Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writer:

Jean-Luc Godard (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 May 1965 (France)

Genre:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Suddenly the word is Alphaville... and a secret agent is in a breathless race against the Masters of the Future.

Plot:

Lemmy Caution, an American private-eye, arrives in Alphaville, a futuristic city on another planet....

Plot Keywords:

Lemmy Caution | Comic Violence | Ford Mustang | Future | Metropolis

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Eddie Constantine	...	Lemmy Caution
Anna Karina	...	Natacha von Braun
Akim Tamiroff	...	Henri Dickson

Also Known As:

Agente Lemmy Caution, missione Alphaville (Italy)
Alphaville (France)
Alphaville, a Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution
Alphaville, a Strange Case of Lemmy Caution
Dick Tracy on Mars (USA) (informal title)
Tarzan vs. IBM (France) (working title)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Brazil:12 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 (w) | South Korea:15 | Peru:14 | UK:12A (re-rating) (2005) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1994)

Filming Locations:

EDF building, Paris 12, Paris, France

Company:

Athos Films

Trivia:

Professor von Braun's real name, Leonard Nosferatu, is a tribute to F.W. Murnau's silent film, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Just before Lemmy Caution/Ivan Johnson meets Natasha Vonbraun, around 10 minutes into the movie, you can see the crew in the mirror when the camera pans.

Quotes:

Alpha 60: I shall calculate so that failure is impossible.
Lemmy Caution: I shall fight so that failure is possible.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence (2007)

It's not going to appeal to everyone...

Forget about watching this if you have no patience for slow-moving drama, thought-provoking narratives, and/or philosophical discourse.

This film is however unique, virtually impossible to categorize and visually arresting. It's basically a film noir set in an Orwellian future with its lead character using emotion, jokes, philosophy and love to weeds doubts into the rule imposed by a mechanized society of tomorrow....and well it's much more than that too. Recommended to anyone who enjoys the qualities listed in the first paragraph.