Alphaville

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Alphaville

Released May 5, 1965

1h 38m

Sci-Fi

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

92%

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52 Reviews

81%

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10,000+ Ratings

Government agent Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine) is dispatched on a secret mission to Alphaville, a dystopian metropolis in a distant corner of the galaxy. Caution is hot on the trail of rogue agent Henri Dickson (Akim Tamiroff) and a scientist named Von Braun, the creator of Alpha 60, a computer that uses mind control to rule over residents of Alphaville. Caution is aided in his quest to destroy the despotic computer ruler by Von Braun's own daughter, Natacha (Anna Karina).

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Critics Consensus

While Alphaville is by no means a conventional sci-fi film, Jean-Luc Godard creates a witty, noir-ish future all his own.

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Bilge Ebiri

New York Magazine/Vulture

For all its influence, Alphaville still looks and feels like no other movie. More than a prophecy, it is poetry.

Dec 18, 2023

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Chris Vognar

Dallas Morning News

It's so archly intellectual that you fear it might splinter if you poke it in the ribs. It's also endlessly playful in its worship of American movie tropes, and deeply resourceful.

Rated: B

May 29, 2014

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Ty Burr

Boston Globe

Nothing about this strange, moving work of agit-pop has ever seemed out of date. If anything, "Alphaville" moves closer to relevance with every passing year.

Rated: 4/4

May 1, 2014

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

It has its spot in history, and if you let yourself relax into what it’s doing — and respond to what it does instead of expecting it to do what you want — you’ll probably have a better time with it.

Rated: A

May 20, 2025

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Jean-Luc Godard’s sole foray science fiction drama stirs “1984” and “Brave New World” into a pulp fiction private eye thriller.

Feb 8, 2025

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Alphaville is Orwellian dystopia by way of Sam Spade sleuthing.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 14, 2024

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Stephen C

Success in 1 hour and 38 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/02/25

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Filippos S

Way ahead of its time. A special film, with good performances. A little poetry in cinema.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/13/25

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K W

One of the main films that inspired me to unroll in film school and learn more about the art of filmmaking

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/18/25

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Dani G

Very strange ¿sci-fi? film. The dialogue, the scenes, the sequences, everything.... But then I remember... It's a Godard film, so it's ok.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/29/24

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Alejandro E

Sea como sea, aún cuando unos cuantos no sepan qué pasa en la trama, tiene bien ganado su status, a base de dar una nueva cara al género noir-policiaco, y convertirse en escuela para las futuras generaciones. Una de las que no hay que dejar escapar.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/01/24

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Kevin L

Very Godard. And not in the 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘈' 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦, 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 or 𝘝𝘪𝘷𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘢 𝘝𝘪𝘦 sense. But in those films where meaning and themes seem to blur amid so much symbolism, imagery-laden dialogue/voice-over, that the results are overly nebulous or arbitrary for me. As a political allegory with some sci-fi elements, it's visually striking and captivating in its first half before the film gets too didactic in the final third. Alphaville is challenging in places and thematically familiar in others. 𝘈𝘭𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦 is challenging in places and thematically familiar in others. But I also found it tedious and a bit repetitive. Funny how in all the reviews I've checked out for the movie, no one has mentioned how women are portrayed and treated. Or is that just expcted and par-for-the-course in noir flicks? I did appreciate Constantine's and Karina 's performances. 3.2 stars

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/05/23

Full Review

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Jean-Luc Godard

Director

Eddie Constantine

Lemmy Caution

Anna Karina

Natacha Von Braun

Akim Tamiroff

Henri Dickson

Valérie Boisgel

2nd Seductress Third Class (uncredited)

Jean-Louis Comolli

Prof. Jeckell (uncredited)

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Synopsis

Government agent Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine) is dispatched on a secret mission to Alphaville, a dystopian metropolis in a distant corner of the galaxy. Caution is hot on the trail of rogue agent Henri Dickson (Akim Tamiroff) and a scientist named Von Braun, the creator of Alpha 60, a computer that uses mind control to rule over residents of Alphaville. Caution is aided in his quest to destroy the despotic computer ruler by Von Braun's own daughter, Natacha (Anna Karina).

Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Producer: André Michelin
Screenwriter: Paul Éluard, Jean-Luc Godard
Distributor: Janus Films
Production Co: Athos Films, Chaumiane, Filmstudio
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): May 5, 1965, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Feb 7, 2014
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 4, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $46.6K
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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