The emperor is indeed wearing no clothes.  Absolute twaddle from start to finish... rarely have I a kind word to say about Godard and this film only adds ammunition to my animosity.  I can appreciate what it is trying to do, its intentional kitsch play on genres, and there are interesting shots (some I recognize homaged by Tarrantino - is there anything original to him?) but it is the worst kind of clever, the epitome of everything I am opposed to in cinema.  --Mike

Wow guys, I have fond memories of this film (sure it is a bit slow, but that has never been a problem).  Haven't seen it in 15 years or so, so a second look is warrented. But that is harsh fella's.  Harsh.  --Kurt

Well Kurt, part of my interest in this CC experiment is to push myself to see things I would not normally see, or which I have a prejudiced opinion of due to bad experiences in the past by the same director.  I have seen three Godard films prior to this and with the exception of some scenes in Breathless, I have nothing but disdain for what I have seen.  In my blurb on Bergman's 'Autumn Sonata' I discovered something positive to say about a director that I am typically repelled from, so I like to think I am open to a positive experience even if it is Godard... but man... Alphaville is the very worst of a bad bunch that I have seen... and actually I would disagree... the film is not slow, it goes at a nice enough pace and has all the superficial elements of the schlock detective genre that can pass for entertainment on a minimal level, but those elements are weighed down by an insufferably dense script, that blathers on in a nonsensical way about semantics (a topic I have a lot of built-in interest in) that feels like the equivalent of Duchamp's signed urinal... it feels like it was done because it could be, in spite of something, as a statement, rather than because it actually had some primary intent to entertain or emotionally affect its audience. --Mike