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Godard
Richard Roud's Godard, first published in 1967 as 'Number One' in the seminal Cinema One series, was the first monograph on the great film-maker to be published in English, and one that reveals a unique intimacy between the author and his subject. Roud's provocative and far-reaching analysis shows an intuitive understanding of the aesthetic, intellectual and political context in which Godard worked, paying particular attention to his 'political' cinema, including the ferocious masterpiece Weekend (1967).
In his foreword to this reissue, Michael Temple provides an overview of film criticism on Godard, arguing that, more than forty years since its publication, Roud's book remains at the forefront of writings on the director. Temple pinpoints how Roud was uniquely placed as a contemporary of Godard's to follow the film-maker's career from one explosive film to the next, charting the course of the Godardian star even as Roud's own career as a critic and festival programmer was unfolding. He contends that Roud's study was 'a pure product – and a faithful reflection – of a certain tendency in British film culture at the end of the 1960s: cinéphile, progressive, European, intellectual, metropolitan.' For Temple, Roud's work remains a lucid summary of what Godard had already achieved by the end of the 1960s, and provides a suggestive model of cultural criticism with which to approach subsequent aspects of Godard's multimedia artistic adventure.
In his foreword to this reissue, Michael Temple provides an overview of film criticism on Godard, arguing that, more than forty years since its publication, Roud's book remains at the forefront of writings on the director. Temple pinpoints how Roud was uniquely placed as a contemporary of Godard's to follow the film-maker's career from one explosive film to the next, charting the course of the Godardian star even as Roud's own career as a critic and festival programmer was unfolding. He contends that Roud's study was 'a pure product – and a faithful reflection – of a certain tendency in British film culture at the end of the 1960s: cinéphile, progressive, European, intellectual, metropolitan.' For Temple, Roud's work remains a lucid summary of what Godard had already achieved by the end of the 1960s, and provides a suggestive model of cultural criticism with which to approach subsequent aspects of Godard's multimedia artistic adventure.
264 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 5, 2022
This is a good critical introduction to Godard; it is not too theoretical or overly analytical, and it is a well illustrated, compact read. Roud sticks to Godard's work on the screen, although M. Nouvelle Vague is extensively quoted throughout, which is a treat because I am sure the sources of these quotes are not easily accessible in English. Roud gives a succinct description of all the films and interposes his opinions on occasion.
The author outlines Godard in terms of form and content, and goes into the use of certain polarities: a naturalistic perspective and a romantic one, personal choice and chance, art and commercial commodities, abstraction and reality. He makes much of the view of Godard as an essayist with a movie camera, a commentator on the world around him as much as a creator of fiction. I agreed with much of what he said, although I felt that there were layers of Godard's work that he sometimes fails to penetrate, for example, he never quite points out the wonderful element of play that exists in most of his best films, although he does mention JLG's connection with aleatory methods of artistic creation.
A couple of other things are missing. The reception of his films by other critics and by the public is not mentioned at all, his critical writings are not looked at, and his overall career and personal life are left unexamined. No mention is made of the enormous influence Godard has had on other filmmakers, although that may not have been clear in 1970 (when the book was published). There are a couple of insights into his working methods, such as his usual lack of a shooting script and reliance on spontanaeity. The book contains numerous black and white stills, which help recreate the atmosphere of the films, even if they do not illustrate specific points in the text.
Overall this was an interesting discussion of one of my favorite artists, if not a completely satisfying one. There are probably better ones out there today, but they may not be available in English.
The author outlines Godard in terms of form and content, and goes into the use of certain polarities: a naturalistic perspective and a romantic one, personal choice and chance, art and commercial commodities, abstraction and reality. He makes much of the view of Godard as an essayist with a movie camera, a commentator on the world around him as much as a creator of fiction. I agreed with much of what he said, although I felt that there were layers of Godard's work that he sometimes fails to penetrate, for example, he never quite points out the wonderful element of play that exists in most of his best films, although he does mention JLG's connection with aleatory methods of artistic creation.
A couple of other things are missing. The reception of his films by other critics and by the public is not mentioned at all, his critical writings are not looked at, and his overall career and personal life are left unexamined. No mention is made of the enormous influence Godard has had on other filmmakers, although that may not have been clear in 1970 (when the book was published). There are a couple of insights into his working methods, such as his usual lack of a shooting script and reliance on spontanaeity. The book contains numerous black and white stills, which help recreate the atmosphere of the films, even if they do not illustrate specific points in the text.
Overall this was an interesting discussion of one of my favorite artists, if not a completely satisfying one. There are probably better ones out there today, but they may not be available in English.
November 15, 2024
Great essay for those wanting to dive deeper into what was going on behind the camera of Godard's oeuvre (at the time this was written), one has to appreciate the accessibility of the language here as it doesn't often go into long-winded expositions on film theory, or is chocked full of academic verbiage as many critics are wont to do.
Roud admits that he has a clear bias towards Godard's work (as do I) here and that absolutely shows in the lengths he will go to analyze aspects of his film - at one point he even goes as far as to measure the length of time in scenes, and the length of spoken dialogue in those scenes - in order to find meaning in what many would consider meaningless idiosyncratic choices.
All in all it's a fun, short, read. Often interspersed between the writing are stills from various Godard films as they become relevant. It's hard to not want to rewatch some of his films as you read this.
Roud admits that he has a clear bias towards Godard's work (as do I) here and that absolutely shows in the lengths he will go to analyze aspects of his film - at one point he even goes as far as to measure the length of time in scenes, and the length of spoken dialogue in those scenes - in order to find meaning in what many would consider meaningless idiosyncratic choices.
All in all it's a fun, short, read. Often interspersed between the writing are stills from various Godard films as they become relevant. It's hard to not want to rewatch some of his films as you read this.
October 15, 2020
“I believe in dialectics” - Godard
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November 29, 2020Great, thoughtful book about Godard's most influential period of filmmaking. Plenty to chew on and build on
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews