Alphaville (4K UHD Review)
- Review Date: Jan 24, 2025
- Format: 4K Ultra HD
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Director
Jean-Luc GodardRelease Date(s)
1965 (August 27, 2024)Studio(s)
André Michelin Productions/Chaumiane Productions (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)- Film/Program Grade: B+
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A-
- Extras Grade: B
Review
Jean-Luc Godard was eight films deep into his career when Alphaville aka Alphaville: une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (or Alphaville: A Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution) hit theatres in France in 1965. He was one of the leading French New Wave directors who had burst onto the scene with one of the most influential films of its time, Breathless, and had continued to make various romantic comedy crime dramas before landing on Alphaville. For this ninth film, Godard wrote a dystopian science fiction drama involving the character of Lemmy Caution, a fictional federal agent/private detective character who was popular in Europe through a series of novels by Peter Cheyney and subsequent film adaptations starring Eddie Constantine, whom he hired to continue portraying in the lead role.
Posing as a news reporter, secret agent Lemmy Caution (Constantine) arrives in the city of Alphaville from the “Outer Countries.” Alphaville has become a society of people who are slaves to the centralized sentient computer system Alpha 60, which prohibits any concept of free will or emotion in humans. Caution has been sent there to discover the whereabouts of missing agent Dickson (Akim Tamiroff), but must also find and eliminate the creator of Alphaville, Professor von Braun (Howard Vernon), and destroy Alpha 60 itself. His investigation leads him to the professor’s beautiful daughter Natacha (Anna Karina), with whom he falls in love with, but under the watchful eye of Alpha 60 and those that it controls, Caution is considered a threat after upsetting the established order and re-introducing the notion of love and asking the question “Why?”
If elements of Alphaville sound familiar to fans of Blade Runner, Brazil, or The Matrix, you’d be correct in saying that it had a direct influence on those types of projects. Indeed, the film influenced many works, both on screen and in the written form. The concept of a totalitarian future wherein personal liberty is taken away and accepted as the norm except by an outsider can be traced back to films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but in the real world circa 1965 wherein computer systems were starting to become integrated into aspects of everybody life, it feels like a cautionary tale of sorts, but through Godard’s typical symbolic prism. The film’s broadly noir-ish style with a detective type at the center—a clear visual reference to Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep—walking through darkened corridors and city streets fuses with the modern computer age for a tale of forbidden autonomy in a tyrannical social construct. After all, we’re never told much about the world outside of Alphaville, just that it exists, nor do we need that information. Through the eyes of Lemmy Caution, Alphaville is the world and we’ve been brought in to observe and experience it.
Alphaville was not entirely smooth sailing for its star, Eddie Constantine, who by this point was hoping for a career boost of some kind as he had been playing the character of Lemmy Caution for a number of films after relocating to Europe in the early 1950s. He and Godard clashed a bit when it came to working styles, as much of the film was improvised like many of Godard’s other projects. Constantine was also dismayed by how he would be lit in the film, which accentuated his facial textures, of which he was somewhat ashamed. Nevertheless, Godard and Constantine came together for another project featuring the character of Caution with Germany Year 90 Nine Zero in 1991, which would be the last time Constantine would play the character before his death two years later. Anna Karina, who was married to Godard at the time of filming, served as his cinematic muse, which is understandable as she practically steals whatever scene she’s in.
In truth, Alphaville offers many cinematic pleasures, but it can be a bit dense to those expecting something more conventional, especially based upon the poster art which makes it seem like more of a grounded hard-boiled detective story. In a future society where the prohibited is punishable by death and an outsider plots to destroy that society under orders of his own, but also to rescue the heart of someone dear to him, it’s far from what one would consider ordinary.
Alphaville was shot by director of photography Raoul Coutard on 35mm black-and-white film, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.37:1. Kino Lorber Studio Classics debuts the film on Ultra HD utilizing a new 4K restoration of the original camera negative provided by StudioCanal, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and presented on a triple-layered BD-100 disc. It’s worth noting that all of the film’s disc-based releases worldwide have been presented in either 1.33:1 or 1.37:1, aside from Criterion’s 1995 LaserDisc, which was presented in 1.66:1. However, 1.37:1 appears to be accurate as there’s no wasted space in the frame. Kino Lorber Studio Classics released the film on Blu-ray in 2019, but this new 4K presentation is a more even-keeled experience, with improvements across all categories. It’s a much sharper and cleaner picture with nary a speck of leftover debris to be seen. Detail is high with beautifully nuanced shadows and perfect grayscale, featuring deep blacks and excellent contrast. A very fine sheen of well-attenuated grain is on display with bitrates sitting between 65 and 80Mbps, and no digital artifacts in sight. The film is also more stable, and the overall appearance expertly presents its noir-driven lighting and design.
Audio is included in French 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. This too has been restored, but unfortunately, the film’s English soundtrack is relegated to the Blu-ray only. I personally have no problem with that because I prefer the original French soundtrack, but for the sake of its historical significance, it’s a shame that it wasn’t included too. Nevertheless, the French soundtrack, taken from the original optical negative, is excellent. It’s a cleaner and more powerful mono track that fully supports the dialogue (including the almost wretch-inducing voice of Alpha 60) and Paul Misraki’s excellent score.
Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ 2-Disc 4K Ultra HD release of Alphaville sits in a black Amaray case that also contains a 1080p Blu-ray featuring the previous restoration of the film, with an insert and a slipcover that features the original French theatrical artwork. The following extras are included:
DISC ONE (UHD)
- Audio Commentary with Tim Lucas
DISC TWO (BD)
- Audio Commentary with Tim Lucas
- Alphaville: An Introduction by Colin McCabe (SD – 5:26)
- Anna Karina Interview (HD – 4:31)
- Trailer (Upscaled SD – 1:20)
- Le Doulos Trailer (Upscaled SD – 2:24)
- Bob le flambeur Trailer (Upscaled SD – 3:38)
- Touchez pas au grisibi Trailer (Upscaled SD – 3:53)
- Razzia Sur la chnouf Trailer (HD – 3:02)
Author and film historian Tim Lucas provides an excellent audio commentary, offering information about the history of the Lemmy Caution character, relaying direct information from actress Christa Lang about her personal experiences on the film, analyzing the film’s story and visuals, and digging into the careers of those involved with the film, among other topics. Next is an introduction by Jean-Luc Godard biographer Colin McCabe, who details the creation and content of the film, placing it within the context of Godard’s career at that point. An interview with Anna Karina follows in which she discusses the director and the challenges he faced making his films. Last is the film’s trailer, as well as trailers for other Kino Lorber releases.
A couple of things have not been carried over, but are worth mentioning for completists. The UK and European Region 2 DVD releases contain the French documentary Alphaville Peripheries, the StudioCanal Region B Blu-ray contains a photo gallery, and the Criterion LaserDisc includes liner notes by Andrew Sarris. Those minor losses aside, Alphaville looks and sound amazing on 4K Ultra HD and belongs in any respected film fan’s collection. Highly recommended.
- Tim Salmons
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