Everything is cinema: the working life of Jean-Luc Godard

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Choice Reviews Online · 2009 · 109 citations · 0 references

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TL;DR

The biography examines how Jean‑Luc Godard merged filmmaking ideals with autobiography and current events, reshaping cinema and positioning him as a key, enigmatic influence in the modern canon. The book aims to demystify Godard and his work through hundreds of interviews. Brody traces Godard’s career from early critical writings, through the success of *Breathless*, to his later vision, while noting his technical innovations and the postwar political forces. The study confirms Godard’s greatness and demonstrates that his films have left a lasting mark on screens worldwide.

Abstract

A landmark biography explores the crucial resonances among the life, work, and times of one of the most influential filmmakers of our ageWhen Jean-Luc Godard wed the ideals of filmmaking to the realities of autobiography and current events, he changed the nature of cinema. Unlike any earlier films, Godard's work shifts fluidly from fiction to documentary, from criticism to art. The man himself also projects shifting images--cultural hero, fierce loner, shrewd businessman. Hailed by filmmakers as a--if not the--key influence on cinema, Godard has entered the modern canon, a figure as mysterious as he is indispensable.In Everything Is Cinema, critic Richard Brody has amassed hundreds of interviews to demystify the elusive director and his work. Paying as much attention to Godard's technical inventions as to the political forces of the postwar world, Brody traces an arc from the director's early critical writing, through his popular success with Breathless, to the grand vision of his later years. He vividly depicts Godard's wealthy conservative family, his fluid politics, and his tumultuous dealings with women and fellow New Wave filmmakers.Everything Is Cinema confirms Godard's greatness and shows decisively that his films have left their mark on screens everywhere.