French auteur Jean-Luc Godard continues his fascination with the crime genre--after BREATHLESS and BAND OF OUTSIDERS--with PIERROT LE FOU. After escaping his stale, bourgeois marriage, Ferdinand Griffon (Jean-Paul Belmondo), a man on the run, encounters a captivating woman, Marianne (Godard's then-wife, Anna Karina). Striking up an immediate connection, the two begin a freewheeling affair that leads them to the Mediterranean Sea. There's one slight problem, though. Marianne is being pursued by a group of bloodthirsty mobsters who have chased her out of Algeria. Making matters worse for Ferdinand is the unfortunate fact that she turns out to be as much of a headache as his wife was, constantly referring to him as "Pierrot," much to his disdain. As their relationship reaches its boiling point, the hit men arrive, threatening to terminate both their relationship and their lives. Based on Lionel White's OBSESSION, PIERROT LE FOU is an example of a filmmaker's lack of preparation actually working to his benefit. Godard has said that he had no script on which to proceed, forcing him to make up the film as he went along. It is this seemingly improvised, brisk pacing--in addition to the performances of Belmondo and Karina--that makes the film such a fresh and original twist on an oft-mimicked genre.
Filmed on location in Hyeres and Paris, France.
Originally shot in Techniscope, a widescreen process.
The film was nominated for the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion award in 1965.
Originally shot in Techniscope, a widescreen process.
DVD Features:
2-Disc Set
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital Mono 1.0 - French
Subtitles - English - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Trailers: Theatrical Trailer
Featurette:
1. "A Pierrot Primer" (with audio commentary by Jean-Pierre Gorin)
2. "Godard, L'amour, La Poesie"
Interviews:
1. Anna Karina - Star
2. Jean-Luc Godard - Director; Anna Karina, Jean-Paul Belmondo - Stars (archival)
Additional Products:
Booklet
Cameo
Samuel Fuller: Prolific cult auteur
Director of Photography
Raoul Coutard: French Director Of Photography/Director
Review 1:
"Godard here goes a step further by insisting that the viewer always be aware that it is fantasy he or she is watching. It's a stance that pays off in layered meanings and intricate implications."
Source: Los Angeles Times
08/10/2007
Review 2:
"[I]t's the push and pull between a profoundly felt classicism and the ephemeral sense of immediacy that makes this apparently ad hoc offering such a full meal."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.98 05/01/2008
Review 3:
"Jean-Luc Godard's long-unavailable road movie is the most visually dazzling film to emerge from the French New Wave." -- Grade: A-
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.80 02/22/2008
Shopping Cart:
