Essentially a film about the threat of dehumanization in a technological society, Alphaville follows Lemmy Caution as he tries to locate a missing colleague from a city controlled by a power-hungry scientist and his super computer, Alpha 60. Caution's tour guide in this brave new world is Nastasha Von Braun (Anna Karina), a robotic slave of the system. In a plot twist that parodies the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Caution saves Nastasha from her preprogrammed existence and brings her back to the land of the living, an ending that anticipates the climax of Blade Runner (1982).
Filmed in Paris in the winter of 1965, Alphaville takes full advantage of the city's most futuristic buildings. The snail-shaped Maison de la Radio, the wing-topped Palais des Expositions at the Rond-Point de la Defense, and the office of Les Machines Bull (a computer company) make ideal locations for Raoul Coutard's dramatic contrasts in neon and total blackness. The fragmented music score by Paul Misraki also adds immeasurably to Godard's futuristic vision, which now seems more topical than ever.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Producer: Andre Michelin
Screenplay: Jean-Luc Godard, Peter Cheyney (novel)
Cinematography: Raoul Coutard
Editing: Agnes Guillemot
Music: Paul Misraki
Cast: Eddie Constantine (Lemmy Caution), Anna Karina (Natasha Von Braun), Akim Tamiroff (Henri Dickson), Laszlo Szabo (Doctor), Howard Vernon (Professor Von Braun).
In French with English subtitles
BW-100m.
by Jeff Stafford
