1965 science fiction noirRating: 17/20
Plot: Private eye Lemmy Caution, posing as a newspaper photographer, is sent from the Outlands to Alphaville, a planet (I think) that has forbidden free expression and emotion, to assassinate its computerized dictator, Alpha-60.
I believe Alphaville is much-maligned, but it grows on me with each viewing. For one, I love that this movie had an alternate title of Dick Tracy on Mars and a working title of Tarzan vs. IBM. There's a nifty clash of pop culture, B-movie trash, reckless philosophizing, and pretentious highbrow art going on here. There's also such a blatant refusal on Godard's part to make anything even close to commercial or appealing. Tackily and flamboyantly low budget (the characters are in cars but I think we're supposed to believe they are space crafts of some kind) and with action sequences that are laughably ridiculous, this still manages to work as visual poem about the battle between imagination and logic as well as, I think, a critique on formulaic art. There's some deft camerawork and some really cool touches (the poolside death sentences, the toad-like voice of the computer, the allusions to cartoon characters and other pop icons), and Eddie Constantine is perfect as the ultra-cool protagonist or, more accurately, a parody of ultra-cool protagonists. And Anna Karina is in this which is automatically worth a bonus point or two. It's an avant-fart from Godard, silent but deadly, and this feller's a smeller.
4 comments:
I made list of 300 or so must-see films, and this was on it because it was supposed to be one of the great films of the 60's. Then I read reviews that kind of sucked. I would trust your opinion as to whether I sould put this back on my list of films to watch, since you kind of know my taste.
You should see it but I doubt you would like it. Does that help?
I've actually never seen this on any kind of 'great films of the 60's' list, but I do know that a lot of people really hate it.
If you put in 100 greatest war films, or search for digitaldreamdoor you will find a cool site that has top 100 lists by genre, decade, etc. It is a really cool site, although not infallible.
That is a pretty cool site...looking over the top 100 cult movies now. I've not missed too many of those. I was disappointed in the worst movie list but pleased to see there's a Garbage Pail Kids movie that I need to be looking for.
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