The Films of Jean-Luc Godard

The Films of Jean-Luc Godard examines the work of one of the most versatile and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. With a career ranging from France's revolutionary New Wave movement in the early 1960s, through a period of drastic political experimentation in the late 1960s and 1970s, to a current introspective period in which he explores issues of spirituality, sexuality, and the aesthetics of sound, image, and montage, Godard's work defies easy categorization. In this study, David Sterritt offers an introductory overview of Godard's work as a filmmaker, critic, and video artist. He then traces Godard's visionary ideas through six of his key films: Breathless,My Life to Live, Weekend, Numero deux, Hail Mary, and Nouvelle Vague. Also included is a concise analysis of his work in video, television, and mixed-media formats. Linking works by Godard to key social and cultural developments, The Films of Jean-Luc Godard explains their importance in modernist and postmodernist art of the past half century.