Masculin féminin



With Masculin féminin, ruthless stylist and iconoclast Jean-Luc Godard introduces the world to “the children of Marx and Coca-Cola, through a gang of restless youths engaged in hopeless love affairs with music, revolution, and each other. French new wave icon Jean-Pierre Leaud stars as Paul, an idealistic would-be intellectual struggling to forge a relationship with the adorable pop star Madeleine (real-life ye-ye girl Chantal Goya). Through their tempestuous affair, Godard fashions a candid and wildly funny free-form examination of youth culture in throbbing 1960s Paris, mixing satire and tragedy as only Godard can..

Special Features

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Willy Kurant
• Archival 1966 interview with actress Chantal Goya
• New video interviews with Goya, Kurant, and Jean-Luc Godard collaborator Jean-Pierre Gorin, conducted in 2005
• Video discussion of the film between French film scholars Freddy Buache and Dominique Païni
• Swedish television footage of Godard directing the “film within the filmâ€

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

I'm sure we'll see many of those (like you said) in 2006. Just as we wait for the Bunuel and Bresson now, we most likely to see this happening with the other titles not theatrically released by Rialto. I believe there are 12 titles not released yet by Rialto. By the way, I like the poster for Masculin-Feminine. They should throw a Criterion banner on it, don't you think?

Rialto's print of Masculin Feminin was shown this last weekend at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC as part of their Godard film series. I assumed that this was not part of a general release as the Rialto website had no indication of a release when I checked it on Sunday. The print was pristine. Two or Three Things I Know about Her is also in the Rialto catalogue, however with the indication that it will be a future release. The print of Two or Three Things I Know about Her shown at the NGA series was a BFI print.

Masculin Feminin just came out on DVD in R2 - France from Arte. They released four Godard DVDs including Vivre Sa Vie a 2 DVD SE which includes several of Godard's early shorts.

I am amazed though, that there is yet to be a first rate transfer/SE edition of Breathless. The several year old R2 France DVD is OK, but nothing to write home about (and has no subs). The R2 UK and Fox-Lorber come from 16mm prints -- and sport (the same?) sucky transfer.

Ted

But Breathless was shot on 16mm, wasn't it?. Do you get a better transker mastering a DVD from a 35mm print if the film was originally shot in 16mm?

Breathless was shot on 35mm, as were all the very early features and shorts by the new wave 5 (Godard/Rohmer/Truffaut/Rivette/Chabrol) no matter how low the budget -- they begged, borrowed, used leftover stock from other projects, etc. They didn't discover the joys of shooting on 16mm until much later. I can't speak about Godard, but for sure Rohmer shot much of his later work on 16mm. I suspect that Godard pre '68 work is all 35mm.

I am sure about Breathless. Patrice Chéreau said during the Q&A for Those Who Love Me Will Take The Train that the 35mm camera he used was the same actual one that Godard had used on Breathless modified to take anamorphic lenses. Chéreau needed a small, light camera for the cramped, on moving train, handheld shoot.

I also checked a couple of written sources (at the time that the F-L DVD came out, sorry I don't remember the titles) and have found nothing to contradict that Breathless was a 35mm film.

FWIW, the IMDB agrees with me as well: http://imdb.com/title/tt0053472/technical

Ted

What makes you think it was shot on 16? The sources on my shelf [McCabe's new bio, etc.] say 35.

What a lovely and charming trailer, looks like a wonderful Godard film. The R2 is coming out very soon (which I might purchase), but I'm sure Criterion will release this before the end of the year. Either way, I can't wait to see it.

This is my dilemma: to buy the R2 or not to buy. I'll wait for the UK reviews. Who knows the R2 might be delayed (in the tradition of AE releases).

I was looking forward to the Godard Box 2 [R2] in order to get a decent print of MADE IN USA but reviews of the first box state that the subs are burnt on. This is off-putting as the set is expensive [pounds to $AUD in my case]. I would assume that the prints would be of varying quality and the subs would be burnt on. [The other 2 films in the forthcoming box are CARMEN & PIERROT LE FOU] The problem is that no one knows of the possibility of a US release of this elusive film and a CC PIERROT is a dsitinct future possibility.

The OKLAHOMA CITY art museum has booked this but no place in Texas? Guess the Angelika and Magnolia people need those extra screens to keep A Very Long Engagement going forever.

Solent the Warner R2 box sets are always fraught with risk. Apart from expense and inveitable burnt in subs the prints and transfers vary from very good to poor. E.g. La Grande Illusion in the Renoir box is a cut version!
At least Pierrot le Fou is available from Studio Canal in an excellent print transfer from France. Prenom Carmen and Made in USA are unlikely in any other territory at the moment however.

Thanks for the warning flixyflox I assumed that to be the case. LA CHINOISE & A MARRIED WOMAN are also elusive films in the English speaking world, it's a pity we aren't Japanese then we could get the master's complete 60s works. [Last time I checked, they were all available - at least, all the hard-to find titles were.]

Made in U.S.A. is also available from Studio Canal, albeit without English subtitles (but it's still very fun to watch, even if you know little to no French, and the transfer is great). The Studio Canal Pierrot Le Fou is also a wonderful, top-notch transfer, and it includes English subtitles. Both also include trailers and assorted minor extras. Now, lets get La Chinoise and A Married Woman out there!

Also, is the R1 of "First Name: Carmen" any good? I've heard varying opinions on that release. I'd like to see how it compares to the Warner version.

Someone like Optimum has LA CHINOISE, can't remember exactly, but it's coming.

The R1 "First Name: Carmen" is one of those Fox Lorber transfers that looks like it was sourced from a videotape that was recorded in the early '80s. This and Claire's Knee are possibly the worst DVD transfers I've ever seen.

The trailer played at the head of The Big Red One this weekend at the Nuart in LA. The trailer is very clever, it got a big groan and then a very big laugh.

There's a new print of this showing @ the Film Forum, and I plan to go when I'm in New York in a couple of weeks. While I consider myself a big fan of Godard's, I've never seen Masculine Feminine and would love an idea of what to expect-- what do you guys think of it?

It's his "hippest" film. He ditches all the romanticism and nostalgia of Band of Outsiders, Pierrot le Fou, etc. while retaining their playfullness. And the bitter social commentary that would mark his work from this point forward is still largely absent.

And the camera moves will leave you breathless.

Wow. Does it feel like he's selling out at all, or is it just as wonderful as it sounds?

It's probably Godard's most radically-structured narrative to that point and it is very political, so it definitely doesn't feel like a sell-out. I think you'll love it.

Awesome, thanks you guys. There were a bunch of reviews in papers and online yesterday, all of which made it sound magical. I won't be in New York for a week or two yet, but I'll report back after I see it....

i'm hoping to make it to this in l.a. on monday (night off for the von sternberg series at the egyptian) but it's eight miles away and i don't drive.

"and the camera moves will leave you breathless"

I don't agree with that after watching it on VHS last night. The camera is mostly static throughout the film and the camera work itself wasn't very interesting to me, especially compared to Godard's work with Coutard, who moved the camera much more breathlessly.

There are some bizarre moments in the film involving murder and suicide that I quite enjoyed. The French pop music is pretty great as well. It's a bit slower than some people might be expecting, but entertaining.

Saw this at the nuart in LA on Saturday night. Loved it. One moment in particular was brilliant. When Leaud goes up to the projection both and reads the projectionist the riot act about proper aspect ratios. Holy shit that was hilariously observed. I can't believe the scene isn't more widely discussed on film fanatic message boards like this one.