Godard and Sound: Acoustic Innovation in the Late Films of Jean-Luc Godard

(Paperback)

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Description

What happens when we listen to a film How can we describe the relationship of sound to vision in cinema, and in turn our relationship as spectators with the audio-visual Jean-Luc Godard understood the importance of the soundtrack in cinema and relied heavily on the impact of carefully constructed sound to produce innovative effects. For the first time, this book brings together his post-1979 multimedia works, and an analysis of their rich soundscapes.The book provides detailed critical discussions of feature-length films, shorts and videos, delving into Godard's inventive experiments with the cinematic soundtrack and offering new insights into his latest 3D films. By detailing the production contexts and philosophy behind Godard's idiosyncratic sound design, it provides an accessible route to understanding his complex use of music, speech and environmental sound, alongside the distorting effects of speed alteration and auditory excess. The book is framed by the concept of 'acoustic spectatorship': a way of cultivating active listening in the viewer.It also draws on ideas by leading sound theorists, philosophers, musicians, and poets, giving particular emphasis to the pioneering thought of French sound engineer and theorist, Pierre Schaeffer. Softening the boundaries between film studies, sound studies and musicology, Godard and Sound re-evaluates Godard's work from a sonic perspective, and will prove essential reading for those wishing to rebalance the importance of sound for the study of cinema.

Reviews

Albertine Foxs study of [Godard's] late films is absorbing * The New York Times *
Eloquently written, with abundant evidence of exhaustive research and fastidious compilation. Its material is synthesised with commitment and care, excellently balancing both macro and micro aspects of its designated subject matter, and intuitively threading through its overarching themes whilst still giving mention to many engaging details of the minutiae pertaining to individual productions, and their respective sources of inspiration. * Alphaville Journal of Film and Screen Media *
Many of the insights of the author are illuminating and bring out rewarding aspects of the films and video works. * Media Education Journal *
Albertine Foxs book is a valuable and truly interdisciplinary contribution to film, sound, and music studies. * H-France Review *
Albertine Fox's attentive and impressively informed analysis sounds forth new meanings and previously unheard compositions in Jean-Luc Godard's late films. By expertly composing, in elegant prose, a legible score through which to apprehend Godard's most complicated works, she provides a double intervention in both film and sound studies. * Nora M. Alter, Temple University, USA; author of The Essay Film After Fact and Fiction *
In this meticulously researched and fascinating study, Albertine Fox acknowledges the "aural" as much as the "visual" within Godard's post-1979 films. She shines new light on both domains, and sends us back to his films with our eyes and ears well and truly opened. * Ben McCann, University of Adelaide, Australia; author of Julien Duvivier *
There will come a time when we understand how much Jean-Luc Godard revolutionized, not only the cinema, but also literature, the visual arts, and our way of practising politics. Thanks to Albertine Fox's brilliant research, we are better able to see how deeply Godard's films renew what we understand by "composition," what we believe about music, and what the acoustic experience consists of. * Nicole Brenez, Universit Sorbonne Nouvelle / Cinmathque Franaise *

Author Bio

Albertine Fox is Lecturer in French Film at the University of Bristol, UK. She is the author of articles on Jean-Luc Godards cinema and video art and Chantal Akermans films and installations. Her article Constructing Voices in Jean-Luc Godards Sauve qui peut (la vie) (1979) was awarded the 2014 Susan Hayward Prize by the Association for Studies in French Cinema.