Band of Outsiders (1964) Bande à part (original title)

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writer:

Dolores Hitchens (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

5 August 1964 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Two crooks with a fondness for old Hollywood B-movies convince a languages student to help them commit a robbery.

Plot Keywords:

Alienation | Paris France | Newspaper Headline | Nouvelle Vague | Trio

Cast

Anna Karina	...	Odile
Danièle Girard	...	English Teacher
Louisa Colpeyn	...	Madame Victoria
Chantal Darget	...	Arthur's Aunt
Sami Frey	...	Franz
Claude Brasseur	...	Arthur
Georges Staquet	...	Le légionnaire
Ernest Menzer	...	Arthur's Uncle
Jean-Claude Rémoleux	...	L'élève buveur d'alcool
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michel Delahaye	...	Le portier
Jean-Luc Godard	...	Le narrateur
Monsieur Jojot
Claude Makovski	...	Pupil
Michèle Seghers	...	Student in English Class

Directed by
Jean-Luc Godard		(as JeanLuc Cinéma Godard)

Writing credits
Dolores Hitchens		(novel "Fools' Gold")
Jean-Luc Godard		(scenario) uncredited

Original Music by
Michel Legrand

Cinematography by
Raoul Coutard

Film Editing by
Françoise Collin
Dahlia Ezove
Agnès Guillemot

Makeup Department
Janou Pottier	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Philippe Dussart	....	production manager
Ritta Sarf	....	unit manager
Maurice Urbain	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hélène Kalougine	....	assistant director (as Hélène Kalouguine)
Jean-Paul Savignac	....	assistant director (as JeanClaude Savignac)

Sound Department
Antoine Bonfanti	....	sound
Robert Cambourakis	....	sound assistant
René Levert	....	sound
Jean Philippe	....	sound assistant

Camera and Electrical Department
Fernand Coquet	....	electrician
Pierre Coquet	....	electrician (as Pierrot Coquet)
JeanClaude Duran	....	grip
Bernard Largemain	....	grip
Georges Liron	....	camera operator
Marilù Parolini	....	still photographer (as Marilou Parolini)
Théo Robichet	....	camera operator
Roger Schleich	....	grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Christiane Fageol	....	wardrobe

Other crew
Patricia Finaly	....	office production assistant
Jeanne Marie Olivier	....	office production assistant (as JaneMarie Olivier)
Suzanne Schiffman	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Columbia Films (presents)
• Anouchka Films
• Orsay Films

Distributors

• Columbia Films (1964) (France) (theatrical)
• British Film Institute (BFI) (2001) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Films (1965) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1965) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Royal Films International (1966) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled) (some cut) (replaced to English credit)
• Silver Screen Collection (2008) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Arthaus Filmverleih (2013) (Germany) (DVD) (Jean-Luc Godard Edition 3)
• Atlantic Film (2010) (Finland) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• BFI Video (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2013) (USA) (DVD)
• Pan Vision Oy (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Pathé Contemporary Films (1964) (USA) (subtitled)
• Rialto Pictures (2001) (USA) (re-release)
• Ripley's Home Video (2012) (Italy) (DVD)
• Tobis (2006) (Germany) (DVD) (box-set)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• YLE Teema (2009) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Studios Marignan  acknowledgement (as Marignan)
• S.I.M.O.  sound re-recording
• GTC  sound re-recording (as G. T. C)
• Doubleday  book publisher: New York
• Éditions Gallimard  book publisher: Paris (as Gallimard)

Also Known As:

"Bande à part" - France (original title)

Runtime:

USA:95 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | Portugal:M/12 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Chateau d'Eau, Porte des Lilas, Le Métro, Paris, France

Company:

Columbia Films

Trivia:

The dance has been referred as the 'Madison dance', but bears little resemblance to the real 'Madison' dance.

Goofs:

Continuity: When assaulted by his uncle, Arthur's position changes between shots.

Quotes:

Odile:No, he doesn't come to English class anymore. He says England is done for. He's learning Chinese.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Godard in America (1970)

Soundtrack:

J'entends, j'entends

Good Godard, but not Great Godard

"Band Of Outsiders" covers about the same ground as "Breathless", but I think with less depth and less humor. Godard sticks more to plot here and less to his wonderful scenes of empty talk that are like good jazz riffs. People may respond more to this one than Breathless precisely for that reason- it more fits the conception of an American B-movie: The plot is conceived, designed and carried out with a few twists and turns in the process.

This movie is the most self-referential of Godard's B-ish movies in that Godard is a director who lives in a world of the junk crime movies he grew up with making a movie about characters who live their lives like a bad crime movie. When Anna Karina jokes that Stolz probably made his loot from cheating on his taxes, then repeats it again in the final scene- this time as stated fact, it shows you how deeply these characters are entrenched in the fiction of it all, how the wisecracking becomes a way of living. What was disappointing to me is that there was less of the memorable nonsense that makes Godard's films unique- although there is some. Godard's overwrought, sickly poetic narration is obviously a gag, as is Arthur's hilariously overacted death scene; the minute of silence at the soda shop where Godard cuts the soundtrack completely is great, and the synchronized (well, almost) dancing is just precious, and I loved it. But it's the almostness of Godard's films that makes it special; if it were too perfect, it would be mechanized and dull. Instead of dancing, it would be choreography, an applied science.

Band Of Outsiders is definitely worth seeing if you like Godard's way of filmmaking; to me, it falls a little short of greatness, but it does have its moments. Beware of croc-Odiles! 3*** out of 4