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Band of Outsiders (Bande à Part)(Criterion Collection)

 

  Written and Directed by Jean-Luc Godard

France 1964 / Drama / Crime / 97 min / Black & White / Monaural / 1.33: 1 / NTSC /  In French with Optional English Subtitles
Anna Karina, Claude Brasseur, Sami Frey, Louisa Colpeyn, Georges Staquet, Jean-Luc Godard

One of pioneering director Jean-Luc Godard's most accessible films is this French spin on Dolores Hitchens' novel Fool's Gold. It tells the tale of three disaffected youths who plan a burglary, leading to deadly results. The alienated young trio is marvelous, particularly Anna Karina, and the early scenes of their clearly overdeveloped fantasy lives are splendidly handled. Something of a companion piece to Godard's classic À Bout de Souffle, its young characters have the same odd mixture of fatalism and starry-eyed naïveté that is, by turns, appealing and tragic. Trivia buffs should note that the film gave its name to Quentin Tarantino's production company (A Band Apart), and several of its scenes are echoed in his Pulp Fiction.

 
       

Bonus Features:

◦ New high-definition digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Raoul Coutard
◦ Visual glossary, including film clips and stills, detailing cultural references and wordplay emplyed by Godard throughout Band of Outsiders
◦ Exclusive video interviews with Raoul Coutard and actress Anna Karina
◦ Interview excerpts with Godard from 1964 and rare behind-the-scenes footage of the director and his crew shooting Band of Outsiders
◦ Two theatrical traiers, including Godard's original
◦ New and improved English subtitle translation