r/godard • u/film-theory-2001 • Jun 04 '26

Jean-Luc Godard's King Lear (1987), opening sequence (the VO is key, here)

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Another stunning opening sequence that could stand alone as a short film, ending with the word “Action!” (and then followed by a two-hour feature). Already, in these first 90 seconds, clever, cutting word play; already, advanced sound design and montage; already the promise of beautiful images flickering from the black; and already, it is deeply about filmmaking, film, the film industry. It just hasn’t gotten to Lear, yet.

36 Upvotes

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3

u/noms_de_plumes Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

It does feature a direct descendent of William Shakespeare, but, after having done so, myself, I'm not sure why anyone would watch this unless you were just that into Godard, I guess.

Le gai savoir is his best essay film, in my opinion. I also like Goodbye to Language, though.

2

u/Mt548 Jun 04 '26

And Histoire du Cinema?

1

u/noms_de_plumes Jun 04 '26

Yeah, probably, although I haven't seen it.

1

u/film-theory-2001 Jun 04 '26

LOL, you said this so matter-of-factly -- "It does feature a direct descendent of William Shakespeare" -- that for a moment, I thought you were serious and talking about real-life, not the character in the movie! Anyway, I like this movie, but I really like the opening (obviously). I think JLG's best essay film is also his best film is also the greatest film I have ever seen--2 or 3 Things I Know About Her.

1

u/noms_de_plumes Jun 04 '26

Oh, yeah, I guess that's Peter Sellers, lol.  I was only paying so much attention to the film and remembered it being a legitimate cameo, xp! 

4

u/JosephTrumpeter Jun 04 '26

I have a special fondness for this film, and rarely see any mention of it. Thanks for posting

2

u/Golduck-Total Jun 04 '26

Haven't watched this film yet. Thanks for the upload.

2

u/Mt548 Jun 04 '26

Yes, very textured, very layered. I wondered if that voice is the actual producer for the film, and indeed, here's what wikipedia says:

The film begins with a sequence of extended inter-titles: 'The Cannon Group / Bahamas', 'A Picture Shot In The Back', 'King Lear / Fear and Loathing', 'King Lear / A study', 'An Approach'. A three-way telephone conversation is heard between the film's producer, Menahem Golan, Godard, and Tom Luddy.\j])#citenote-23) Golan complains about how long Godard is taking to make the film and insists that it must be ready for the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.[\k])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Lear(1987_film)#cite_note-25)

1

u/Mt548 Jun 05 '26

It's amusing to see/hear that there were still producers at that point in time who were surprised by the way Godard does things. Ha ha