What happens when you take a 20th-century American detective and put him in a nightmare future city ruled by a fascist computer? You getAlphaville,Jean-Luc Godard’s dreamy 1965 masterpiece of science fiction noir. And now you can watch it in high-definition at home, as it comes to 4K Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The set will feature an HDR/Dolby Vision master by StudioCanal, from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. The set will also include a number of special features, including a full-length audio commentary by film critic and historianTim Lucas; an interview withAnna Karina, the film’s female lead and Godard’s longtime muse; an introduction byColin McCabe; and the film’s theatrical trailer. The disc will include both the original French audio and an English dub, as well as optional English subtitles. The set will retail for $39.99, and will be released on August 13; it can be preordered fromKinoLorber.com.
What Is ‘Alphaville’ About?
Alphavillecenters around Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine), an aging American detective sent to infiltrate the futuristic city of Alphaville on a mission to recover a missing agent; to capture or kill Professor von Braun (Howard Vernon), the city’s creator; and to destroy Alpha 60, the dictatorial computer that rules the city. In Alphaville, all free thought and emotion are banned, and logic rules. As Caution investigates, he meets von Braun’s daughter, Natacha (Karina), and falls in love with her, even as he seeks to eliminate her father. Throughout the film, Alpha 60 often debates with Caution, its droning voice seemingly coming from everywhere, as it expounds on its computerized philosophy; the computer’s mechanical voice was provided by a man whose cancer-ravaged voice box was replaced with an electrolarynx. Caution is a deliberate anachronism, well out of his element; Constantine had played Caution, a character from a series of pulp novels, in a number of straight-laced European detective films. The futuristic Alphaville is portrayed without specially-made sets or props; Godard uses a number of then-contemporary modernist Paris buildings to depict its otherworldly architecture.
A key film of theFrench New Wave,Alphaville’s blend of science fiction with noir aesthetics proved highly influential to the nascent genre ofcyberpunk, as well. It has been cited as an influence onBlade Runner,Brazil, andJohnny Mnemonic. It also served as the namesake for the German synth-pop band of the same name.
Kino Lorber’s 4K release ofAlphavillewill hit storesAugust 13, 2024. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
