Customer Reviews

First Name - Carmen

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a very good Goddard movie that Fox Lorber treats badly. On both video and DVD it is advertised as letterbox but it is actually full frame on both. If that doesn't bother you then movie is worth seeing just to enjoy Goddard presenting himself as an institutionalized washed-up filmmaker determined to stay institutionalized..

In response to one of the amazon reviewers, the correct aspect ratio for "First Name: Carmen" is 1.33:1. As proof, you can see the reel markers while watching the DVD. Thus, while the film might have been "window boxed" to absolutely contain all the edges, a full frame format is adequate and "normal" for films in this ratio. Almost all of Godard's feature films from "Passion" onward can be formatted correctly in the same ratio. "King Lear" and "For Ever Mozart" were soft-matted, meaning they could be projected at 1.85:1 and 1.66:1, respectively, in theatre screenings while matting part of the image in the projector gate. For example, the out-of-print, Cinematheque Collection VHS tape of "King Lear," which is full frame, contains more of the image at the top than a theatrical presentation does.

It's certainly true what the other reviewers of this DVD have been saying: it -isn't- widescreen like it says it is. This is dissapointing, but it still looks and sounds somewhat better than the previous video release of the film. And it is a very good movie anyhow. His 1979 picture, "Slow Motion" is generally considered Godard's return to his New Wave roots, but I don't really agree. I think that it's found in this film, in which Godard once again plays with the construction of narrative form like he did in the 60's. The style of this film and those films is similar, whereas much of his later work is extremely dense and cerebral. I'm not disparaging those pictures; I love many of them. But I find that most people tend to love his older stuff and avoid his later stuff...so I'm saying that this film would probably make fans of the older films quite happy. It makes remarkable use of Beethoven's music as performed by a string quartet that we see rehearsing on camera (see, this is the kind of stuff you expect from Godard, right?) as well as a great Tom Waits song, "Ruby's Arms".

Godard has high ideas about cinema but the fact is that ideas alone are not that entertaining. Some of his films are a lot more entertaining than others though. In the entertaining and watchable category I would name Breathless, Alphaville, Pierrot Le Fou, and First Name:Carmen. I have not seen all of his films but these I find to be not only brainy films but entertaining ones as well. I think my favorites are Breathless and Pierrot Le Fou because Belmondo provides the perfect earthen foil for Godardian discourse. I think Breathless and Pierrot le Fou work best of all of his films because of these two distinct but complimentary sensibilities. We watch movies to be entertained after all and in these two films you are entertained; your brain is entertained thanks to Godard and the rest of you is entertained by Belmondo.

First Name:Carmen is very much like Pierrot Le Fou in that it seems to be in constant rebellion against itself-- it is all a chaos as Godard likes it and yet there is also within the chaos a discernible and satisfying Godardian discourse which develops magically as well. Godard like all the other New Wavers loves genre films and no matter how much he may make fun of the cinematic devices used by old Hollywood he also loves them and so his parodies of old Hollywood noirs and thrillers are also homages. They are fun to watch because we as filmgoers know all the Hollywood cliches but we enjoy them nonetheless even as we make fun of them. Godard wants to constantly remind us that we are watching a film not reality but he is best when he does this in an entertaining way. We are all familiar with Godards techniques -- we have assimilated his style and his brand of discourse -- however his irreverence and his searching among the detritus of modernism for a genuine contact with life (if not his politics) remain as relevant as ever. The failure of the political aspect of his career is perhaps what Godard is lamenting in Carmen. He wanted to be a revolutionary but in the end he has to accept that he is just a film maker. Godard is best when he is inspired by a muse and Marushka Detmers looks like she just walked off a 1940's film noir set. I suspect Detmers smoldering good looks as much as anything else got Godard excited about film again. All revolutionaries mellow with time and here Godard is touchingly leaving the political behind and returning to his original love, film.

I enjoy Godard when he seems to be enjoying himself and he seems to be enjoying himself in this film as he did in Pierrot Le Fou. Of course it is Godard so you will be thinking rigorously throughout about "reality" and how adept film is at avoiding it and how good Godard is at manipulating the cinematic language for his own ends. Lurking within the chaotic plot are those deep Godardian discoveries you expect when watching one of his films and that make them(the best ones) more than worth your while.

This is one of Godard's most accessible efforts after Bande à part and before (hélas) he reverted with JLG to his private style that has again marginalized him as a fillmmaker whose efforts barely anyone gets a chance to see. It is a very clever and surprisingly successful mashup of Puccini's Carmen with classic film noir--with Carmen X playing the criminal femme fatale. Her soldier boyfriend, whose doomed love ruins both their lives, is based on Puccini's José but also on any number of saps who fall for the hard, aloof, sexually irresistible but emotionally heartless anti-heroines such as Vera in Detour, not to mention Carmen herself. The movie quotes liberally from classic noir, so familiarity with classics of the genre enhances the viewing immeasurably. You must know the opera too, as it borrows not only the substance of the plot but many lines directly--'If I love you that's the end of you' being but the most notable example.
As a bonus treat Godard himself plays a droll, deadpan clown fashioned after Buster Keaton--look for the clue to his model in the book he's carrying in the café scene.
Attention must be paid and you have to meet Godard halfway or the whole thing will seem meaningless--even the nudity, of which so much was made at the time--seems predictably tame by today's standards and won't sustain your interest, particularly as there isn't that much of it to begin with...

The movie itself is a Jean-Luc's classic so it is recommended for Godard's fans, but beware: the Fox Lorber transfer is very poor. The copy is very dark with burnt out blacks and dim colors. Also the master film copy wasn't the cleanest with visible dust and particles. 5 stars for the movie and 2 stars for the transfer, hence the score of 3.5.

A characteristic "Classic French" movie which the story builds up around the main character Carmen. Although there is nothing much to appreciate about the story, the "flow" of the drama is quite good. A blend of erotic scenes with a little bit of psychology. It is worthwhile to give it a try!!

Too bad that it's not in letterbox format as it is advertised, but both the image and sound are good enough for anyone to enjoy this film. Extended frontal nudity but the real sexual tension is built up by the juxtapositions of Beethoven string quartet and many inter-cuts to the ocean with wave pondering rocks on shore. Very interesting story telling with Godard in an almost self-mocking role. (I can't recall if any other directors have made themselves look SO bad in their own films.) Don't miss!

Godard shows the confidence of his filmmaking by being completely indifferent. The plotline and characters are so befuddled that you can't imagine anyone else having the guts to make it. The lack of energy is sometimes irratating, but you can't look away; it's like an understated Joycean dream sequence.

Goddard's unique stlye for scene cuts is at its supreme best in this film. The movie flows lightly within a comic atmosphere but maintains it power and grace. Another great feature of this film is the riviting score taken from none other than Beethoven.