A Woman Is a Woman
By June 21, 2004
Nouvelle vague euphoria was at its height when Jean-Luc Godard made his enormously clever third feature, A Woman Is a Woman (1961). This big-budget, widescreen extravaganza Read more »
- France
- 1961
- 84 minutes
- Color
- 2.35:1
- French
SYNOPSIS: With A Woman Is a Woman (Une femme est une femme), compulsively innovative director Jean-Luc Godard presents “a neorealist musical—that is, a contradiction in terms.” Featuring French superstars Anna Karina, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Jean-Claude Brialy at their peak of popularity, A Woman Is a Woman is a sly, playful tribute to—and interrogation of—the American musical comedy, showcasing Godard’s signature wit and intellectual acumen. The film tells the story of exotic dancer Angéla (Karina) as she attempts to have a child with her unwilling lover Émile (Brialy). In the process, she finds herself torn between him and his best friend Alfred (Belmondo). A dizzying compendium of color, humor, and the music of renowned composer Michel Legrand, A Woman Is a Woman finds the young Godard at his warmest and most accessible, reveling in and scrutinizing the mechanics of his great obsession: the cinema.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
| Angéla | Anna Karina |
| Alfred Lubitsch | Jean-Paul Belmondo |
| Émile Récamier | Jean-Claude Brialy |
| Suzanne | Marie Dubois |
| Woman in bar | Jeanne Moreau |
| Club owner | Ernest Menzer |
| First prostitute | Nicole Paquin |
| Second prostitute | Marion Sarraut |
Credits
| Director | Jean-Luc Godard |
| Screenplay (based on an idea by Geneviève Cluny) | Jean-Luc Godard |
| Producers | Georges de Beauregard and Carlo Ponti |
| Director of photography | Raoul Coutard |
| Music | Michel Legrand |
| Production design | Bernard Evein |
| Editing | Agnès Guillemot |
| Assistant editor | Lila Herman |
| Assistant directors | Francis Cognany and Jean Vigne |
| Stills | Raymond Cauchetier |
| Script girl | Suzanne Schiffmann |
| Makeup | Jackie Raynal |
| Sound | Guy Villette |
| Production manager | Philippe Dussart |
Disc Features
- New high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Raoul Coutard, with restored image and sound and enhanced for widescreen televisions
- Charlotte et Véronique ou Tous les garçons s’appellent Patrick (All the Boys Are Called Patrick, 1957), an early short film by Godard with Jean-Claude Brialy, written by Eric Rohmer
- “Qui êtes-vous Anna Karina?”; excerpts from a 1966 French television interview with Karina, Brialy, and Serge Gainsbourg
- Publicity for A Woman Is a Woman featuring the original trailer, rare on-set photos by photographer Raymond Cauchetier, a poster and stills gallery, and an audio promotional recording for the film
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
- Plus: a 24-page booklet featuring excerpts from a 1961 interview with Godard and director of photography Raoul Coutard about A Woman Is a Woman, and a new essay by film critic J. Hoberman
