Review of Alphaville (1965) by Bryan W — 13 Aug 2010

Godard co-opts France's B-film-series equivalent of Sam Spade (Eddie Constantine) to trenchcoat him through a dystopian city administered by a purely logical, ice-cold computer that brainwashes and drugs citizens into stupidity and mindless compliance. No pathos, no ethos, no asking why, zero tolerance on penalty of death. For society's betterment, of course.

Referencing of modern cities leaves no doubt Alphaville is set within Earth's own future. When Godard shows the viewer a Ford cruising the freeway while also calling it interstellar travel, he doesn't mean Alphaville's on another planet, he means 'believe what you see, not what you're told to believe.'.

So just where IS Alphaville? Constantine represents an out-of-town French/Russian newspaper (Figaro-Pravada). A fellow out-of-towner mumbles in Russian. And Constantine 's seen paying cash in Alphaville with U.S. greenbacks. Let's see now, alpha = A, hmmm, what country COULD seriously-left leaning Godard be referring to?

Use of actual Parisian Mid-Century Modern architecture/decor taunts the 1965 viewer into realizing 'the future is here.' Circles/spirals abound, symbolizing Alphaville's lack of progression and direction.

Clearly within the main lineage of the sci-fi genre, as both intellectual borrowing and lending is apparent: the omnipresent, continually revised dictionary is Orwell-inspired; the murderous, omniscient, calculating machine was adapted by Clarke as he extended his 1948 short story into his "2001: A Space Odyssey" screenplay.

Godard's visionary layering of noir upon the sci-fi genre informed subsequent sci-fi work, eg, "Brazil," "Blade Runner," "1984," "Dark City" and even "Outland." Criterion A+ transfer, zero extras.

RECOMMENDATION: Though rough-edged B&W "Alphaville" totally lacks any of the visual flash of modern sci-fi, its incredibly strong influence makes it required schooling for true fans of the genre.