Made in U.S.A (1966)

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writers:

Jean-Luc Godard
Donald E. Westlake (novel)

Release Date:

27 September 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

Plot:

Set in the near future, Paula, a leftist writer, goes from Paris to the French town of Atlantic-Cité...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Shot In The Head | Experimental Film | Suspicion | Foreign Language Adaptation

Cast

Anna Karina	...	Paula Nelson (as AK)
László Szabó	...	Richard Widmark (as LS)
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Donald Siegel (as JPL)
Marianne Faithfull	...	Marianne Faithfull (as MF)
Yves Afonso	...	David Goodis (as YA)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Claude Bakka	...	Man with Marianne Faithfull (uncredited)
Daniel Bart	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Jean-Pierre Biesse	...	Richard Nixon (uncredited)
Jean-Claude Bouillon	...	Inspector Aldrich (uncredited)
Fernand Coquet	...	Bill Poster (uncredited)
Marc Dudicourt	...	Barman (uncredited)
Rémo Forlani	...	Workman in bar (uncredited)
Eliane Giovagnoli	...	Dental Assistant (uncredited)
Jean-Luc Godard	...	Richard Politzer (voice) (uncredited)
Sylvain Godet	...	Robert MacNamara (uncredited)
Anne Guegan	...	Girl in Bandages (uncredited)
Kyôko Kosaka	...	Doris Mizoguchi (uncredited)
Philippe Labro	...	Himself (uncredited)
Rita Maiden	...	Woman Who Gives Paula Information (uncredited)
Ernest Menzer	...	Edgar Typhus (uncredited)
Miguel	...	Dentist (uncredited)
Jean-Philippe Nierman	...	Note-Taking Policeman (uncredited)
Danielle Palmero	...	Hotel Chambermaid (uncredited)
Marika Perioli	...	Girl With Dog (uncredited)
Alexis Poliakoff	...	Man With Notebook and Red Telephone (uncredited)
Isabelle Pons	...	Provincial Journalist (uncredited)
Philippe Pouzenc	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Roger Scipion	...	Dr. Korvo (uncredited)

Directed by
Jean-Luc Godard

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean-Luc Godard
Donald E. Westlake		novel "The Jugger" (as Richard Stark)

Produced by
Georges de Beauregard	....	producer
Clément Steyaert	....	producer

Cinematography by
Raoul Coutard

Film Editing by
Françoise Collin
Agnès Guillemot

Production Management
René Demoulin	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Claude Bakka	....	assistant director
Charles L. Bitsch	....	assistant director
Jean-Pierre Léaud	....	assistant director
Philippe Pouzenc	....	assistant director

Sound Department
René Levert	....	sound
Jacques Maumont	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Georges Liron	....	camera operator
Roger Robert	....	key grip

Editorial Department
Geneviève Letellier	....	assistant editor

Production Companies

• Anouchka Films
• Rome Paris Films
• S.E.P.I.C.

Distributors

• Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France (1966) (France) (theatrical)
• Pathé Contemporary Films (1967) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2010) (Germany) (DVD)
• Raro Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD) (boxed set)
• Rialto Pictures (2008) (USA) (all media)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:6 | Portugal:M/12 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Anouchka Films

Trivia:

The characters are all named after filmmakers, actors, writers and political figures. Examples: David Goodis (pulp writer), Doris Mizoguchi (named after directer Kenji Mizoguchi), Donald Siegel (director), Paul Widmark (named after actor Richard Widmark) etc...

Movie Connections:

References Tweetie Pie (1947)

Soundtrack:

As Tears Go By

Godard's Big Sleep

Made in U.S.A. (1966)

** (out of 4)

Jean-Luc Godard's homage to American film noir has a mysterious woman (Anna Karina) trying to figure out who killed her former lover. The woman travels throughout France questioning various men trying to figure out who was behind the murder while the viewer tries to figure out why they're bothering watching the film. There's no question that Godard is a legend of the screen but there's also no question that many, many people hate him. Hate's too strong of a word but I do admit that I think the director likes to be frustrating and the more people he makes mad I'm sure the happier he is. The story itself really isn't all that interesting and I found it funny that Godard had said in interviews that he was influenced by the Humphrey Bogart classic THE BIG SLEEP. The two films have very little in common and I'd say there's also very little homage to the classic noirs of the 40s and 50s. For the most part the film succeeds in being weird but like most Godard movie it's still well-made no matter how silly, boring and stupid it gets. I think what I liked most about the film were the colors that Godard uses on our main character. When we first see her she's wearing a multi-color dress and throughout the movie her wardrobe is clearly the most interesting and entertaining thing on the screen. I liked the way Godard used this colors to really light up the scene just like filmmakers would use shadow and fog to bring to life their noirs. The story itself I found to be very uninteresting and there wasn't a single second where I cared what was going on and I certainly didn't care who killed the former lover. I'm sure some Godard fans would say that was what the director was going for and I'd personally believe this but at the same time I just don't fall into the group who believes you can be pointless and unconventional and make it entertaining. The performances are pretty good for what they are but none of them really jump out at you. The film has fun mentioning earlier films and we even get Bogart's name thrown up and one character is named Richard Widmark. MADE IN U.S.A. is a film that I'm sure has some fans but I found it rather hard to sit through even though it's well-made.