Everything Is Cinema

the long version

"When Jean-Luc Godard, exemplary director of the French New Wave, wed the ideals of filmmaking to the realities of autobiography and current events, he changed the nature of cinema. Among the greatest cinematic innovations, Godard's films shift fluidly from fiction to documentary, from criticism to art. Similarly, his persona projects shifting images - cultural hero, impassioned loner, shrewd businessman. Hailed by filmmakers as a - if not the - key influence, Godard has entered the modern canon, a figure as mysterious as he is indispensable." "In Everything is Cinema, critic Richard Brody has amassed hundreds of interviews with friends, family, and collaborators to demystify the elusive director and paint the fullest picture yet of his life and work. Paying as much attention to Godard's revolutionary technical inventions as to the political and emotional forces of the postwar world, Brody traces an arc from the director's early critical writing, through his popular success with Breathless and Contempt, to the grand vision of his later years. He vividly depicts Godard's wealthy, conservative family, his fluid and often disturbing politics, his tumultuous dealings with fellow filmmakers, and his troubled relations with women."--Jacket.