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Claude Brasseur, Nathalie Baye, Johnny Hallyday, Stéphane Ferrara, Laurent Terzieff ... see more see more... , Jean-Pierre Léaud , Alain Cuny , Eugène Berthier , Emmanuelle Seigner , Cyril Autin , Julie Delpy , Ann-Gisele Glass , Aurelle Doazan , Xavier Saint-Macary , Alexandra Garrijo , Pierre Bertin

After several years of making films to please only himself, French director Jean-Luc Godard once more invites the audience to the party with The Detective. Not that there's anything so blase as a line... read more read more...ar plot or appealing characters, but at least some of Godard's isolated vignettes are accessible this time around. Set in the Hotel Concorde at St. Lazare, the film is set in motion when miserably married Nathalie Baye and Claude Brasseur attempt to collect a debt from mob-plagued boxing manager Johnny Hallyday. Meanwhile, hotel detective Jean-Pierre Leaud tries to solve an old murder case. These two gossamer plot strands are used to tie together Godard's scattershot views on modern life, with emphasis on the voyeuristic potential of the recent video-camera boom. The director dashed off The Detective to raise money for a film he truly cared about, the controversial Hail Mary. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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49% liked it

550 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

8 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Jean-Luc Godard

Release Date: August 23, 1995

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DVD Release Date: February 5, 2008

Stats: 40 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (40)

  • SirPant
    October 10, 2011
    SirPant
    Detective was a high point for Godard after a fairly unsuccessful decade. Visually, he was back and on form, I could see traces of his previous film that I had enjoyed greatly, the colours, the camera control and likable script. He also goes back to noir, a genres he knows well -... read more overall, this film is stylishly shot and great to look at. Unfortunately, the muddling storeys gets confusing and I lost interest half way through, a real example of highs and lows here, he'll never beat Alphaville in my opinion.
  • sanjurosamurai
    February 15, 2010
    sanjurosamurai
    although godard was still experimenting with narrative during this decade, detective is a huge step up from some of his earlier films of the 80's. the telling of the story is still quite choppy, but it makes enough sense to navigate well through the stories of the compelling cha... read moreracters that he has thrown into the mix. a bit of comedy, a bit of neo-noir, the film has intrigue and that godard style that i love so much. still not as good as his earlier work, but a step above his previous few films.
  • gator681
    May 10, 2010
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"Detective" was filmed in 1985 as the video revolution was taking hold. In the film, three people(Laurent Terzieff, Aurelle Doazan & Jean-Pierre Leaud) try to discover who killed the prince in the same hotel room where he died. To help out, they record and ... read moreview videotapes obsessively. On the videotapes are a pilot(Claude Brasseur) and his wife(Nathalie Baye) who are trying to get money they feel is owed to them by a shady boxing promoter(Johnny Hallyday). This sets up Jean-Luc Godard's thesis of repitition and truth. In other words, how many times do we have to watch something before discovering the absolute truth? [/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]So far, so good.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]But not long into it, Godard gets bored with any kind of plot, and starts indiscriminately moving back and forth not only between the above groups but also a third(including Julie Delpy and Emmanuelle Seigner when they were just starting out), one of whom is just around to try on various outfits. Basically, it feels like the remote is in the control of a five-year old, albeit alternating between the Sundance and Independent Film Channels. So, maybe "Detective" is really about short attention spans. Or it could be a modern take on "The Tempest." Who knows?[/font]

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Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
April 17, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Jean-Luc Godard's 1985 deconstruction of film noir has the lightness and comic zip of some of his 60s features, though the mix of elements isn't quite as rich. Full Review

Vincent Canby
August 30, 2004
Vincent Canby, New York Times

You can't afford to miss it if you aren't afraid of a little hard work. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
February 4, 2010
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

Very rich comedy about the age of video Full Review

Felix Gonzalez Jr.
February 14, 2008
Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review

Drawing upon a multitude of genres and styles, from film noir and crime to slapstick comedy, Détective is a variable but entertaining experiment. Full Review

August 29, 2006
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Godard's interest, however, is not in the crime (or even the plot) but in playing with the film medium--sounds, music, dialog, images (both video and film), and the written word. Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
August 22, 2004
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Vintage Godard with a jumpy storyline and misunderstandings between men and women. Full Review

Fran Hortop
May 24, 2003
Fran Hortop, Film4

Jean-Luc Godard's hotel-based film noir borders on farce: as conventional as he gets, but still inventive, subversive and darkly comic. Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

Built on the charisma of its stars and on memories of the great thrillers of the 40s, tenuously held together by Godard's romantic pessimism, curiosity and sense of humour, it's co-dedicated, sensibly... Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

November 7, 2003
Denver Post

Click to read the article Full Review

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Détective Trivia

  • Who starred in Cocoon: The Return, Ace Venture: Pet Detective, and Scream?  Answer »
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