Godard and Sound - by Albertine Fox (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

What happens when we listen to a film? How can we describe the relationship of sound to vision in cinema, and in turn our relationship as spectators with the audio-visual? Jean-Luc Godard understood the importance of the soundtrack in cinema and relied heavily on the impact of carefully constructed sound to produce innovative effects. For the first time, this book brings together his post-1979 multimedia works, and an analysis of their rich soundscapes.The book provides detailed critical discussions of feature-length films, shorts and videos, delving into Godard's inventive experiments with the cinematic soundtrack and offering new insights into his latest 3D films. By detailing the production contexts and philosophy behind Godard's idiosyncratic sound design, it provides an accessible route to understanding his complex use of music, speech and environmental sound, alongside the distorting effects of speed alteration and auditory excess. The book is framed by the concept of 'acoustic spectatorship': a way of cultivating active listening in the viewer.It also draws on ideas by leading sound theorists, philosophers, musicians, and poets, giving particular emphasis to the pioneering thought of French sound engineer and theorist, Pierre Schaeffer.
Softening the boundaries between film studies, sound studies and musicology, Godard and Sound re-evaluates Godard's work from a sonic perspective, and will prove essential reading for those wishing to rebalance the importance of sound for the study of cinema.

Review Quotes

Albertine Fox's attentive and impressively informed analysis sounds forth new meanings and previously unheard compositions in Jean-Luc Godard's late films. By expertly composing, in elegant prose, a legible score through which to apprehend Godard's most complicated works, she provides a double intervention in both film and sound studies.
Nora M. Alter, Temple University, USA; author of The Essay Film After Fact and Fiction

Albertine Fox's study of [Godard's] late films is absorbing
The New York Times

Eloquently written, with abundant evidence of exhaustive research and fastidious compilation. Its material is synthesised with commitment and care, excellently balancing both macro and micro aspects of its designated subject matter, and intuitively threading through its overarching themes whilst still giving mention to many engaging details of the minutiae pertaining to individual productions, and their respective sources of inspiration.
Alphaville Journal of Film and Screen Media

About the Author

Albertine Fox is Lecturer in French Film at the University of Bristol, UK. She is the author of articles on Jean-Luc Godard's cinema and video art and Chantal Akerman's films and installations. Her article 'Constructing Voices in Jean-Luc Godard's Sauve qui peut (la vie) (1979)' was awarded the 2014 Susan Hayward Prize by the Association for Studies in French Cinema.