Jean-Luc Godard's Pierrot le Fou

Jean-Luc Godard’s Pierrot le fou, made at the height of the French New Wave, remains a milestone in French cinema. More accessible than his later films, it represents the diverse facets of Godard’s concerns and themes: a bittersweet analysis of male-female relations; an interrogation of the image; personal and international politics; the existential dilemmas of consumer society. This volume brings together essays by five prominent scholars of French film. They approach Pierrot le fou from the perspectives of image-and-word-play, aesthetics and politics, history, and high and popular culture, offering thought-provoking insights into the film, while demonstrating its relevance for a new generation of students of film. Also included are a selection of reviews of the film, as well as a complete filmography of Godard’s work.