Jean-Luc Godard: 13 Film Box Set - The Ultimate Collection [DVD]

Great box set featuring some of Jean-Luc Godard's films at a very reasonable price. Missing a few gems but overall a great way to start if one is interested in delving in to see the achievements of this genius of a filmmaker!

I came late to buying this Godard box set and so missed the time when it was available for £40 or below. It has now become scarce as it has been out of print for a while and so the prices since the start of 2012 have risen steeply, so you are looking to pay over £300 pounds for this box set. I was lucky enough to pick up this set, fulfilled via Amazon, for £50 in February 2012. The good news is that apparently it is going to be reprinted in the future.The collection is then 14 discs (13 films and a documentary DVD). I totally agree with countvoncampbell's review below; this is a very interesting package of significant cinema but to not have Godard's classic "Vivre Sa Vie" included will always make it less than ultimate. Films that are included give a span across much of Godard's career from his collaborations with Anna Karina to his return to more mainstream cinema in the 1980s.The presentation of the set is appealing in a presentation box however each individual DVD is located in a rather crude card and plastic case that does not exude quality. The films seem to be good quality transfers by Studio Canal, however extras are rather minimal usually comprising a set of movie stills from the relevant film. It would have been good to see these films presented with the type of additional material and commentaries that Criterion include with their Godard films.On the positive, if you are able to by this collection for the £50 mark, you are getting a very good saving over buying the individual films and you could never regret buying a box set that contains such fascinating films as Le Mepris, Alpaville and Pierrot Le Fou.

There's nothing wrong with the films -- I'm a great fan of Godard's work. The issue is the sub-standard quality of the discs, six of which refused play at all. One disc stopped playing about halfway through the movie. I sent the faulty discs to Studio Canal for inspection -- and guess what: after supposedly "extensive testing" they couldn't find any faults! So the problem must be with my DVD player, they reasoned, never mind that all the other discs in the box set -- as well hundreds of other DVDs in my collection -- play ok. After this experience, I'd think twice before forking out the money for the Godard set -- or any other Studio Canal products.

My son had been looking for this for ages, so made a fab xmas suprise and i didnt have to break the bank.

Jean-Luc Godard is, for me, one of the greatest and most important filmmakers of all time! He is alongside Bergman, Hitchcock and Welles in both his genius and importance... and this boxset almost, I stress the word almost, does the great man justice.But before the problems, the plus points...You have a couple of the great man's masterpieces included here; Breathless, Le Mepris, Alpaville, Pierrot Le Fou, and if you have never seen a Godard film the fee is worth it for those films alone! You really cannot fault anything greatly that contains the films on offer here. If you just take this set at face value with what is included then yes, its a great set. They are also very well preseneted, each coming individually in beautiful packaging. The box itself is also very satisfactory, and rightly so.Here's my gripe, however. To call this boxset "The Ultimate Collection" really is not quite right. For me, its about fifteen films short of being The Ultimate Collection! Some very obvious films are missing, for example: Vivre Sa Vie, Bande a Parte, 2 ou 3 Choses Que Je Sais d'elle and a few more. Whatever the reasons behind the absence of such brilliant and obvious Godard films, this is where the set is really let down. To call something a collection suggests that everything is there! And to be quite fair, everything is not there, far from it in fact!The one saving grace is that films not included here are available in the UK, and it is also worth checking out the American Criterion editions which are superb!

I quite liked this box set of Jean Luc Godard films. The narratives focused very heavily on philosophy using original and quotes from other works. I would like to have had less quotes and more original writing as this slightly weakened the films although the quotes were quite good. If you are looking for films with a plot and straight story telling then this is definitely not for you. If you are the kind of person who is very philosophical and enjoys dialogue that makes you think that 'gosh! that is true, it really is like that' then I would recommend it. I think it was said that Jacques Rivette was inspired by Luc Godard and after seeing these films I can identify with that. Rivette however, in my opinion was a much better story teller . All in all if you enjoy French cinema and don't mind something different from the usual , then go for it but be warned you really need an acquired taste.

An excellent selection from the different stages of the film making career of Jean-Luc Godard. The early films (mostly) have kept their freshness and originality. The later ones are 'difficult', densely packed but often present beautiful images. There are helpful commentaries from Colin McCabe with most of the films and excellent additional features including interviews and small films.These films can be enjoyed and studied as products of their time but aside from historical interest they are often very interestingly crafted.