512 Vivre sa vie

[swo17]

That was a pretty good joke, but you made just one mistake--now we know where you live.

[domino harvey]

Enjoy your fifty subscriptions to Nylon

[Michael Kerpan]

Looking at the screen capture comparisons, I am surprised (and pleased) at just how (uncharacteristically) good a transfer the original US DVD was, given its source. (I always thought it looked pretty good -- even on my now retired system).

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I think Fox Lorber used Criterion's LD master for their disc, which is why it turned out better than their Pierrot le fou (ugh).

[Napier]

Enjoy your fifty subscriptions to Nylon

And free Viagra samples

[perkizitore]

Wait, doesn't this happen if you provide someone with your e-mail address?

[cdnchris]

Blu-ray
DVD

[Ashirg]

DVD Savant

[dad1153]

Saw "Vivre Sa Vie" on Criterion Blu-ray for the first time over the weekend. Even though I already know that Godard is a prick that inserts barriers of movie trickery between an audience and his cinematic narratives (yes, I know that's his Mise-en-scène) "Vivre Sa Vie" left a terrible first impression. 'F#%&ing A$$hole' I said outloud at the end, thinking I watched a potentially great movie being sabotaged by its own creator because what happens to Nana at the end still shocked the hell out of me even though it was foreshadowed early on (yes, I'm slow). I haven't felt so shook-up by a 'that's it?' ending since "An American Werewolf in London" made me feel like Landis was up on-screen flipping me (and the audience) the bird. 'You just don't end a movie like this with such blatant 'FU' roughness' I thought, hot and bothered in my air conditioner-less apartment.

I slept on it and the following morning I gave "Vivre Sa Vie" a second and third viewing (the last with commentary) but by the end of the 2nd viewing I was already a convert. Once I had Jean-Luc's intellectual minefield pattern memorized I could concentrate on both following Nana's downward spiral (with her eyes wide open about her decisions) and admire her beauty (has a B&W movie ever made a woman look as beautiful as Godard and Raoul Coutard do to Karina in "Vivre Sa Vie"?). Godard (as the voice of the young man Nana falls in love with) reading that Poe poem to (and about) his relationship with then-wife Anna Karina is a moment of sublime blending of fiction and reality, especially with our knowledge (as an audience) of where that relationship went. Turns out the 'potentially great movie' I thought was sabotaged by Godard had been there all along, I was just too focused on the sand kicked in my face to see the forest that was right in front of me. Criterion's bonus features along with an excellent high-def transfer make this an early contender for best BD of the year.

[HistoryProf]

I'm very early in my exposure to Godard, and frankly did not like Tout va Bien at all, was generally unmoved by Contempt, but did enjoy Breathless quite a bit. But I keep looking at grabs of this on blu and I'm quite drawn to it...the film just LOOKS amazing even as stills, to the extent that i am practically salivating at the chance to see it in motion. So I wonder if the many more seasoned viewers here can give a neophyte advice on this one. It is on top of my blind buy list right now, and have some border's bucks to use em or lose em. Is this a film where the visuals are distracting to the extent that they draw the viewer away from what's happening? Or more of a narrative string of vignettes that simply convey the tragic story of Anna's decline? Is it as beautiful and mesmerizing as the images on beaver and here suggest?

In short, would this be a good re-entry for someone who enjoyed Breathless, but strayed to far ahead and was put off by some post-Week End work - especially considering the good reports on the commentary among the overall wealth of extras that can be mined for further context and help to further appreciate the work? I WANT to appreciate Godard, and I know it takes a bit of work up front, but I was extremely disappointed in Tout va bien and just annoyed by Germany Year 90 and thus left a bit jaded. Yet this seems like the perfect film to wade back in. I suspect i'll be someone who never "gets" his post '67 stuff...but there seems to be a lot to enjoy in the incredible flurry of work prior to that shift. Something about this seems to be calling me....should I answer? So far comments seem to take for granted that everyone's seen it...so I'd love to hear more discussion and thoughts from those who loved it, hated it, or anything in between.

[Tom Hagen]

I think you'll find a good number of people -- Roger Ebert perhaps foremost among them -- who greatly admire his early New Wave movies like Breathless and Vivre sa vie, only to generally lose interest in Godard circa 1965. I can understand that reaction. In some ways, I empathize with it. I don't know if Vivre sa vie would necessarily change your orientation to Godard, but I would strongly recommend it for its own sake. It's a great film.

[dad1153]

HistoryProf, I'm on the same boat as you. I've only seen five Godards ("Breathless," "Vivre Sa Vie," "Contempt," "Band of Outsiders" and "Pierrot...") but, unlike you, I'm saving my viewing of the post-late 60's radicalized Godard movies until I watch as many of his 60's movies as I can. Of these I'd say "Vivre Sa Vie" is the better-looking of his B&W films by virtue that it's subject matter and primary focus is Anna Karina's character; seriously, when the camera focuses on this woman she fills the 1:33:1 frame with such lovely detail it's like a Discovery Channel HD nature special focusing on the money shot, except it's an actress married to the director pretending to be a whore (which she kind-of is... for her acting craft!). It was a very rough first viewing for me but, if you put the time to watch the movie again, read the booklet and sample the viewing-enhancing bonus features, there's no reason why "Vivre Sa Vie" shouldn't win you over. Ask yourself, why would Criterion release this Godard movie on Blu-ray if it didn't merit such deluxe treatment? The company is picky about what it releases on Blu so there must be a reason why this particular B&W Godard got the high-def treatment that's been denied to other B&W Godard's ("Band of Outsiders") or colorful scope flicks ("2 or 3 Things I Know About Her," "Made in U.S.A.," etc.) and which "Breathless" will be getting soon. I'm just saying: look at the road signs pointing one way and buy safely.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Is this a film where the visuals are distracting to the extent that they draw the viewer away from what's happening? Or more of a narrative string of vignettes that simply convey the tragic story of Anna's decline? Is it as beautiful and mesmerizing as the images on beaver and here suggest?

Oh no, it's still a movie despite the signature Godardian elements we know and love. It's not like you'd be better served by a Vivre flipbook of stills from the film. If anything, Coutard proves his mettle by making such images that individually look so great but also add up to Godard's vision. Karina then helps glue it together. As Tom said, it's a great film for its own sake. This is not one of those pretty yet vapid art house films we're usually accustomed to seeing. You could do a lot worse than blind buy this movie - believe the hype!

[Guido]

I'm now a big Godard fan, but I admit that I found him detestable in my early attempts to sit through the 59-65 films. Despite their, let's say, highly athletic approaches, both Breathless and Bande à part quickly bored me - I never made it past the 20 minute mark. A combination of things eventually turned me around - blind-buying Contempt and Tout va bien(!) - but it was Vivre sa vie that really sealed the deal. The narrative structure, the austerity of the shots, Karina (of course)...everything finally fell into place. Not having seen it in years, I can't wait to pick up the Blu.

[bluesea]

Are there two short portions of speech that were silenced in this version? Only watched it once when it first came out, but it occurs in the motel/menage a troi scene, and I think in the Liz Taylor/pool room scene.

[Noiretirc]

......Only watched it once when it first came out........

Good God I thought I was old, but you first watched this the year I was born.

I'm now a big Godard fan, but I admit that I found him detestable in my early attempts to sit through the 59-65 films. Despite their, let's say, highly athletic approaches, both Breathless and Bande à part quickly bored me - I never made it past the 20 minute mark. A combination of things eventually turned me around - blind-buying Contempt and Tout va bien(!) - but it was Vivre sa vie that really sealed the deal. The narrative structure, the austerity of the shots, Karina (of course)...everything finally fell into place. Not having seen it in years, I can't wait to pick up the Blu.

So now you love both Breathless and Bande à part? I'm interested in knowing if the turnaround for you includes the later Godards, ie 80s-00s works.

I wonder if anyone here began with the later Godards, then worked their way to the 60s? I'd love to hear such experiences.

[Noiretirc]

Stunning. I can't wait until my copy arrives so that I can chuck my Fox Lorber DVD straight into the trash can.

Trash Can
1655 Arden Rd
Courtenay BC, Canada
V9N 9K4

Hey Matt. How's things?

[Guido]

I wonder if anyone here began with the later Godards, then worked their way to the 60s? I'd love to hear such experiences.

I largely associate late-Godard works with my first real commitment to cinema, though one which was developed alone, outside of academia. Of course, I had been acquainted with the 60s films (Contempt and Vivre sa vie in particular), but it really was Tout va bien that provoked me the most (naturally), and which forced me to delve not only into the rest of Godard's oeuvre, but to film history, criticism and scholarship in general. (I can still remember blind-buying it at Future Shop, stunned by the fact that such a shithole would carry it, and worried about whether or not my $40 would be well spent). I won't claim to have digested Tout va bien, but it dared me to struggle with other films that I would have otherwise left unwatched. After this, I worked through Godard's films by picking a few from opposite chronological ends (Notre Musique vs. Une femme est une femme/Hail Mary vs. Pierrot le fou), and making my way towards the middle (at which point I had another epiphany with Numéro Deux). Perhaps unorthodox to some, but highly effective to me.

So you now love both Breathless and Bande à part?

Of course!

[harry]

I'm introducing this film next week and was wondering if anyone could verify or comment on the article by Jean Collet, "An Audacious Experiment", included in Criterion's release. His claims for the film ("This is no doubt the first sound film shot outside a studio and involving no sound editing") seem unlikely to me, but Criterion's credibility and implicit endorsement make me wonder to what extent the article is correct and / or at all meaningful to a fuller understanding of the film's project.

[ShowsOn]

...to what extent the article is correct and / or at all meaningful to a fuller understanding of the film's project.

Vivre sa vie is an excellent example of a film that uses parametric narration. Many scenes in the film feature two people having a conversation with each conversation filmed in a different way. There's a good analysis of the film's peculiar use of narration in this book.

[ShowsOn]

The aesthetic is very imaginative, and plays with notions of "live" and "recorded" in a Brechtian way but I think it's strictly incorrect to call the soundtrack "unedited".

The way the music harshly clunks in and out during the opening credits seems designed to bring attention to the process of sound editing right at the start of the film.

[tojoed]

Exactly! I wonder if Godard specifically asked Michel Legrand to write a two bar "theme" for Vivre to specifically not end on a cadence.

Legrand says that he was asked to write a theme and 11 variations, which he did. Godard then took the music and used just the first eight bars of the first variation repeatedly throughout the film. He doesn't say anything more specific about cadences.
The "theme and 11" can be heard on a CD, Michel Legrand - Nouvelle Vague.

... I gave him my music. And he appropriated it, meaning he played with it; he manipulated it, cut it up, stuck it together again upside down and made the silences longer....It was a kind of recreational re-creation, always intelligent and inventive.

[ShowsOn]

Legrand says that he was asked to write a theme and 11 variations, which he did.

That's interesting, so that possibly means initially he was going to use a different variation for each 'scene'.

[ShowsOn]

So I think the idea of "variations" is simply a fancy way of saying rising and falling key progressions. Which is also a very classical trope for Classic Hollywood scores from the American greats, for instance.

Most of Bernard Herrmann's music has an unsettling sound because it doesn't resolve itself in the standard ways.

[otis]

His claims for the film ("This is no doubt the first sound film shot outside a studio and involving no sound editing") seem unlikely to me

Jean-Marie Straub cites Flaherty's Man of Aran and Renoir's Toni as early direct sound films - weren't both of them shot entirely on location? He also mentions La Chienne, La Nuit du carrefour, plus Rossellini's La Voix humaine ("...you can hear the dolly moving. That is very beautiful.") and Il Miracolo, but I think these were done at least in part in the studio.