Alphaville (1965)
Lemmy Caution, an American private-eye, arrives in Alphaville, a futuristic city on another planet.... (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Jean-Luc Godard
Written By: Jean-Luc Godard
Starring: Akim Tamiroff, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Howard Vernon, Anna Karina, Eddie Constantine, László Szabó, Michel Delahaye, Christa Lang, Jean-Louis Comolli, Valérie Boisgel, Jean-André Fieschi
Genres: Romance, Drama, Sci-fi, Mystery
AKA: Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution
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Alphaville belongs to 76 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 236 stars)
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4. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 39 stars)
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8. Dystopia (collaborative: moderated by Nouilles - 29 stars)
9. Netflix Instant (collaborative: moderated by somnivore - 29 stars)
10. Neo-noir (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 28 stars)
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13. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)
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16. French New Wave (collaborative - 17 stars)
17. Golden Bear (collaborative: moderated by CCLZA - 16 stars)
18. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2013 revision) (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 16 stars)
19. Intellectual Sci-Fi (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 16 stars)
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Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 3 |  |
Nathan S | 4 74th |
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The stifling of individuality, emotion, and expression are tired themes, but Godard's realization of them is certainly unique. I didn't completely fall in love with this film, but I admire the hell out of it, and its sci-fi noir style has had considerable influence.
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| 3 |  |
Mentaculus | 73 59th |
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As mentally dense a movie as you'll ever find. For an intellectual or artist, Godard's monotony of tired sales pitches for universality, and his lifeless, concrete landscape hinting at some kind of failed technological achievement, is more horror than sci-fi or noir. It's just not nearly as fun to watch as it should be.
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| 3 |  |
darkman | 55 13th |
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You need a lot of imagination to see the other planet in this movie set in paris.
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| 2 |  |
torontodog | 70 66th |
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I'm not one of those people that didn't get it, but let's face it, this is just not quite as charming as Breathless nor quite as deep as Contempt. It is interesting, unique and stylish, but flawed.
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| 2 |  |
Luna6ix | 50 8th |
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Every monologue in this movie makes no sense, too bad half the movie is monologues. The frequent and unnecessary use of blinking lights almost made me nauseous. The dialog is incomprehensible and painfully dense. This movie only fits in as an art movie and I hate art movies. It's saddening how much the future in this movie looks like 1965.
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| 2 |  |
moraesfelipe | 75 80th |
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An absorbing statement against technique -- and, to some extent, also against science -- both narrated by a raucous machine and lived by an American journalist/spy. Every burst of violence makes the climax feel like an Huxleyesque dystopia, in which words like conscience and kindness have been forgotten -- and people who doesn't believe in logic is terminated. The revolution must be angry -- only poetry and feelings save. Anna Karina strulling to say I love you is pure beauty.
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| 2 |  |
Rufam | 45 9th |
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Maybe when I grow old and senile, I will be able to appreciate something as self-absorbed and didactic as "Alphaville", but, for now, I simply cannot get involved in something so pretentious and boring. The noirish first five minutes or so are really promising, but then the film descends into Godard's typical pseudo-philosophical drooling. It's well-shot throughout and conceptually original, but the utter lack of a concise plot, characters or ideas and the heavy moralizing are vexatious.
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| 2 |  |
Paxton | 77 82nd |
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So I guess people aren't too interested in a future that isn't all that futuristic. My tendency is to lean towards plot. The story here is strong, and where it isn't, it's still masterfully done and therefore exciting to watch. But hey, if you want crazy awesome futures instead of story I recommend The Island, Surrogates, I Robot, After Earth, In Time, Upside Down, Oblivion, Johnny Mnemonic, Chronicles of Riddick, or 2012. I guess 2012 isn't the future any more. Still terrible.
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| 1 |  |
MartinTeller | 59 16th |
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Too much pseudo-philosophical nonsense. A lot of flim-flam babble. The parts that were supposed to be funny elicited little more than a smile, but the parts that were supposed to be deep and serious were hilarious. I can appreciate how unique and challenging it is, but I didn't enjoy it much.
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| 1 |  |
Dorkovsky | 5 59th |
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It takes a while to get into the world that Godard created, mostly because of the low budget, but he gets you there, and it is a very unique one. Still, it's all kind of boring and not nearly as clever as it thinks it is. I give a lot of credit to Godard, allowing his pseudo-philosophical bullshit to slide because of his interesting visual techniques but here there is almost none of those.
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| 1 |  |
Pickpocket | 4 35th |
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Looks like Godard put almost no effort into his sets and locations. Supposed to be set in the future but just looks like France with a dimmer switch. Too much random pontifications about BS for me. It's sad because it has flashes of brilliance but then quickly moves away from them as if to torture the viewer. Could've been so much better
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| 1 |  |
PeaceAnarchy | 87 87th |
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This type of film is a perfect match for Godard's ideas. The story is bizarre and mysterious, and he uses that to his advantage, throwing in quips all over the place that match the mood of the scene. Sure, a lot of the philosophy is half-baked, but it fits the setting well and it's a captivating puzzle, even if it's a little hollow.
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| 1 |  |
JooJoo | 4 55th |
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Once more, Godard attempts something complex and impressive in a form I can't get with. :sigh:
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| 1 |  |
Padriag | 98 97th |
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'The comic strip side of Alphaville could be taken for a Brechtian form of "distanciation," for it is evident from the film's beginning that ironic distance must be maintained throughout the film. Otherwise, what is one to make of a film in which Lemmy Caution, the French Mickey Spilane, drives into Alphaville in a Ford "Galaxy" that has just traversed intergalactic space?' -Allen Thiher This quote reminded me of how much I love this movie.
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| 1 |  |
hehejaja | 90 91st |
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An inspired and aggressively critical film, cogently using noir-elements (stylistic and thematic) to reflect the gruesomely inhuman conditions in a system shaped and controlled by assholes leaving no room for the illogic and irrational, and how one man stand up against this system. Thoughtful use of cinematography, sound and mise-en-scène undress the persisting bleakness of the realities in the world depicted. A film with irresistible potence and style.
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| 1 | 5thHobbit | 74 31st |
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I hate to lower a score based on a single complaint, but I think I'd have liked this film a lot more if it weren't for Alpha 60's voice. It's so hideously unpleasant that it detracted from my enjoyment of the film. If it had sounded something like HAL, then I might have loved Alphaville; as it is, the voice is incredibly distracting, and turned at least one sequence that could have been perfect into a grating experience. Was that the point? Probably, but it didn't work for me.
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| 1 |  |
EbelC | 40 18th |
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Dystopian future film full of pretentious and empty dialogues. Curious mixture of a Multivac-like story through a nouvelle vague lense, meaning those same and easily interchangeable 'deep' scenes of nouvelle, bad acting, many things made wrong that look comical on purpose (but probably aren't) and feeling they're laughing at you. Paraphrasing: "It was my first 30 minutes in Alphaville but it seemed to me that centuries had passed". Quoting: "It's always like that. You never understand anything".
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| 1 |  |
Syntheseizur | 80 59th |
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The references to sci-fi are bland and forced, but noir is well integrated (as one can expect from Godard). The social commentary is superficial and not at all biting or unique, so it's better viewed as a light genre picture from the New Wave. It has a surprisingly focused story for Godard, and by some miracle it successfully creates an aesthetic of urban decay; that combined with the genre aspects make it feel like an outlier in Godard's early career, but it's an engaging experience.
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| 1 |  |
sofielykke | 100 98th |
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somewhat of an epiphany! a science fiction film which avoids apocalyptic imagery and special effects and still manages to do what sf does best: freak me out (!) and make me reflect on which things define what's human. When Alpha 60 says to Caution "vous avez l'air d'avoir peur" my hearted stopped. fortunately, I lived to see the rest of the film - and it is amazing!
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| 1 | DavidThomson | 70 50th |
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Alphaville is Paris, for the New Wave had among all its moral principles the notion that Paris belonged to them. They claimed it as the Impressionists had done, or as novelists from Proust to Céline to Hemingway would. But every image of Alphaville says, See how the city has surrended already, and see how resistance is futile. In fact, we watch resistance fade. It is the ultra-Godardian impulse that he lovingly spells out the system of control.
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| 1 |  |
Vdecraim | 75 57th |
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Its depiction of a logic-obsessed world is mediocre at best when compared to other films of its genre. But like many of Godard's films, the distinctive style and atmosphere make up for it. Mixing film noir with dystopian science-fiction and blending it with nighttime-Paris at the time of shooting, it's a sheer visual delight.
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| 1 |  |
mike365365 | 44 9th |
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Juvenile politics delivered by sledgehammer.
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| 1 |  |
Jimmy Suede | 60 26th |
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Interesting portrayal of a non-futuristic future, featuring a b&w spy/gumshoe in a dystopian society. He's the worst, most conspicuous spy I've ever seen, but luckily the thought-police are even more inept. I liked the dystopian portrayal, but the artsy writing felt forced. The best "future" bit is at the end, where interplanetary travel, it seems, is accomplished by driving down a highway. I actually like that.
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| Average Percentile 58.59% from 1641 Ratings |  |