Come on Godard & Truffaut, Can't You Guys Just Get Along?
One of the constants in the world of cinema is the curious animosity between some of the greatest auteurs in history.
Jean-Luc Godard is one of those filmmakers that attracts all sorts of descriptions, but there is no question he was a filmmaker that helped change the face of cinema. He was also pretty opinionated, not unlike many of the auteurs at the time, and famously had a bizarre feud with former friend François Truffaut:
In this supplement on Criterion's release of François Truffaut's DAY FOR NIGHT, film scholar Dudley Andrew talks about the major fight that Truffaut and former friend Jean-Luc Godard got into around the time of that film's release in 1973.
And a clip from the film Day for Night:
As a bonus:
Interestingly enough, Godard is one of the few filmmakers of the time still with us today, and he's still making movies all these years later. In hindsight, the fight seems a bit silly, as both of them were still making memorable films, but then again, none of the fights between filmmakers ever make much sense, especially considering how hard it is to actually get a movie made and the passion it takes to get up in the morning and face constant rejection and difficulty trying to get films off the ground. While cinema is always changing, one thing is constant: the most iconic directors have pretty strong opinions about colleagues and they certainly aren't shy about sharing them.
Which side are you on? Do you think Godard had a point and Truffaut had lost his way, or was Godard a bit off his rocker?
Source: Criterion Collection