Histoire(s) du cinéma and other works LE (Region B) Blu-ray ***Preorder*** 7/20

Made over ten years at the end of cinema’s first century, Jean-Luc Godard’s roving, essayistic video project is a multilayered celebration of the art form’s achievements, as well as a raging condemnation of its failure to respond and engage with turbulent times. Melding together film clips, newsreel footage, painting, music, as well as Godard’s own narration in a transfixing collage, Histoire(s) du cinéma is a passionate cri de coeur by a cinema icon entering a galvanising late period, of which many other works are included in this release. Marked by searching introspection and bold experimentation, these film and video projects evince a creative spirit continuously engaged with the question of cinema’s place in the world, and the world’s place within cinema – not least in Godard’s moving final film, Scénarios (2024), making here its world Blu-ray premiere.

BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

• All 8 episodes of Histoire(s) du cinéma, viewable with two optional English subtitle tracks: a narration translation, and annotated subtitles by Felicity Chaplin identifying clips and images
• Lettre à Freddy Buache - Godard's anti-film commissioned for the 500th anniversary of the Swiss city of Lausanne (1982)
• Soft and Hard [Soft Conversation on Hard Subjects] - creative partners Godard and Miéville discuss their work while involved in everyday tasks around their home (co-directed with Anne-Marie Miéville, 1985, 52 mins)
• JLG/JLG, autoportrait de décembre - Godard’s self-portrait documentary finds the filmmaker questioning his place in cinema history and the end of Western culture (1995)
• 2 x 50 Years of French Cinema - in his documentary in celebration of the centenary of cinema, Godard points the camera at himself (co-directed with Anne-Marie Miéville, 1995)
• Moments choisis des histoire(s) du cinéma - Godard’s re-edit of Histoire(s) du cinéma on 35mm film reorganises footage and includes unique material (2004)
• Exposé du film annonce du film “Scénarios” - Jean-Luc Godard presents his idea for a 6-chapter feature film (2024)
• Scenarios - Godard’s final work (2024)
• New introduction by Godard expert Michael Witt (2025)
• New interview with Michael Witt on Godard’s magnum opus (2025)
• New interview with Godard collaborator Bernard Eisenschitz on the director’s working methods (2025)
• Extensive archival TV interview with Godard on French programme Bouillon de culture (1993)
• Limited edition booklet featuring new essays by film writers Sophia Satchell Baeza and Jawni Han, and an essay by Adrian Martin
• Limited Edition of 5000 copies, presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings