Alphaville – Jean Luc Godard notes
Characters often look directly in to the camera when talking to each other or reciting monologues - breaking the fourth wall
Anna Karina’s character asks Lemmy Caution “what is that?’ when the subject of love is brought in to coversation
Mise en scene – emphasis on the city of Alphaville
“yes but all we have in life is the present. No one has lived in the past and no one will live in the future” - Anna Karina’s character Natasha von Braun is a “seductress” and also happens to be the daughter of the scientist responsible for Alphaville – relates to the sci-fi theme of the of the film
Robotic beeping noise used throughout
No all action/violence is shown, sometime it is just implied, Lemmy pulls a knife on a man and pulls him in to a room, the guy doesn’t come back out of the room when Lemmy exits therefore it is implied that Lemmy killed him
Lemmy's character is always seen wearing a hat and trench coat which is a common convention of the mystery/action genre – appears like the uniform of a detective, always has a very distinct seriousness to his face - reinforces his position and motive in the film to remain a secret agent and eliminate the creator of Alphaville and the super computer Alpha 60, every shot of him is sure to be accompanied by suspenseful music
Alpha 60 is a super computer that is “150 light years ahead” - immediately after this is said the equation “e - mc2” is flashed on to the screen, at this point this flashes in to the shot three times very quickly and briefly – enough to notice but also could easily be missed in the blink of an eye but this is repeated throughout the film - relates to sci-fi genre
Alphaville is a technological society
Use of creative shadows – characters push a light bulb in a scene which creates the appearance of interesting shadows and creates a distinct contrast between them and the mise en scene of the shot
Women are used as sexual objects – they dote on the men e.g taking off their jackets and tending to their every needs and appear happy to do so - is this how Godard views the future of France ?
The equation e = mc2 is repeated throughout the film – when the man and a “seductress” are in the room with Lemmy the equation appears once again, this time on a poster just before Lemmy's friend "mysteriously" dies in the company of a seductress
“I’m fine thanks don’t mention it” is a phrase repeated by female characters throughout the film ? - appears almost robotic
The deep voice of the narrator appears omniscient – this is revealed to be the computer Alpha 60 “I, Alpha 60”
Use of pictures – drawings
Phrases are often repeated 5/6 times after they are said such as “pretty sphinx”
“nord” (translates to north) appears as a neon sign and is flashed in scene numerous times
Lemmy observes a “ceremony” where people are being shot for doing something which is deemed unacceptable under Alphaville’s rules; a man is condemned to death because he wept when his wife died – comments on fragile masculinity ?
When Lemmy is being attacked by the security guards for trying to speak to the professor we see Lemmy being pushed from side to side – gives the appearance of multiple people hitting him around – again, here the violence is implied but not directly shown
Someone asks Anna Karina's character “are you crying?” to which she replies “no because that is forbidden” - reinforces the idea that emotions are forbidden under Alpha 60 rule
Alpha 60 asks “Do you know what turns darkness in to light?” Lemmy replies “poetry” - this is a comment directly from Godard about his passion for poetry – follows the auetur theory
Alphaville - dystopian technological dictatorship, people live purely by logic, devoid of emotion on the command of the computer Alpha 60
George Orwell's 1984 novel contains a dystopian society very similar to that of Alphaville, means to limit the freedom of speech of all citizens
Entire film was shot in Paris using natural darkness without a lighting studio - visually very dark
political oppression from totalitarian societies
The violence in Alphaville does not reflect what the audience see or hear - while someone is being killed we see women in swimsuits and while Agent Caution is fighting in his hotel room we hear happy classical music
Anna Karina's character Natasha represents the light in the dark depths of Alphaville - one of the elements that oppose the theme of the darkness and oppression
The conversations that take place between Natasha von Braun and Agent Caution demonstrate breaking the fourth wall which makes it appear unsettling and unusual and also makes us more intrigued by her character as this is a contrast to the rest of film
Use of negative footage illustrates how Lemmy has flipped Alphaville and what appeared dark now appears light which visually is very easy to acknowledge from the sharp white picture created from the negative footage - white signifies the freedom from the oppression of Alpha 60
Godard's answer to the bleak and corrupt world of Alphaville is poetry, the power of personal expression and creativity which was not present in the futuristic city in Paris
Alphaville's use of location shooting and buildings situates us not in an unrealistic future but one that is a very realistic view of what the present could look like
Alphaville has heavy references to pop culture and eroticism that would be very familiar to the viewer - Godard is expressing a bitterness towards the future of France as well as for mankind which stems from the dehumanisation of individuals which was a very relevant concern for France at the time as it was facing an identity crisis in the 60's and 70's, individuals were very concerned about their future as well as many questions being raised about the rise of global technology in computing
Godard shows optimism for the future as she is shown finally speaking freely from the rule of Alpa 60 while driving away from Alphaville and hopefully moving on to a better life
Questions remain throughout - what is love? is it right to question our own existence?
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