarre work; it almost feels like a David Lynch film at times.. like Inland Empire or something. I'm not even joking. An incredibly weird film, but it's entertaining as hell. Case in point: Early in the film, it shows an actor leaving the set of the movie, with Godard narrating how the actor was.. well.. leaving the set. At another point, a character is talking about great directors, gets to Godard's enemy [by that point] Trauffaut, and makes a somewhat disparaging comment against him. There are seagull sound effects every few minutes, while the rest of the music is Beethoven slowed way, way down... let's not forget the part where Godard puts the petals on a flower through the use of a reverse effect. I love this film with all my heart and soul, but it's definitely the only one on my list that most people don't consider a great film.)

7. Hail Mary (another controversial pick, but this film is absolutely amazing. So engaging and full of life at times; other times, it's dark and slow and agonizing. A very ambitious film, and very bleak like much of Godard's later work, don't go into this one expecting a good time for 90 minutes, but it remains Godard's most haunting film, in my opinion, one that I return to quite often.)

8. Le Petit Soldat (another film by him that I feel is extremely underrated, this one remains little-seen compared to all the rest of his early works, yet I think it's one of his best. Shot shortly after Breathless and featuring the debut of the young, beautiful Anna Karina, this film does everything Breathless tried to do but completely refines it. I think THIS is the film people should start their Godard journey with. An absolutely amazing work of art.)

9. Notre Musique (one of Godard's most recent, and also his most elliptical and confusing since OH, WOE IS ME... this is, again, a beautiful beautiful film... one I personally hold in very high regard, but it seems to attract a lot of hatred as well, for reasons that are easy to see when watching the film -- everything is dense, and there is a LOT to take in. This is pretty heady and deep stuff, it's not an easy watch if you like to just turn a movie on and shut your brain down. Be warned -- you'll need to watch this film a few times to understand everything that's going on. But it's worth it.. and the direction is so good, you won't mind giving this film your undivided attention many times over.)

10. Passion (oh how I love this film, it is very dear to me. Beautiful locales, likeable characters.. this is a film I can really connect with. 80's Godard is probably my favorite period for the man, I think he was really onto something, before he went a little insane. This film is a pretty "easy" watch compared to most of his late-period stuff, one you should have no problem with. I am guessing this one would be liked even by those who don't really get into Godard usually, it's just a great multi-layered "story"...)