A Woman Is a Woman | |
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French | Une femme est une femme |
Directed by | Jean-Luc Godard |
Written by | Jean-Luc Godard |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Raoul Coutard |
Edited by |
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Music by | Michel Legrand |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Unidex |
Release dates |
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Running time | 85 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | French |
Budget | $160,000 (est.) |
Box office | 549,931 admissions (France) [1] $100,665 (US) [2] |
A Woman Is a Woman (French : Une femme est une femme) is a 1961 French musical romantic comedy film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Anna Karina and Jean-Claude Brialy. It is a tribute to American musical comedy and associated with the French New Wave. It is Godard's third feature film (the release of his second, Le petit soldat , was delayed by censorship), and his first in color and Cinemascope.
The film centers on the relationship of exotic dancer Angéla and her lover Émile. Angéla wants to have a child, but Émile is not ready. Émile's best friend Alfred also says he loves Angéla, and keeps up a gentle pursuit. Angéla and Émile argue about the matter; at one point they decide not to speak to each other, so continue their argument by pulling books from the shelf and pointing to the titles. Since Émile stubbornly refuses her request for a child, Angéla finally decides to accept Alfred's plea and sleeps with him. This proves that she will do what she must to have a child. She and Émile finally reconcile, so he has a chance to become the father. The two have sex, then engage in a bit of wordplay that gives the film its title: an exasperated Émile says "Angéla, tu es infâme" ("Angela, you are horrid"), and she retorts, "Non, je suis une femme" ("No, I am a woman"). [3]
Jean-Luc Godard was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, Éric Rohmer, and Jacques Demy. He was arguably the most influential French filmmaker of the post-war era. According to AllMovie, his work "revolutionized the motion picture form" through its experimentation with narrative, continuity, sound, and camerawork. His most acclaimed films include Breathless (1960), Vivre sa vie (1962), Contempt (1963), Band of Outsiders (1964), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), Masculin Féminin (1966), Weekend (1967), and Goodbye to Language (2014).
Claude Henri Jean Chabrol was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues and contemporaries Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Éric Rohmer and Jacques Rivette, Chabrol was a critic for the influential film magazine Cahiers du cinéma before beginning his career as a film maker.
Anna Karina was a Danish-French film avant garde actress, director, writer, and singer. She was French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard's collaborator in the 1960s, performing in several of his films, including The Little Soldier, A Woman Is a Woman, My Life to Live, Bande à part, Pierrot le Fou and Alphaville. For her performance in A Woman Is a Woman, Karina won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival.
Breathless is a 1960 French crime drama film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard. It stars Jean-Paul Belmondo as a wandering criminal named Michel, and Jean Seberg as his American girlfriend Patricia. The film was Godard's first feature-length work and represented Belmondo's breakthrough as an actor.
Vivre sa vie is a 1962 French New Wave drama film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard. The film was released in the United States as My Life to Live and in the United Kingdom as It's My Life.
Pierrot le Fou is a 1965 French New Wave romantic drama road film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina. The film is based on the 1962 novel Obsession by Lionel White. It was Godard's tenth feature film, released between Alphaville and Masculin, féminin. The plot follows Ferdinand, an unhappily married man, as he escapes his boring society and travels from Paris to the Mediterranean Sea with Marianne, a girl chased by OAS hitmen from Algeria.
Masculin Féminin is a 1966 French New Wave film directed by Jean-Luc Godard. An international co-production between France and Sweden, the film stars Jean-Pierre Léaud, Chantal Goya, Marlène Jobert, Catherine-Isabelle Duport, and Michel Debord.
Une femme coquette (1955) was the first of four short fiction films made by French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard preceding his work in feature-length narrative film.
All Boys Are Called Patrick is a 1957 French short film written by Éric Rohmer and directed by Jean-Luc Godard and made before both filmmakers achieved fame as French New Wave filmmakers.
Daniel Boulanger was a French novelist, playwright, poet and screenwriter. He has also played secondary roles in films and was a member of the Académie Goncourt from 1983 until his death. He was born in Compiègne, Oise.
Henri Decaë gained fame as a cinematographer entering the film industry as a sound engineer and sound editor. He was a photojournalist in the French army during World War II. After the war he began making documentary shorts, directing and photographing industrial and commercial films. In 1947 he made his first feature film.
Jean-Claude Brialy was a French actor and film director.
Juliet Berto, born Annie Jamet, was a French actress, director and screenwriter.
Georges de Beauregard was a French film producer who produced works by many of the French New Wave directors. In 1968, he was a member of the jury at the 18th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1983 he was awarded a Special César Award, the French national film prize.
Marie Dubois was a Parisian-born French actress.
Michel Deville was a French film director and screenwriter.
Mathilda Marie Berthilde Paruta, better known as Darling Légitimus, was a French actress. In 1983, she received the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her performance in the film Sugar Cane Alley.
The 11th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 23 June to 4 July 1961. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Italian film La notte directed by Michelangelo Antonioni.
The Oldest Profession is a 1967 internationally co-produced comedy film. It features contributions from six different film directors, each one doing a segment on prostitution through the ages.
Six in Paris is a 1965 French comedy-drama anthology film.