Made in U.S.A (1966)

In the near future, leftist writer Paula goes from Paris to the French town of Atlantic-Cité when she learns of the death of a former colleague and lover, Richard P. Is she there to ... See full summary »

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard (as JLG)

Writers:

Jean-Luc Godard, Donald E. Westlake (novel) (as Richard Stark)

Stars:

Anna Karina, László Szabó, Jean-Pierre Léaud

Cast

Complete credited 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)

Storyline

In the near future, leftist writer Paula goes from Paris to the French town of Atlantic-Cité when she learns of the death of a former colleague and lover, Richard P. Is she there to investigate? On the surface, faces are beautiful, colors bright, clothes trendy. Beneath, little is clear: some talk to Paula as if she's Alice in Wonderland, corpses pile up, and ideological struggles insert themselves. A murder victim's nephew and a political party's hired hands hover around Paula. Is obscuring things her goal or is it life that's obscure?

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Plot Keywords:

french new wave | nouvelle vague | murder | shot in the head | in joke | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

27 September 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Made in USA

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,125, 11 January 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$81,105, 26 April 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

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...

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Connections

Featured in Film Review: Marianne Faithfull (1968)

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Soundtracks

As Tears Go By
Written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Andrew Loog Oldham
Performed by Marianne Faithfull

User Reviews

Irritating, Perplexing But Somehow Compulsive.

Nothing is every straight-forward in a Godard movie and MADE IN USA is probably as baffling as they get! It's a bizarre tale that confounds logical dissection but if the weirdness of the story and structure sometimes make it a trial to watch, the beautiful late 60s colour photography and the dazzling Anna Karina offer considerable compensation! Quite why Godard wastes so much screen time on a tape recording of left- wing rhetoric can only be imagined. If it was to make a political point, that simply gets lost by overkill and makes one reach for the fast- forward button.

The often curious soundtrack features a passing jet aircraft (or is it an express train?) which always obscures the surname of Karina's mysterious, deceased lover in a fashion that Tarrentino late used to obscure the name of the'The Bride' in KILL BILL.

What's it all about? No idea! But the film, or maybe the style, certainly the luminous Karina, does somehow get under your skin and even though I found it hard to endure on a first viewing I'm increasingly keen to watch it once again . Amongst the mind-boggling strangeness I'm sure I must have missed something vital....now, where is that DVD?