Legendary French Filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard Dies At 91
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Jean-Luc Godard, considered one of the pioneers of French New Wave Cinema in the 1960s, died on September 13, 2022, at the age of 91.
Bursting on the scene in 1960 with Breathless (À bout de souffle), Godard started a run of renowned releases that rewrote the rules of film and influenced directors such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. While at USC, Lucas discovered filmmakers like Godard, François Truffaut, and Federico Fellini.
Godard was born in Paris, France, in 1930 and had dual citizenship in France and Switzerland. Godard loved cinema and started as a film critic before first stepping behind the camera. He would sometimes watch the same film several times in one day at the clubs he and other New Wave figures attended. Godard was a voracious reader in addition to his love of cinema, and the sheer weight of references can be bewildering. The 1960s saw his most celebrated and widely watched works, from what he called a “neorealist musical,” 1961’s A Woman Is a Woman (Une femme est une femme) to the 1965 dystopian science-fiction Alphaville to 1967’s black comedy, Weekend.
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His career would begin with Breathless, in which stars Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo were glamorous in a new, casual way. The girl, Patricia, is involved with a petty criminal, Michel, who is on the run for shooting a police officer. Ultimately, she betrays him, and the police shoot him dead in the street. Godard pioneered commonplace film techniques, such as the jump cut. Filmmaking before and after Godard’s debut largely favors smooth editing to give the illusion of continuous time. In contrast, with Breathless, Godard would cut within the shot, making time appear to jump forward while the camera was constantly moving. The editing was sudden and quick, and the script semi-improvised. As a result, Breathless immediately made an impact on the film world, winning acclaim and earning a significant profit on its tiny budget.
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According to the medical report, Godard suffered from “multiple invalidating illnesses.” Patrick Jeanneret, Godard’s Legal Advisor, informed AFP News that the Franco-Swiss filmmaker “had recourse to legal assistance in Switzerland for a voluntary departure.” Assisted suicide in Switzerland is legal in certain circumstances.
Godard’s family released a statement on Tuesday that the director had died “peacefully at home.” They added: “No official [funeral] ceremony will take place. He will be cremated.”
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Source(s): The Atlantic, BBC [1], [2]