#174: GODARD, Jean-Luc: Band Of Outsiders (1964)

GODARD, Jean-Luc (France)

Band Of Outsiders [1964]

Spine #174
DVD

Two restless young men (Sami Frey and Claude Brasseur) enlist the object of their desire (Anna Karina) to help them commit a robbery — in her own home. French New Wave pioneer Jean-Luc Godard takes to the streets of Paris to re-imagine the gangster genre, spinning an audacious yarn that's at once sentimental and insouciant, romantic and melancholy. The Criterion Collection is proud to present the convention-flouting postmodern classic Band of Outsiders (Bande à part).

95 minutes
Black & White

Monaural

in French

1:33:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2003

Director/Writers

Based on the novel Fools’ Gold by Dolores Hitchens. 

Screenplay by Jean-Luc Godard.

Godard was 34 when he directed Band of Outsiders.

Godard was a film critic before he became a director. The French New Wave (“La Nouvelle Vague”) was born out of the critics’ distaste for some of the older French films, and the way they were produced. The group included François Truffaut, Éric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, Alain Resnais, Agnès Varda and Chris Marker, among others.

Certainly, Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (1959) qualifies as one of the movement’s first entries; Godard’s Breathless (1960) is perhaps next in line.

Other Godard films in the Collection:

#408: Breathless (1960)
#238: A Woman Is A Woman (1961)
#512: Vivre Sa Vie (1962)

#171: Contempt (1963)
#1010: Le Petit Soldat (1963)
#25: Alphaville (1965)
#421: Pierrot Le Fou (1965)
#308: Masculin Féminin (1966)
#481: Made in U.S.A. (1966)

#482: 2 Or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967)
#635: Weekend (1967)
#744: Every Man For Himself (1980)
#1249: King Lear (1987)

The Film

Odile (Anna Karina), Franz (Sami Frey) and Arthur (Claude Brasseur) are the triangle; Godard narrates the film.

• 0:31:41 Odile’s aunt asks about Franz. She lies, saying he dropped out of her English class because:

“He says England’s done for and it’s the Chinese who’ll win. So he’s studying Chinese.”

• 0:36:04 The Rwanda genocide of 1994 has its roots in the colonial past and beyond. Arthur is reading a newspaper:

“From our correspondent: unimaginable massacres in East Africa. Hutus have sawed off the legs of giant Tutsis, their former masters, to bring them down to size. Rwanda’s rivers are choked with the bodies of 20,000 victims. The king, 7’2” tall, has fled the country. Peking supports the kingdom of giants.”

• 0:43:58 Odile descends the stairs and we hear Michel Legrand’s music from Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Spine #716), which was released the same year as this film.
• 0:47:39 the famous often-imitated dance sequence (Pulp Fiction, etc.), the actors called “The Madison.” Before they begin, an older inebriated man speaks to Franz:

“Empires crumble, republics founder. But fools go on.”

FRANZ

“Bravo, Mr. Segalot. That’s real furniture!” (a reference to a contemporary French television commercial) 

• 1:08:07 Running through The Louvre. The guards chased them. Today, they’d all be in jail, of course.

Paris 1964 is gorgeous. Godard films long, sweeping sections in one take, car scenes shot practically. The cinematography (Raoul Coutard) is outstanding throughout.

Quentin Tarantino appropriated the film title for his own production company, A Band Apart.

Film Rating (0-60):

54

The Extras

The Booklet

Sixteen-page booklet featuring an essay by poet Joshua Clover, character descriptions by Godard, and a reprinted 1964 interview with the director.

Good stuff, particularly the character descriptions.

Commentary

None.

Visual glossary

of references and wordplay found throughout Band of Outsiders.

This is a great extra. Everything you wanted to know about Godard’s references — books, other films, etc.

Video interview 1

Excerpts with Godard and rare behind-the-scenes footage of Band of Outsiders from the 1964 documentary La Nouvelle Vague par elle-même.

Video interview 2

with cinematographer Raoul Coutard and actress Karina.

Coutard mentions two important names that are seldom mentioned in connection with the French New Wave: Georges de Beauregard and Pierre Braunberger.

Silent comedy

by Agnès Varda: Les Fiancés du Pont Macdonald (see also Spine #0000B), featuring Godard and members of the cast of Band of Outsiders.

Theatrical trailers

Godard's original + rerelease.

Extras Rating (0-40):

33

54 + 33 =

87

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