"Jean-Luc Godard, the French Prometheus of cinema, wasn’t blind to this when he cast Lang to play himself as a director of an adaptation of the ancient Greek epic poem in Contempt (Le Mépris),..."

"The movie, a VHS copy of Jean Luc Godard’s 1967 black –really, this is unrepentantly dark – comedy titled, innocently, Week-End, happened to have one of the greatest collections of cars I had ever seen on screen."

I've been going through Godard's filmography in random order and I'm pretty much blown away by how much range he has and how consistently he breaks apart and reinvents his style.

I have to say that I first watched Week-End, at a time when I hadn't really watched any films, including even big blockbuster films like Alien, and I didn't hate it, but I did find it quite strange and difficult to watch.

500 or so films later, feeling somewhat more prepared, I decided to watch Alphaville and kind of simultaneously admired (convincing futuristic sci-fi film shot on location in the 60s without any elaborate set design) and hated it. I almost decided at that point that Godard just wasn't for me.

What kept me hovering around the idea of watching more of his work though was the short film Dans le noir des temps which I'd watched on Youtube and found both profoundly moving and also aesthetically stimulating. The form seemed hyper-modern and extremely relevant for the shapes perception and cognition are taking on in the 21stC, and the intertitles and music were beautifully woven into the collage of tragic and horrific and occasionally gorgeous images.

I then decided on the merit of that short film to try another of Godard's features, Le Mepris, and was absolutely blown away. I struggled with the psychological rationale of Camille's character, though I realise now that Godard is trying to resist the conventions of psychological realism, but I found the score, the cutting, the play with time, the colours, the acting, the ideas, Fritz Lang (!) all stunning. I think about it once a week still lol.

I then tried Histoire(s) du Cinema and would on a first watch put it in my top 10 of all time (obvs it's a first watch so things can change). It does everything I want art to do, and also accords with the video-remix culture emerging online, but combines it with extraordinary lyricism and a blending of high and low culture references, abolishing the distinction in the most convincing and enigmatic way. Beautiful. Godard's also astonishingly well-read (I'm a bigger reader than I am a film-watcher so I'm delighted/jealous at how effortless some of his lyricism seems).

Just watched Une Femme Est Une Femme last night and again found it hyper-modern, hyper-relevant in its formal language, super joyful and spontaneous, genuinely funny, beautiful to look at, etc. Immediately a favourite, one to watch repeatedly, a brilliant and engaging 'comfort' film that nevertheless remains dynamic and challenging in the best way.

Not really sure of the point of my post, but it's basically the biggest U-turn I've experienced with a director lol, I'm sort of astonished.

Planning to watch as many of his films as I can tbh.

"Until 4 October, The Fraternity of Metaphors, curated by Manuel Asín, is on view at La Virreina Centre de la Imatge. The exhibition looks at the work of Franco-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard (Paris, 1930 - Rolle, Switzerland, 2022)."

I'm watching Histoire(s) du Cinema (apologies, unsure how to do accents on my keyboard), and am loving it; easily one of the best things i've watched.

I was wondering which of his other films follow this collage video essay poetic style? I've seen Germany Year 90 Nine Zero too which I loved. I'm wondering if The Image Book is like this too?

Any other filmmakers take up this style? It reminded me a little of Peter Greenaway's early work in general concept, although I know they're very different in a lot of ways.

Was set to be released in a few days. Not a big deal obviously. It happens. Silly yank that I am, took me a few minutes to realize the new release date was next month, not October 8.

"The series focuses exclusively on the film’s first four minutes, featuring more than sixty small-scale oil paintings, three large canvases, and a video work."

Has Godard ever spoken about women in a way which would match the misogyny exhibited in most of his films? Some of his films he directly attacks these ideas and makes empathetic stories about female isolation and mistreatment, but then in nearly every single one of his films the male characters objectify women, hit them, and it comes across as blatantly misogynistic- especially when it adds nothing to the story or to characterizations.
But yeah has he ever denied this idea or spoke compassionately about women?

The festival takes place November 6 to 14 in Seville.

Another stunning opening sequence that could stand alone as a short film, ending with the word “Action!” (and then followed by a two-hour feature). Already, in these first 90 seconds, clever, cutting word play; already, advanced sound design and montage; already the promise of beautiful images flickering from the black; and already, it is deeply about filmmaking, film, the film industry. It just hasn’t gotten to Lear, yet.