Alphaville (1965)

A U.S. secret agent is sent to the distant space city of Alphaville where he must find a missing person and free the city from its tyrannical ruler.

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writer:

Jean-Luc Godard

Stars:

Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Akim Tamiroff

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Eddie Constantine	...	Lemmy Caution
Anna Karina	...	Natacha von Braun
Akim Tamiroff	...	Henri Dickson (as Akim Tamirof)

Storyline

Lemmy Caution, an American private-eye, arrives in Alphaville, a futuristic city on another planet. His very American character is at odds with the city's ruler, an evil scientist named Von Braun, who has outlawed love and self-expression.

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Plot Keywords:

dystopia | french new wave | satire | comic violence | surrealism | 

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Taglines:

Berlin Festival Award Winner (Best Picture)

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French English

Release Date:

5 May 1965 (France)

Also Known As:

Dick Tracy on Mars

Filming Locations:

EDF building, Paris 12, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$220,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,298, 7 February 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$46,585, 30 May 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

André Michelin Productions, Filmstudio, Chaumiane

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

Towards the beginning, the term "light years" is used as if it were a measure of time, when actually it is a measure of distance.

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Quotes

Lemmy Caution: This isn't a bible, this is a dictionary!
Natacha Von Braun: Aren't they the same in the outlands?

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Crazy Credits

Before the credits, Godard adds one letter at a time to compose the word "fin"--"i"..."in"..."fin"--as though to suggest "I, in the end."

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Alternate Versions

In the original French version, the voice of the computer Alpha 60 sounds harsh and throaty as if produced by belching. One English-dubbed version gives the computer a more typical computer-like voice.

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Connections

Referenced in Mauvais Sang (1986)

User Reviews

Minimalism is not a crime

Alphaville is an attack on the syndrome of Science Fiction films full of flash and color but devoid of ideas. They intentionally took an "Our Town" attitude toward special effects -- e.g. driving along in a car, with dialog indicating that they're in a spaceship; commenting on how beautiful the stars look when you can't see anything but the glare of streetlights, and so on. If there's a problem with this movie, it's that the ideas themselves are perhaps not really all that strong; the notion of a dystopian city ruled by an all powerful computer just doesn't seem that heavy, not even taken as some sort of symbolic allegory; but on the whole I think SF cinema would be in much better shape if it had learned the lesson of Alphaville (think "La Jette"). Minimalism is not a crime, which is why I find it very annoying that I need to babble for another couple of lines to convince IMDb.com that I've said enough to be worth logging as a movie review.