One Plus One, by Jean-Luc Godard

One Plus One, by Jean-Luc Godard. Courtesy ABKCO.

Los Angeles Filmforum at MOCA presents

One Plus One, by Jean-Luc Godard

Thursday November 8, 2018, 7:00pm

At MOCA Grand Avenue, Ahmanson Theater, 250 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles

(1968: Visions of Possibilities, part 9)

Official Los Angeles Premiere of Godard’s original cut, not seen at a proper public screening in Los Angeles since the 1970s, if ever! A new 4K Restoration!

Introduction by Tony Richmond, Cinematographer! 

More commonly known as Sympathy for the Devil after re-editing by its producer, One Plus One, filmed in 1968, is one of the most complex and feisty films of that year.  The producer altered the ending, changing Godard’s intended meaning, provoking Godard to punch the producer after the revised cut was first revealed at the London Film Festival in November 1968.  Godard’s original edit, One Plus One, had some screenings in the first year (we found record of one in San Francisco in a 1970 Rolling Stone review), but was never regularly distributed in the US after that.  Now ABKCO, the owners of US rights of both versions, have restored both in 4K, releasing them in October 2018.  Filmforum is proud to present the Los Angeles (and possibly the US) premiere of the new restoration of One Plus One, Godard’s original cut.   There hasn’t been a licensed public screening of the film in Los Angeles since the 1970s, and quite possibly ever. 

Featuring the Rolling Stones working out their landmark song “Sympathy for the Devil” in a recording studio in June 1968, intercut with several scenarios devised by Godard to convey his vision of the inhumane flaws of capitalism, and his views of the actions of that year, One Plus One has been a controversial film from its original appearance, highly praised and damned.  You won’t want to miss this critical cinematic expression of 1968 from one of the world’s most intellectual and complex filmmakers.

“This is an essential document of its era” - The Guardian, May 20, 2006, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/may/21/28 

A new review in Rolling Stone about Sympathy for the Devil, which also discusses One Plus One.

1968: Visions of Possibilities: Over the course of the year, Filmforum is presenting a variety of films reflecting the turbulent global events of 1968, films made in that time, and works reflecting on the long-term effects and disappointments of the activist efforts and violent responses.  From the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr and Robert Kennedy to the Democratic Convention and 1968 presidential election in the US, to the strikes in France in May and the Prague Spring and Soviet crushing of it, these films of and on 1968 utilize many voices and techniques to show an era that seemed lost but perhaps now cycles back to our consciousness and actions. 1968: Visions of Possibilities is curated by Adam Hyman.

Tickets: $15 general; $10 for seniors; $8 for students with ID; free for Filmforum and MOCA members. Available in advance from Brown Paper Tickets at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3620859 or at the door.

For more information: www.lafilmforum.org or 323-377-7238, https://www.moca.org/program/filmforum-one-plus-one-by-jean-luc-godard 213/621-1745 or education@moca.org