174 Band of Outsiders

[Martha]

Band of Outsiders



Four years after Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard reimagined the gangster film even more radically with Band of Outsiders. In it, two restless young men (Sami Frey and Claude Brasseur) enlist the object of both of their fancies (Anna Karina) to help them commit a robbery—in her own home. This audacious and wildly entertaining French New Wave gem is at once sentimental and insouciant, effervescently romantic and melancholy, and it features some of Godard’s most memorable set pieces, including the headlong race through the Louvre and the unshakeably cool Madison dance sequence.

Disc Features

• New digital master of Gaumont’s recent high-definition restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• Visual glossary of references and wordplay found in Band of Outsiders
• Exclusive interviews with cinematographer Raoul Coutard and actor Anna Karina
• Excerpts from a 1964 interview with director Jean-Luc Godard, including rare behind-the-scenes footage from the film
• Filmmaker Agnès Varda’s 1961 silent comedy Les fiancés du pont Mac Donald, starring Godard and Karina and featuring other members of the Band of Outsiders cast
• Godard’s original theatrical trailer and the 2001 U.S. rerelease trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by poet and critic Joshua Clover, Godard’s character descriptions for the film’s 1964 press book, and an interview with the director from the same year

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

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[Kristoffer4]

I am really thinking about getting this since I just got Alphaville and I love it. Hows the extra? I know PQ is very good, via. beaver.

[javelin]

Band of Outsiders is my favorite Godard. Personally, I hated Alphaville, so I'm no help there. BoO is an entirely different beast, though. One of the more charming films in existence. The extras aren't mindblowing, but they're not terrible, either. There's a bit on pop-culture that was particularly fun. The film could benefit from a commentary (couldn't all Godard films?), but at just shy of $20 at DVD Planet, you can't go wrong.

[Taketori Washizu]

Oddly enough, I liked Alphaville more than Band of Outsiders

Bande A Part has some inspiring moments, but drags occasionally. Overall a good film. The features are good, not great. Among other things comes with an interview with the cinematographer and a short film by Agnes Varda which Godard appeared on. Worth getting if you like Godard, and one of the cheaper Criterions.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

In terms of Karina, Alphaville and Woman is a woman, in that order, knocked me out whereas Band of Outsiders left me a little cold. As a film, it leaves me a little cold. However, it looks beautiful - great transfer. But I'd have to advise 50/50 in terms of purchase. Great Godard, don't get me wrong, but it's not my favorite. Have you considered Woman is a woman? I'd recommend that one without reservation.

[GringoTex]

I recommend multiple viewings of Band of Outsiders. Every time I watch it, it becomes more a treatise on the alienation of modern landscapes (Parisian outskirts) and less a pastiche to the gangster genre. It's Godard incorporating Antonioni, and he does so brilliantly. I also consider it as tragic a story as Contempt or Pierrot le Fou.

[solent]

Any Godard you can get between BREATHLESS & WEEKEND is worth it. All his films are part of Godard's ongoing, ever-changing but consistent artistic expression. They all balance & enhance each other as films.

BAND OF OUTSIDERS is more rewarding than WOMAN IS A WOMAN but that is matter of taste. Both films are examples of Gdard's genre-juggling. I too disliked ALPHAVILLE once uopn atime but recent viewings and recent acquisitions [MADE IN USA & LA CHINOISE] have changed my mind. Go for it and enjoy, that is what Godard did when he made it.

[Mr Pixies]

Anyone see Hal Hartley's Simple Men and catch the homage?

[Godot]

The "Visual Glossary" is one of my favorite CC bonus features on any disc. It really helped me to appreciate how many references the film has, how many levels its playfulness taps, and how creatively Godard integrated the elements. I enjoyed the film, found it invigorating, but after watching the extras (including Varda's apropos silent) I was enchanted and wanted to watch the film again to better appreciate it. Isn't that what great CC extras (especially the commentaries) do best?

I also used the "Visual Glossary" as a demonstration for my brother, to illustrate the layers of Godard's approach (same with Stam's excellent commentary on Contempt), and a friend used it while teaching a class on new wave.

[zedz]

By the way, if you like Varda's short film, check out Cleo, where you can see it again in an entirely different context.

[justeleblanc]

Does anyone know which version of THE MADISON they dance to? Is it Bill Doggett? I haven't heard his version but it sounds a lot like him.

And on a similar note, did Legrand compose the song Karina dances to in MY LIFE TO LIVE or is it a pop song. If so, whats it called?

I've wasted many hours online trying to find out the answers and I've been surfing in circles.

[Floyd]

I really adore Band of Outsiders, I think mostly because of how beautiful Anna Karina is. She gives off besides her beauty, this playfulness alongside the two young men who are trying to pretend to be hot shots. The men don't really affect me in anyway which bothers me when considering the film but still I just sometimes come back to some scenes that just make me feel good in Band of Outsiders and that is rare for me to do.

Mr. Pixies, are you meaning the dance sequence in Simple Men with the bearded Martin Donovan and Sage and Burke, I believe Lowensohn is in there also (to be the Karina I suppose)? I am quite the Hartley devotee, I just got The Girl From Monday in the mail and am in love once again with another of Hal's films. Not to get that off track but Jonathan Rosenbaum has a good little write up on his favorable thoughts of Girl From Monday on his site, comparing the film to how Hal was influenced by the films of Godard.

[jon]

but still I just sometimes come back to some scenes that just make me feel good in Band of Outsiders and that is rare for me to do.

i do the same thing with this film, among a few others.

[justeleblanc]

Does anybody know the name of the song during the dancing scene?

I've been on this quest before. It's called "The Madison" but I don't know who it's by. The Madison is actually the name of the dance but a few people did their own version. Maybe Legrand did his own version of it for the film.

[blindside8zao]

I'm enchanted by this film, mostly by Karina and the beautiful black and white's of the photography.

In response to those saying they were left cold, it seems that I read or heard somewhere on the release, perhaps the booklet, I think the Godard interview, that the when the characters are commented on in the Madison scene, it bears their motives and souls to you in such a cold way, it's supposed to stunt any emotion you may feel for them. As commented elsewhere in here, it does seem to back up the theme of alienation. I think Godard says in the same interview that these three people dancing together are as far apart from each other as any three people can be. Despite all the time we spend with them, we only catch brief glimpses of their inner selves. It almost seems so odd to hear the commentary on Karina's character, that Franz wished to console her for he could see from looking at her that her entire world is falling apart. This tragic sounding commentary sounds so out of place with all the playfulness of their adventures. It just goes to show how distant we and they can be from each others characters. Even someone like Franz, who seems more willing and hopeful to exploring another life, can't do it because of her unwillingness (or distractedness).

Funny that I, and apparently others, are most charmed by the beauty and playfulness of Anna, who is treated mostly as an object throughout the film.

[soma]

Interesting to read some of the responses here. I've not yet made my way through Godard's entire oeuvre, but thus far this is my favourite film of his to date. Immeasurably intoxicating, crackles with rhythm, as flat-out entertaining as it is clever, perfect, perfect and totally iconic, this is as cool as it gets.

[domino harvey]

Uh, I can think of at least one petit problem with the menu for the Rialto-version of this film:

[LQ]

Ha ha! At least they got the right actress....

[Noiretirc]

Oh how I loved this another early wintery, leafless, muddy Godard.....

Again, the sound design floored me. The music, as if playing from underwater, as Karina descended towards the pool table room.....very eerie. The strange groaning in the background when they first arrived on "the Island" - very wtf, until we find the source later on.

The English/Shakespeare class sequence/backdrop to the shenanigans with Karina had me in stitches. I haven't watched a Godard yet and not LOL'ed at some point. The chair/drink switching at the restaurant. Was Godard addressing latecomers to the theatre with the summary after 3 reels? "Monod-tone". The cops are "testing a new idiot detector." That thing in her pocket. "The guy who painted The Louvre white should be decorated." The minute of silence. "I told him not to bark." (Naturally!) The dance/digression. The 9:43 sprint, breaking poor Jimmy Johnson's record. "An upcoming film will reveal the tropical adventures...." The shoot-out piss-take. All of this is absolutely hilarious. Don't any of you also find Godard to be extremely funny? Even in filmed interviews I get the feeling that he is always on the verge of bursting out laughing when discussing his work. This film is a jam packed laughathon.

And Karina's "why?" (a plan) directly to the camera/us - it jolted me! There was no warning/warmup to this.

And yet, I thought the whole story/plot was beautifully realized and executed, full of twists and surprises. Bondian.

I will never tire of this film.

Did anyone notice her breasts moving under her sweater?

[Noiretirc]

I you wanna go into analytical mode (but you may not) the whole sound design of this is quite wonderful to compare to Une Femme est Une Femme where bits of the track/foley just shut down and others start up. Favorite but in Femme is Anna "rehearsing" the lyrics for the song with only her voice on the loop.

Oh yes, I'm still in recovery from that experience.

[GringoTex]

Don't any of you also find Godard to be extremely funny? Even in filmed interviews I get the feeling that he is always on the verge of bursting out laughing when discussing his work. This film is a jam packed laughathon.

I find the film very melancholic. I think it's Godard's first melancholic film- all the gray, the futile grasp at Hollywood, the attempt to make Karina a schoolgirl again after he'd turned her into a stripper and a whore. It's one of my favorite Godards.

[LQ]

I too find humor in almost every Godard film, but especially Une Femme est Une Femme and Band of Outsiders. (I'll add to the list Odile's idea of a proper kiss ) But I'm in agreement with Gringo, this film is marked by a sense of melancholia that isn't so apparent in his earlier films (save Vivre Sa Vie). As noiretirc mentioned, the dead of winter serves as the perfect time to watch this: Barren trees, breaths misting in the air, and a grey-tinged sadness that lingers after the laughter has died away.

[colinr0380]

The latest episode of the Out Of The Past: Investigating Film Noir podcast is an excellent discussion of Band of Outsiders.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

The latest episode of the Out Of The Past: Investigating Film Noir podcast is an excellent discussion of Band of Outsiders.

How long was this? I don't exactly relish the idea of an hour spent with a panel of five undergraduate students from an honors program discussing Godard. Not to be a snob, but discussing Godard with any undergrad has been a spotty endeavor for me. I'm glad to see that the prof is a teacher at my school, though! He should certainly be worth the listen.