481-482 Made in U.S.A. and 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her

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therainsong
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481-482 Made in U.S.A. and 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her

#1 Post by therainsong » Sun Nov 07, 2004 2:53 pm

Made in U.S.A.

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/release_images/2278/481_box_348x490_w100.jpg[/img]

With its giddily complex noir plot and color-drenched widescreen images, Made in U.S.A was a final burst of exuberance from Jean-Luc Godard’s early sixties barrage of delirious movie-movies. Yet this chaotic crime thriller and acidly funny critique of consumerism—featuring Anna Karina as the most brightly dressed private investigator in film history, rummaging through an intricate plot for a former lover who might have been assassinated—also points toward the more political cinema that would come to define Godard. Featuring characters with names such as Richard Nixon, Robert McNamara, David Goodis, and Doris Mizoguchi, and appearances by a slapstick Jean-Pierre Léaud and a sweetly singing Marianne Faithfull, this piece of pop art is like a Looney Tunes rendition of The Big Sleep gone New Wave.

Disc Features

- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Interviews with stars Anna Karina and Lászlo Szábó
- A video piece on the personal and the political in Made in U.S.A. and 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her, featuring Godard biographers Richard Brody and Colin MacCabe
- A visual essay cataloguing the multiple references in the film
- Original and rerelease theatrical trailers
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A new essay by film critic J. Hoberman

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2 or 3 Things I Know About Her

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/release_images/2275/482_box_348x490_w100.jpg[/img]

In 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (2 ou 3 choses que je sais d’elle), Jean-Luc Godard beckons us ever closer, literally whispering in our ears as narrator. About what? Money, sex, fashion, the city, love, language, war: in a word, everything. Considered by many to be among the legendary French filmmaker’s finest achievements, the film takes as its ostensible subject the daily life of Juliette Janson (Marina Vlady), a housewife from the Paris suburbs who prostitutes herself for extra money. Yet this is only a template for Godard to spin off into provocative philosophical tangents and gorgeous images. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her is perhaps Godard’s most revelatory look at consumer culture, shot in ravishing widescreen color by Raoul Coutard.

Disc Features

- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Audio commentary featuring film scholar Adrian Martin
- Archival television interviews: the first featuring actress Marina Vlady on the set of the film, the second with Jean-Luc Godard debating the subject of prostitution
- New video interview with Godard friend Antoine Bourseiller
- A visual essay cataloguing the multiple references in the film
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A new essay by Sasha Frere-Jones

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Martha
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#2 Post by Martha » Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:48 pm

therainsong wrote:I emailed Rialto Pictures and they have told me that Two or Three Things I Know About Her will be rereleased theatrically in the Spring of 2005. I can't wait to see it, as it is often ranked among Godard's favorite films, and seems to be one of his only major films of the 1960s that I cannot find a copy of. Any comments on this film?
If you check this thread, you'll see it listed as a "distinct possibility" for a Criterion release.

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GringoTex
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#3 Post by GringoTex » Sun Nov 07, 2004 8:20 pm

therainsong wrote: Any comments on this film?
It's definitely Godard's most sociological film of the 60s- the story of a housewife prostitute as a pretext for commenting on the suburbanization of Paris. Not romantic like his other 60s work, but beautiful and fascinating.

therainsong
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#4 Post by therainsong » Tue Nov 30, 2004 11:12 pm

I finally saw it and it blew me away. Here were my thoughts:

"I had a dream last night, you know. I was walking all alone at the edge of a cliff. The path was only wide enough for one person. Suddenly I saw two twins walking toward me. I wondered how they would get past. Suddenly one of the twins went towards the other and they became one person. And then I realized that these two people were North and South Vietnam being united." -- Christophe, Juliette's young son

In the opening moments of the film, Godard introduces us--with his famous whispering narration--to Marina Vlady, the actress who will play our protagonist "in a few frames," to paraphrase. He repeats what he says, only a few frames later, this time introducing her as Juliette. This is what cinema is. A movie that isn't completely self-conscious, is little more than a book on film. In addition to Godard's ramblings on such topics as Vietnam, Paris life, and philosophy, Juliette often thinks outloud, speaking directly to the audience, while looking at the camera. We even get the privilege to experience her thoughts first-hand a few times.

"Her," is not Juliette nor Paris, as some theories state, but the cinema. In fact, we learn very little about Juliette or about Paris, as they are both lost behind ridiculous questions with no answers and the result of these questions. Commercialism is a mask for some people, and many scenes suggest lifestyle is becoming more important than life. The final shot of the film shows many household products--such as Tide--scattered in a field. Godard is say we must live together with each other and these objects--as they are all together in the field--which, as he states, sadly live on longer than we do. The more primitive we are, the happier we become, but we are to conditioned to use them, so we must make a compromise on both sides.

But what are the two or three things Godard knows about cinema? Everything there is to know about this young artform. Future filmmakers must take a work of art like this and figure out everything else, because right now we only know two or three things about it.

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Subbuteo
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#5 Post by Subbuteo » Wed Dec 01, 2004 12:22 am

hymalaia2 wrote:One of my favorite films of all time. If not THE favorite. Of course I've always been into city planning so the film was kind of made for me. Nonetheless, I'll be thrilled when this comes out on Criterion. The color use in this film is amazing (as it usually is with Godard).
Well if you can't wait for Criterion to release it, Nouveaux are releasing a number of Godards (inc 2 or 3 things...) in Feb 2005. If they are of the same quality as the recent Bresson discs they will be welcome additions.

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kinjitsu
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481-482 Made in U.S.A. and 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her

#6 Post by kinjitsu » Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:02 pm


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tavernier
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#7 Post by tavernier » Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:03 pm

No Blu?

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domino harvey
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#8 Post by domino harvey » Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:09 pm

Those are some amazing extras, especially considering this is one of Godard's weakest films. Can't wait! =D>

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Barmy
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#9 Post by Barmy » Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:26 pm

Except it's his second best film, after Tout va bien. =P~

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domino harvey
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#10 Post by domino harvey » Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:27 pm

Barmy wrote:Except it's his second best film, after Tout va bien. =P~
Beautiful :lol: :lol:

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ellipsis7
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#11 Post by ellipsis7 » Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:32 pm

The Optimum R2 UK MADE IN USA already has a Colin MacCabe intro & a Karina interview (plus trailer), so whether to double dip or not, that is the question pour moi... The transfer on the Optimum is pretty top notch, so the Criterion should be good also...

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lubitsch
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#12 Post by lubitsch » Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:27 pm

domino harvey wrote:Those are some amazing extras, especially considering this is one of Godard's weakest films. Can't wait!
I find Godard's films generally painful, but this is the one from his classical period that even the biggest fans have serious troubles with. It's one of the very few movies I rated with a 1 at the imdb because it's incoherent to the nth degree. This aside isn't it rather a case for the Eclipse series with some other weaker 60s Godard's? I can't imagine it being a bestseller.

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domino harvey
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#13 Post by domino harvey » Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:36 pm

It's being released on its own because it's a sister film to 2 or 3 Things-- which I think we can all assume is the missing spine number here-- and that film is big among the Godardites. Though honestly I find both equally weak.

razumovsky
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#14 Post by razumovsky » Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:44 pm

Surely this continuing commitment to 1960s Godard indicates that Criterion will have been keen to get their mits on the rights to Weekend, after the demise of New Yorker. If a relatively unknown (though significant) work as Made in USA gets this sort of treatment, then Weekend could well be up for the full, two-disc, Blu-Ray, works. Or is my optimism getting the better of me?

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colinr0380
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#15 Post by colinr0380 » Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:44 pm

Barmy wrote:Except it's his second best film, after Tout va bien. =P~
Don't you mean Letter To Jane? :wink:

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aox
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#16 Post by aox » Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:49 pm

oh man.. Please let them get Week End. I could watch the first hour of that film on loop for the rest of my life.

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ellipsis7
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#17 Post by ellipsis7 » Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:17 pm

domino harvey wrote:It's being released on its own because it's a sister film to 2 or 3 Things-- which I think we can all assume is the missing spine number here-- and that film is big among the Godardites. Though honestly I find both equally weak.
That's my feeling - like he's not giving either his full attention, and he's slightly straining to make his points... Still it's fascinating - just watched it again on the big screen - Karina luminous and captivating as ever... The dryness and calculation of JLG really only really works properly when offset by the natural fluidity, vividness and spontaneity of AK, or another similar like Bardot... The Lorrimer (no.2) published script is worth a read also...

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justeleblanc
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#18 Post by justeleblanc » Thu Apr 16, 2009 6:06 pm

aox wrote:oh man.. Please let them get Week End. I could watch the first hour of that film on loop for the rest of my life.
I hope so too, but that's contingent on their acquiring the rights from the now defunct New Yorker, yes? Or was New Yorker's pulling the DVD out of print a sign that they didn't have the rights anymore?

Is anyone else unnerved that they didnt anounce 2 or 3 things with Made in USA. Or rather.... where is My Life to Live?

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Jeff
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#19 Post by Jeff » Thu Apr 16, 2009 6:15 pm

justeleblanc wrote:Is anyone else unnerved that they didnt anounce 2 or 3 things with Made in USA.
Like Domino said, 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her will clearly be spine 482. If it's not announced in the next couple of days, I would definitely look for it next month.

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domino harvey
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Re: 481 Made in U.S.A.

#20 Post by domino harvey » Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:01 am

To the surprise of no one:

In 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her

In 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (2 ou 3 choses que je sais d’elle) Jean-Luc Godard beckons us ever closer, literally whispering in our ears as narrator. About what? Money, sex, fashion, the city, love, language, war: in a word, everything. Considered by many to be among the legendary French filmmaker’s finest achievements, the film takes as its ostensible subject the daily life of Juliette Janson (Marina Vlady), a housewife from the Paris suburbs who prostitutes herself for extra money. Yet this is only a template for Godard to spin off into provocative philosophical tangents and gorgeous images. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her is perhaps Godard’s most revelatory look at consumer culture, shot in ravishing widescreen color by Raoul Coutard.

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:

- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Archival television interviews: the first featuring Vlady on the set of the film, the second with Godard engaged in debate with a government official on the subject of prostitution
- New video interview with Godard friend Antoine Bourseiller
- A visual essay cataloguing the multiple references in the film
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A new essay by Sasha Frere-Jones

montgomery
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Re: 481-482 Made in U.S.A. and 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her

#21 Post by montgomery » Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:15 am

Oh god, not Sasha Frere-Jones. Probably my least favorite writer on the planet.

cinemartin

Re: 481-482 Made in U.S.A. and 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her

#22 Post by cinemartin » Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:18 am

It seems a wasted opportunity not to have included Godard's sketch from The Oldest Profession on here somewhere. It was shot around the same time and was actually the last thing he made with Karina. It seems like this would be the only appropriate time we would ever see it released. It's available on an OOP VHS, I think, but dubbed in English. I also think the original sketch was made using heavy use of filters, distorting the image so all that appears on screen are colored blobs. Then, the last shot plays clean with no filters. The distributers re-processed the film to decrease the effect against Godard's wishes. I don't know if Criterion could have secured the rights, but I just wanted to vent about a film that will surely slip through the cracks.

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Fiery Angel
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Re: 481-482 Made in U.S.A. and 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her

#23 Post by Fiery Angel » Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:21 am

montgomery wrote:Oh god, not Sasha Frere-Jones. Probably my least favorite writer on the planet.
I nearly gagged as well. At least it's not AW.

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sevenarts
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Re: 481-482 Made in U.S.A. and 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her

#24 Post by sevenarts » Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:31 am

cinemartin wrote:It seems a wasted opportunity not to have included Godard's sketch from The Oldest Profession on here somewhere. It was shot around the same time and was actually the last thing he made with Karina. It seems like this would be the only appropriate time we would ever see it released. It's available on an OOP VHS, I think, but dubbed in English. I also think the original sketch was made using heavy use of filters, distorting the image so all that appears on screen are colored blobs. Then, the last shot plays clean with no filters. The distributers re-processed the film to decrease the effect against Godard's wishes. I don't know if Criterion could have secured the rights, but I just wanted to vent about a film that will surely slip through the cracks.
This is exactly what I'm thinking. This seems like it would've been a great chance to release this short, especially since it also deals with prostitution, like 2 or 3 Things. Now I guess there's not much chance of seeing it on DVD anywhere.

montgomery
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Re: 481-482 Made in U.S.A. and 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her

#25 Post by montgomery » Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:37 am

Fiery Angel wrote:
montgomery wrote:Oh god, not Sasha Frere-Jones. Probably my least favorite writer on the planet.
I nearly gagged as well. At least it's not AW.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I actually prefer Armond White to Sasha Frere-Jones.

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