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Alphaville

Original title: Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution
  • 19651965
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
25K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (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.
Play trailer1:27
1 Video
67 Photos
  • Drama
  • Mystery
  • Sci-Fi

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.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.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.

IMDb RATING
7.0/10
25K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Jean-Luc Godard
  • Writers
    • Jean-Luc Godard
    • Paul Éluard(poem "Capitale de la douleur")
  • Stars
    • Eddie Constantine
    • Anna Karina
    • Akim Tamiroff
Top credits
  • Director
    • Jean-Luc Godard
  • Writers
    • Jean-Luc Godard
    • Paul Éluard(poem "Capitale de la douleur")
  • Stars
    • Eddie Constantine
    • Anna Karina
    • Akim Tamiroff
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 135User reviews
    • 107Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Re-release Trailer
    Trailer 1:27
    Re-release Trailer

    Photos67

    Eddie Constantine in Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
    Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina in Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
    Eddie Constantine in Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
    Eddie Constantine in Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
    Anna Karina in Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
    Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina in Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
    Anna Karina in Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
    Anna Karina in Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
    Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina in Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
    Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina in Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
    Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina in Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
    "ALPHAVILLE". Jean-LucGodard, Anna Karina, Pathe, 1965. I.V.

    Top cast

    Edit
    Eddie Constantine
    Eddie Constantine
    • Lemmy Cautionas Lemmy Caution
    Anna Karina
    Anna Karina
    • Natacha von Braunas Natacha von Braun
    Akim Tamiroff
    Akim Tamiroff
    • Henri Dicksonas Henri Dickson
    Valérie Boisgel
    • 2nd Seductress Third Classas 2nd Seductress Third Class
    • (uncredited)
    Jean-Louis Comolli
    • Prof. Jeckellas Prof. Jeckell
    • (uncredited)
    Michel Delahaye
    Michel Delahaye
    • von Braun's Assistantas von Braun's Assistant
    • (uncredited)
    Jean-André Fieschi
    • Prof. Heckellas Prof. Heckell
    • (uncredited)
    Christa Lang
    Christa Lang
    • 1st Seductress Third Classas 1st Seductress Third Class
    • (uncredited)
    Jean-Pierre Léaud
    Jean-Pierre Léaud
    • Breakfast Waiteras Breakfast Waiter
    • (uncredited)
    László Szabó
    László Szabó
    • Chief Engineeras Chief Engineer
    • (uncredited)
    Howard Vernon
    Howard Vernon
    • Prof. Leonard Nosferatu - aka von Braunas Prof. Leonard Nosferatu - aka von Braun
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Jean-Luc Godard
    • Writers
      • Jean-Luc Godard
      • Paul Éluard(poem "Capitale de la douleur") (uncredited)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —Gene Volovich <volovich@netcom.com>
    • dystopia
    • french new wave
    • surrealism
    • neo noir
    • absurdism
    • 59 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • The strange adventure of Lemmy Caution - secret agent of the future
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Mystery
      • Sci-Fi
      • Thriller
    • Certificate
      • Not Rated
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The line by Alpha60 that begins "Time is the substance of which I am made" is paraphrased from the 1946 essay "A New Refutation of Time" by famous Argentinean writer and fantasist Jorge Luis Borges, which reads: "Our destiny is not frightful by being unreal; it is frightful because it is irreversible and iron-clad. Time is the substance I am made of. Time is a river which sweeps me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger which destroys me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire which consumes me, but I am the fire. The world, unfortunately, is real; I, unfortunately, am Borges."
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      Alpha 60: Once we know the number one, we believe that we know the number two, because one plus one equals two. We forget that first we must know the meaning of plus.

    • 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."
    • 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.
    • Connections
      Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Une vague nouvelle (1999)

    User reviews135

    Review
    Top review
    Weirder and weirder...
    If one had to use just one word to sum up Alphaville¸that word would have to be weird. It is a film that constantly challenges our preconceptions, our expectations, and, as a result, manages to be both deeply disturbing and very funny at the same time.

    The film begins as what appears to be a pastiche of the American detective movie of the 1950s, but then suddenly takes a dive into the Twilight Zone. What follows is a perplexing 100 minutes of cinema that manages to be classic film noir, imaginative science-fiction, an action-packed and suspenseful thriller and - most surprisingly of all - a very entertaining black comedy, in the mould of Dr Strangeglove. By trying to blend so many contrasting elements, the result could have easily been a disaster. That the films succeeds, and succeeds admirably, is down largely to two factors.

    Firstly, Eddy Constantine plays the part of Lemmy Caution, the private detective, throughout with total conviction, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he is playing a complete parody (and a very funny one) of a character he had made his own in the preceding decade. In the 1950s, Constantine played the hard-nosed detective in a series of French films of the traditional American detective genre. It would have been very easy for a lesser actor to ham the part up or downplay the character, but Constantine does neither, and the result is utterly brilliant.

    We have a familiar character transposed from a familiar milieu into a parallel universe, where everything appears to be superficially familiar but then is shown to be a distortion of what we see in our own world - a kind of Humphrey Bogart through the Looking Glass. Over and over again, we are surprised at how easily we are tripped up and misled by our own preconceptions. This would not have been possible without a strong central character who is firmly anchored in our world - and Eddy Constantine serves this purpose brilliantly. The fact that he works so well with his co-star, the superb and very stylish Anna Karina, is a bonus.

    Secondly, Alphaville's creator, Godard, appears to be at the height of his powers as a director. He shows complete mastery of the revolutionary cinematographic techniques which he thrust onto an unsuspecting world in the early years of the New Wave (the late 1950s). Far more accessible than some of Godard's contemporary films (such as La Chinoise and Weekend), the style is nonetheless distinctive and fresh, somehow giving the film an extra dimension that constantly surprises and entertains. Godard is also responsible for the script, an adaptation of a novel by Peter Cheyney, where he manages, quite cleverly, to draw parallels between the futuristic soulless society of Alphaville and contemporary France. (There are more than a few direct statements to suggest that Godard regards his own country as Alphaville - for example the infamous HLM joke. Godard appears to see France ending up as an isolationist state, seeming to have imperialistic ambitions, with its language under strict state control - not an uncommon caricature of the country in the latter years of the 20th century.)

    Popular concerns about the impact of computer technology on society are also exploited by Godard who suggests that widespread dehumanisation and total state control will be the outcome.

    Paul Misraki's enigmatic background music adds to the eerie other-wordly atmosphere of the ensemble.

    Overall, an amazing film that never ceases to surprise and shock. A dark and very frightening thriller, a comic pastiche of detective films, a love story, a sci-fi movie with a power-mad (and asthmatic) computer... how Godard managed to pull this one off is probably one of the great mysteries of cinema history. Watch, listen, laugh and be amazed.
    helpful•83
    19
    • jameswtravers
    • Jun 24, 2000

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 5, 1965 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Italy
    • Languages
      • French
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Dick Tracy on Mars
    • Filming locations
      • Esso tower, La Défense, Hauts-de-Seine, France
    • Production companies
      • André Michelin Productions
      • Filmstudio
      • Chaumiane
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $220,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $47,696
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $7,298
      • Feb 9, 2014
    • Gross worldwide
      • $47,696
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 39 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

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