Cinema has lost one of its most cherished and influential voices.
Tuesday, per a report from Reuters, the long-celebrated director Jean-Luc Godard died at age 91. In a statement shared with multiple French outlets, the director’s partner, Anne-Marie Mieville, said he “died peacefully at home” and was “surrounded by loved ones.” Initial reports also said there were no plans for a formal ceremony, adding that Godard is instead expected to be cremated.
The French-Swiss auteur was a pioneering force behind the New Wave era of filmmaking in the 1960s, with his work—specifically oft-cited classics like Breathless and Contempt—regularly mentioned among discussions of cinema’s most important and transformative works.
Like his filmography, his unique influence on visual storytelling has persisted for decades and can be seen as far back as early Spielberg classics and as recently as Donald Glover’s Atlanta.
In the 2018 film What She Said, a documentary about film critic Pauline Kael, Quentin Tarantino reflected on the influence Godard had on his work, particularly the director’s 1964 New Wave entry Band of Outsiders (originally released as Bande à part).
“[Kael] said it was as if a bunch of movie-mad young French boys had taken a banal American crime novel and had translated the poetry that they had read between the lines,” Tarantino said. “It was like, that is my aesthetic right there. That is what I hope I can do.”
For those new to Godard’s extensive filmography, the Criterion Channel offers a selection of the director’s work alongside an immersive educational experience featuring short films and documentaries, as well as archival interview footage.
Below, see some of the initial tributes to the revered artist, including from French president Emmanuel Macron.
RIP.
