British Sounds Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

British Sounds Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 10, 2018

Note: This film is available as part of the box set Jean-Luc Godard + Jean-Pierre Gorin: Five Films, 1968-1971.

If you were asked to name just one film by iconic director Jean-Luc Godard, which one would you choose? Chances are for many of you it would probably be his legendary pioneering New Wave entry Breathless, or perhaps one of his better remembered titles from a bit later in his career like Alphaville or Masculin Féminin . Even if your particular choice wouldn’t in fact be one of these three films, this very trio in and of itself proves quite admirably how widely variant the content in Godard’s films can be, even if his style is often instantly recognizable. As perhaps evidenced by the title of what is the last film Godard has come out with (he’s still alive and kicking at 87 as this review is being written), 2014’s Goodbye to Language, Godard is often interested in the visceral intensity of imagery, imagery that is often either divorced or at least tangentially related to any perceived content. In our recent Faces Places Blu-ray review, a film which has both subliminal and overt references to Jean-Luc Godard, I jokingly referred to the five films in this set as among the "vaguest" of the Nouvelle Vague. In fact what is repeatedly so fascinating about these five admittedly odd films is how their presentational aspects are almost deliberately opaque, while some of their actual content is virtually screed like, as Godard, probably already prone toward anarchistic tendencies, tipped over into what some have called "radicalization" in the wake of sociopolitical unrest in the France of the late sixties. It's a sometimes discomfiting mix, one that Godard and Gorin no doubt concocted intentionally, but it makes each of this quintet a rather peculiar viewing experience at times.

It’s probably salient that British Sounds references hearing (if not listening) in its title, and that Godard and Gorin actually cross out Images in the title, as if to suggest an even more schismatic divorce between what is seen and what is heard in this film. This is another exercise in what some might term an almost Marxist dialectic, but it deals with a number of societal issues, like the dehumanization of factory workers. In fact, the film opens with a fascinating and long tracking shot through an automobile assembly line (in what may be an almost subliminal allusion to a somewhat similar shot involving vehicles in Godard's Weekend), and it’s almost as if Godard and Gorin’s camera itself has become captive of a “machine” that is utilizing it toward its own ends.

British Sounds engages in what might be thought of as “long form montage”, with a number of ping ponging elements that include everything from right wing hate speech to more decorative moments featuring a naked woman to a bunch of students deciding that Lennon and McCartney’s material really needs a little more of a political punch in the lyrics department. It’s all deliberately askew, even presentationally, with some supposedly verité aspects, like a prescient use of “jiggly cam”, that deliberately undercuts expected utilization by refusing to whip pan to whoever is speaking at the moment. (At least a couple of other films in this set kind of cheekily go out of their way to keep faces hidden or people speaking out of frame, in yet another sign of anarchistic tendencies.)

As perhaps befits its title, British Sounds’ sound design is often deliberately chaotic, especially in the opening assembly line sequence, where the harsh factory noises repeatedly compete with a stentorian voice over espousing revolutionary ideals. It’s a sort of dense approach that assaults the senses and is perhaps meant to evoke the same sort of powerless feeling in the listener as those caught in the cacophony of an automated society.

British Sounds Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

All of the features included in Jean-Luc Godard + Jean-Pierre Gorin: Five Films, 1968-1971 are presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.33:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains only some very basic information on the transfers, stating:

The films in this collection were restored from the original film and audio elements by Gaumont. The presentations of these films are in keeping with their original 16mm original productions.

British Sounds features another nicely organic looking transfer, one with a healthy and properly resolving grain field, and a rather nicely vivid palette that pops winningly with elements like the bright red cars being built in the first vignette. As with several of the films in this set, reds can occasionally tip a bit toward the orange side of things at times. Detail levels are fine if never at "wow" levels, due both to the 16mm source but also probably more so due to the fact that typically midrange shots are utilized. Again as with some of the other films in this set, there is some black and white interstitial material here, notably with regard to the right leaning student spokesman who delivers a frighteningly prescient screed directly to the camera. Contrast is fine throughout, and there are no major signs of age related wear and tear.

British Sounds Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

British Sounds is probably appropriately the one film in this set with an English language soundtrack, delivered via an LPCM Mono track. The sound design in this film is quite interesting, with, for example, the power tools in the auto assembly line sequence sounding almost hauntingly like human screams. There is, as with many of the other films in this set, a lot of voiceover, not necessarily tethered to either characters or events in the frame, and typically everything sounds fine and decently full bodied. The student monologues also come across clearly, with no evident damage to report.

British Sounds Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Both British Sounds and Un film comme les autres are contained on the same Blu-ray disc. That disc features the following supplement:

• A Conversation with JLG (1080i; 2:08:21) is a fascinating piece that expertly weaves together snippets from Godard's long career in what almost might be thought of as a bit of the same sort of montage theory Godard indulges in with at least some of the films in this set, with Godard puffing on a stogie and seeming to be enjoying himself "playing" a bit on the irascible side. Even those who may not have a particular interest in the films in this set will find this a worthwhile sit down with the cinema icon.

British Sounds Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

British Sounds is prophetic in a way, especially with regard to the jingoistic and xenophobic rantings of the student activist, which frankly sounds like it could have come from last night's news reports. Perhaps more vignette driven than some of the other films in this set, British Sounds makes its points without much intent of weaving things together into a so-called "organic whole". Technical merits are generally first rate considering the 16mm source elements and guerrilla filming style.