Godard: A Portrait of the Artist at Seventy - Softcover

MacCabe, Colin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747577943 ISBN 13: 9780747577942

Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks, 2004

Synopsis

Jean-Luc Godard's early films revolutionised the language of cinema for everyone, from the "Superbrats of Hollywood" to the political cinema of the Third World. Yet in 1968, he abandoned one of the most brilliant careers in French cinema to pursue his investigations into sound and image on the periphery of the industry he had rejected. Following a protected childhood in Switzerland in the Second World War, the post-war years saw Godard as a troubled adolescent in Paris, where the prescribed courses of the Sorbonne were ignored in favour of the extraordinary teaching of Andre Bazin, the greatest of film critics. In the pages of "Cahiers du Cinema", Godard - together with Truffaut, Rohmer, Rivette and Chabrol - hammered out an aesthetic that would take the world by storm as the young critics swapped pens for cameras at the end of the 1950s to create the cinema of the nouvelle vague. Hugely prolific in his first 10 years - "A Bout de Souffle", "Le Petit Soldat", "Le Mepris," "Pierrot Le Fou", "Alphaville", "Made in USA" and many others all appeared in the 1960s - Godard became and remains one of the most adventurous and enigmatic film-directors at work in the world today.

About this title

Review

'MacCabes's book is in a league of its own this is a rich, rewarding and essential read for anyone seriously interested in the intellectual, cultural and cinematic history of Europe since World War II' Sight and Sound 'What makes this lucid, insightful and generously illustrated book so valuable is that it treats the 'difficult' outings with the same enthusiasm as the nouvelle vague favourites. Deeply impressive' Empire 'Godard fans, practitioners of cinema and anyone interested in the intellectual and artistic life of the second half of the twentieth century should read this important and entertaining book' Observer 'A brilliant biography of the almost forgotten genius of world cinema' JG Ballard, Books of the Year, New Statesman

About the Author

Colin MacCabe teaches at the Universities of Pittsburgh and Exeter, and works as a producer for Minerva Pictures. His most recent book is The Eloquence of the Vulgar. His most recent production is Badassss Cinema. He worked with Godard in the '70s and '80s.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0747577943
• ISBN 13: 9780747577942
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 448