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Détective (1985)
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Overview
User Rating:
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Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
23 August 1985 (USA)
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Plot:
In a palace of Paris. Two detectives are investigating a two-year-old murder. Emile and Francoise Chenal are putting pressure on Jim Fox Warner...
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Awards:
2 wins
&
1 nomination
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NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Laurent Terzieff obituary
(From The Guardian - Film News. 21 July 2010, 11:00 AM, PDT)
Interview: Julie Delpy
(From ioncinema. 6 August 2007)
(From The Guardian - Film News. 21 July 2010, 11:00 AM, PDT)
Interview: Julie Delpy
(From ioncinema. 6 August 2007)
User Reviews:
Not entirely successful late Godard film
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Cast
(in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification) | Laurent Terzieff | ... | William Prospero |
| Aurelle Doazan | ... | Arielle |
 | Jean-Pierre Léaud | ... | Inspector Neveu |
 | Nathalie Baye | ... | Françoise Chenal |
| Claude Brasseur | ... | Emile Chenal |
 | Johnny Hallyday | ... | Jim Fox Warner |
| Alain Cuny | ... | Old Mafioso |
| Xavier Saint-Macary | ... | Accountant |
| Pierre Bertin | ... | Young Son |
| Alexandra Garijo | ... | Young Daughter |
| Stéphane Ferrara | ... | Tiger Jones |
 | Emmanuelle Seigner | ... | Princess of the Bahamas |
| Eugène Berthier | ... | Old manager |
 | Julie Delpy | ... | Wise young girl |
| Cyrille Dajinckourt | ... | La fille |
| Ann-Gisel Glass | ... | Anne |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
 | Cyrille Autin | ... | Punk Groupie (uncredited) |
 | Erich von Stroheim | ... | Arthur von Furst (archive footage) (uncredited) |
Directed by | |||
| Jean-Luc Godard | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Alain Sarde | (screenplay) & | |
| Philippe Setbon | (screenplay) | |
| Jean-Luc Godard | (adaptation) & | |
| Anne-Marie Miéville | (adaptation) | |
| Richard Debuisne | uncredited | |
Produced by | |||
| Christine Gozlan | .... | producer | |
| Alain Sarde | .... | producer | |
Cinematography by | |||
| Louis Bihi | |||
| Pierre Novion | |||
| Bruno Nuytten | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Marilyne Dubreuil | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Jean-Pierre Eychenne | .... | makeup artist | |
Production Management | |||
| Reynald Calcagni | .... | production manager | |
| Christine Gozlan | .... | production manager | |
Sound Department | |||
| Bernard Chaumeil | .... | sound | |
| Pierre Gamet | .... | sound | |
| Bernard Leroux | .... | sound | |
| François Musy | .... | sound | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Christian Weyers | .... | gaffer | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Philippe Tourret | .... | color timer | |
Music Department | |||
| Emmanuel Chabrier | .... | music: "Joyeuse marche" | |
| Frédéric Chopin | .... | music | |
| Ornette Coleman | .... | music | |
| Arthur Honegger | .... | music | |
| Franz Liszt | .... | music | |
| Franz Schubert | .... | music | |
| Jean Schwarz | .... | music | |
Thanks | |||
| Clint Eastwood | .... | dedicatee | |
| Edgar G. Ulmer | .... | dedicatee | |
Production CompaniesDistributors
- Acteurs Auteurs Associés (AAA) (1985) (France) (theatrical)
- Artificial Eye (1993) (UK) (VHS)
- International Spectrafilm (USA) (subtitled)
- Optimum Releasing (2005) (UK) (DVD) (as Optimum Home Entertainment)
- Raro Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
Additional Details
Also Known As:
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
95 min
Country:
Color:
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Jean-Luc Godard dedicated the film to John Cassavetes, Edgar G. Ulmer and Clint Eastwood.See more »
Quotes:
Old Mafioso:We're not in one of those little French films, where the actors believe talking is thinking.See more »
Movie Connections:
Features Beauty and the Beast (1946)See more »
Soundtrack:
RienziSee more »
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.See more (12 total) »
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Détective (1985)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Which one of the young girls was Julie Delpy? | Dr_Keating |
| Who was the director shown in the old footage towards the end? | Stevenzzz |
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The films in Godard's late (and not yet over) period present some of the greatest challenges to cineasts. Detective is no exception. It is extraordinarily complex in narrative (or, more precisely, anti-narrative), visual composition, and editing structure. Unfortunately, I don't think it's worth it. It's kind of a parody of a detective film (the one in this film is a hotel dick), but it's nearly impossible to figure out what's going on. It can be quite beautiful in its visuals and editing patterns, but never beautiful enough to make it worth seeing. It's not terrible, but, then again, it's not good, either. 6/10
P.S. First off, yes, the little girl IS Julie Delpy, in case you were wondering.
P.P.S. Remember when Martin Scorsese made his version of Cape Fear for MGM because they allowed him to make the highly personal The Last Temptation of Jesus Christ? Well, he may have gotten that idea from Godard. Detective was made as a straight commercial offering to the studio that produced his highly controversial Hail Mary. It's strange to think of Detective as a commercial venture, though!