On the occasion of the passing of Jean-Luc Godard, director, screenwriter and film critic, who inspired with his creations the film movement known as "La Nouvelle Vague" - the New Wave, we have searched among the collections and records available on our portal and dug out a few interesting archival items.
Screenshot from the film "Breathless" (original title: À bout de souffle), 1960
The Goldsmith Special Collections and Archives preserves a few correspondences related to various documentaries and film directed/written by Godard, such as:
- 'Pravda': the correspondence with director Jean-Luc Godard and others, with financial papers, copy of an article about the film in French, review and photographs about Pravda. 'Pravda' is a French documentary about revisionism and socialist imperialism; written by Paul Burron, Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Henri Roger and co-directed by Jean-Luc Godard and the Groupe Dziga Vertov, 1970. Descriptive record available here: https://www.archivesportaleurope.net/advanced-sear...
- 'Le Gai Savoir': Correspondence with Kestrel Films and others; Press release: extract from interview with director Jean-Luc Godard; a draft description of film and director for a brochure, with extracts from reviews, annotated; reviews; handwritten subtitles list; photographs of scenes from the film with negatives. Descriptive Record available here: https://www.archivesportaleurope.net/advanced-sear...
- 'Numero Deux': Correspondence including financial papers, French script, English subtitles list, British Board of Film Classification certificate rating the film X, with extracts from BBFC bulletin about the film; Invitation to press show of the film; typed notes about the film and director Jean-Luc Godard; reviews; poster and flyer; photographs with negatives. 'Numero Deux' is a French drama about power relations in an ordinary French family - written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Descriptive record available here: https://www.archivesportaleurope.net/advanced-sear...
The Goldsmith Special Collections and Archives also holds an unlabelled file comprising photos from various films, such as 'Live a Life', British documentary directed by Maxim Ford, 1982; 'In the Name of the Father' ('Nel nome del padre'), Italian drama written and directed by Marco Bellocchio, 1971 and 'Struggle in Italy', Italian drama written by Groupe Dziga Vertov, directed by Groupe Dziga Vertov and Jean-Luc Godard, 1971. Descriptive record available here: https://www.archivesportaleurope.net/advanced-sear...
La Contemporaine in France holds an interesting collection of negatives which you can find here: https://www.archivesportaleurope.net/advanced-sear...
The Landesarchiv Baden-württemberg preserves photos and negatives (picture below) from the protests that took place in occasion of the screening of the controversial film "Hail Mary", 1985. The film was a sort of modern retelling of the story of a virgin birth, which was highly criticised from the Christian community for the way it treated religious themes.
Protests against the screening of 'Hail Mary' by Jean-Luc Godard, 1985. - Landesarchiv Baden-württemberg. Available at: https://www.archivesportaleurope.net/advanced-sear...
The University of Brighton Design Archives holds the advertisement poster created by graphic designer Waxmann Michel for the newspaper J'Accuse - Un Nouveau Journal to which Jean-Luc Godard participated.
Cover of the newspaper J'accuse, Un nouveau journal - Jean-Paul Sartre - André Glucksmann - Jean-Luc Godard, 1971.
Browse all the records available on Archives Portal Europe related to Jean-Luc Godard here: https://www.archivesportaleurope.net/advanced-sear...