{"id":83921,"date":"2022-05-08T22:47:23","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T05:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=83921"},"modified":"2022-12-24T11:59:25","modified_gmt":"2022-12-24T18:59:25","slug":"alphaville-a-strange-adventure-of-lemmy-caution-1965","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=83921","title":{"rendered":"Alphaville, A Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution (1965)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I see: people have become slaves to probability.&#8221; <\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Poster-225x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-83922\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Poster-225x300.png 225w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Poster-96x128.png 96w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Poster-202x270.png 202w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Poster.png 623w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA secret agent posing as a reporter known as &#8220;Lemmy Caution&#8221; (Eddie Constantine) arrives on the planet of Alphaville hoping to find a missing colleague (Akim Tamiroff), discover the planet&#8217;s creator (Howard Vernon), and destroy its sentient supercomputer; once there, he falls in love with Vernon&#8217;s daughter (Anna Karina) and attempts to teach her the concepts of love and conscience.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Akim Tamiroff Films<\/li>\n<li>Dystopia<\/li>\n<li>French Films<\/li>\n<li>Jean-Luc Godard Films<\/li>\n<li>Journalists<\/li>\n<li>Science Fiction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary writes, in this &#8220;amusing&#8221; film, Jean-Luc Godard &#8220;blends popular lowbrow entertainment &#8212; comic books, pulp fiction, &#8216;B&#8217; detective movies, James Bond, and sci-fi &#8212; with political satire,&#8221; filming the entire futuristic flick (set in &#8220;intersidereal space&#8221;) in &#8220;undisguised modern office buildings and large tourist and small seedy hotels in Paris.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Seedy-Motels.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Seedy-Motels.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-83926\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Seedy-Motels.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Seedy-Motels-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Seedy-Motels-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Seedy-Motels-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He describes Alphaville as a &#8220;computer-run, robotized society where technology has replaced humanity&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Computers.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Computers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-83927\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Computers.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Computers-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Computers-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Computers-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; &#8220;where there is repression\/murder of all who don&#8217;t think logically&#8221;: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Swimming-Pool.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Swimming-Pool.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-83933\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Swimming-Pool.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Swimming-Pool-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Swimming-Pool-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Swimming-Pool-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; &#8220;whose women, like the leader&#8217;s daughter, Natasha (Anna Karina), have numbers tattooed on their backs&#8221;: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Number-on-Back.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Number-on-Back.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-83928\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Number-on-Back.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Number-on-Back-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Number-on-Back-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Number-on-Back-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; &#8220;and function as first-, second-, or third-class prostitutes\/seducers; where words such as &#8216;conscience&#8217; and &#8216;love&#8217; do not exist in its Bible-dictionary.&#8221; He points out that &#8220;picture has the novel twist of having a two-fisted tough guy teaching a sensual female the meaning of &#8216;love'&#8221;: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Constantine-Karina.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Constantine-Karina.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-83932\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Constantine-Karina.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Constantine-Karina-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Constantine-Karina-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Constantine-Karina-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and he notes that while &#8220;the political themes aren&#8217;t that novel,&#8221; &#8220;Godard&#8217;s direction is consistently offbeat and fascinating.&#8221; For instance, he notes that Godard&#8217;s &#8220;use of flickering lights (including those from Lemmy&#8217;s camera), sounds (including a monstrous male voice on a loud-speaker), ominous suspense music, choice settings&#8230;, and sudden, unexpected actions by characters&#8230; makes us feel we&#8217;re in another world whose look and rhythm are different from our own.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Stabbing.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Stabbing.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-83934\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Stabbing.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Stabbing-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Stabbing-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Stabbing-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He posits that while the &#8220;film isn&#8217;t altogether successful,&#8221; it &#8220;has moments of brilliance&#8221; and features &#8220;exceptional cinematography by Raoul Coutard.&#8221; He also notes that &#8220;the casting of &#8216;B&#8217;-movie actor Constantine was inspired&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Constantine.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Constantine.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-83931\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Constantine.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Constantine-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Constantine-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Constantine-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and points out that Akim Tamaroff, playing &#8220;a corrupted ex-agent,&#8221; looks &#8220;like his co-star in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=71600\"><em>Touch of Evil<\/em><\/a>, Orson Welles.&#8221;   <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Lightbulbs.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Lightbulbs.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-83929\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Lightbulbs.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Lightbulbs-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Lightbulbs-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Lightbulbs-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m essentially in agreement with Peary&#8217; assessment of this unexpectedly provocative, typically low-budget Godard film &#8212; one in which, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s549alpha.html\">as DVD Savant puts it<\/a>, &#8220;what we see and what we hear are at constant odds with one another&#8221;. There are enough interesting ideas explored here, in visually creative ways, that it&#8217;s easy to stay engaged; and film fanatics will surely take note of how closely some aspects of this film &#8212; particularly the end &#8212; resemble (and perhaps inspired) Ridley Scott&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=87417\"><em>Blade Runner<\/em> (1982)<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Raoul Coutard&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Faces.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Faces.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-83930\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Faces.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Faces-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Faces-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Alphaville-Faces-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li>A provocative script:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;No one has ever lived in the past; no one will ever live in the future. The present is the form of all life.&#8221;<br \/>\n&#8220;We are unique. Wretchedly unique.&#8221;<br \/>\n&#8220;You shouldn&#8217;t call this dump Alphaville; it&#8217;s Zeroville.&#8221;<br \/>\n&#8220;The present is terrifying because it is irreversible.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a cult favorite. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1458\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0058898\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s549alpha.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.criterion.com\/current\/posts\/38-alphaville\">Criterion Essay<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/67157\/alphaville#articles-reviews?articleId=85861\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/alphaville-1\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I see: people have become slaves to probability.&#8221; Synopsis: A secret agent posing as a reporter known as &#8220;Lemmy Caution&#8221; (Eddie Constantine) arrives on the planet of Alphaville hoping to find a missing colleague (Akim Tamiroff), discover the planet&#8217;s creator (Howard Vernon), and destroy its sentient supercomputer; once there, he falls in love with Vernon&#8217;s daughter (Anna Karina) and attempts to teach her the concepts of love and conscience. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Akim Tamiroff Films Dystopia French Films&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=83921\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83921"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89013,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83921\/revisions\/89013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}