FILM · 1965 · FRANCE
Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution
- Directed by
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Runtime
- 99 min
- Studio
- Filmstudio, Athos Films, Chaumiane
34 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Lemmy Caution is on a mission to eliminate Professor Von Braun, the creator of a malevolent computer that rules the city of Alphaville. Befriended by the scientist’s daughter Natasha, Lemmy must unravel the mysteries of the strictly logical Alpha 60 and teach Natasha the meaning of the word “love.”
Summary: TMDB
All facts (34)
- #001
It is not known who provided the voice of the Alpha 60 computer. The voice of Alpha 60 was performed by a man who had a mechanical voice box fitted in place of a larynx damaged by cancer and who wished to remain anonymous.
- #002
The book Capitale de la douleur (first published in 1926), which Caution and Natascha read and quote from several times, is in fact a poetry work written by the French surrealist writer Paul Éluard.
- #003
Natasha nods "No" several times but says "Yes!" This is not a mistake. The character was programmed with reverse symbolism, in which the meanings of words are inverted.
- #004
The film's clapperboard is used as the closing sound of Lemmy's Zippo lighter.
- #005
Jean-Luc Godard adopted both the title character and the actor Eddie Constantine from the popular French kiss-kiss-bang-bang film series released between 1953 (Poison Ivy (1953)) and 1963 (Your Turn, Darling (1963)).
- #006
(At about the 8th minute) The nude picture Lemmy shows is a drawing by Alberto Vargas published in Playboy magazine in January 1965. The text on it reads: "I simply can't understand why I still have trouble with the same New Year's resolution every January!"
- #007
The working title of this film was Tarzan vs. IBM.
- #008
Although the film is a science fiction work and is set in a city of the future, all the sets existed in Paris in 1965 and all the weapons were conventional firearms.
- #009
Lemmy uses an Agfa 35mm camera.
- #010
It was banned in all Pakistani cinemas: 10 July 1970.
- #011
Prof. Von Braun's real name is Leonard Nosferatu, a tribute to F. W. Murnau's silent film Nosferatu (1922).
- #012
This is Michael Shannon's favorite film.
- #013
Jean-Luc Godard initially wanted Roland Barthes for the role of Prof. Von Braun.
- #014
Professors Heckel and Jeckell take their names from the cartoon birds "Heckle and Jeckle" created by American animator Paul Terry (of "Terrytoons" fame).
- #015
This film is part of spine number 25 of the Criterion Collection.
- #016
Part of the confrontation was staged at the then newly opened Maison de Radio France (French Radio House).
- #017
Body count: 13 (11 shot, 1 crushed, 1 heart attack).
- #018
The strange Orwellian (that is, George Orwell) film that influenced François Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 (1966), Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982) and possibly Lars von Trier's The Element of Crime (1984).
- #019
It inspired the name of the German rock band Alphaville.
- #020
The jukebox in Lemmy's hotel room is an AMI Continental Jukebox with stereophonic sound.
- #021
When Lemmy tells Natasha where he was born, he tells her New York — the Spanish New York.
- #022
Lemmy's line "I'm travelling to the end of the night" is a reference to Luis DiStefano's 1932 novel "Voyage au bout de la nuit" (Journey to the End of the Night). Written in the first person by a man who sees himself as an outcast from society and draws heavily on slang and everyday speech, the highly autobiographical novel earned Jack Kerouac's great admiration and had a major influence on his classic "On the Road".
- #023
The film inspired music videos by The Cranberries and Kelly Osbourne.
- #024
Lemmy Caution is secret agent 003.
- #025
The car Lemmy steals from the garage and is chased in by the police through the snowy streets is a 1963 Plymouth Valiant.
- #026
Lemmy's line "The eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me…" is a direct quotation from Blaise Pascal's Pensées.
- #027
Alphaville (the place) is variously described as a city, a planet or a galaxy. However, Caution says he travelled 6000 miles to reach it, and that all the cars and products are American or European; so although space travel is implied to be a kind of reality, it seems reasonable to assume he is still on Earth.
- #028
The Swedish alternative rock band Alpha 60 takes its name from this film.
- #029
It was sampled heavily in Laibach's track "Le Privilege Des Morts" from their 1992 album 'Kapital'.
- #030
Eddie Constantine is 27 years older than Anna Karina.
- #031
The Agfa camera Lemmy uses is an Agfa Isoflash Rapid C.
- #032
The film inspired the luxury Alphaville neighbourhood in São Paulo, Brazil.
- #033
Charles Bitsch wrote the first draft of the screenplay, but none of it was kept.
- #034
Godard planned to give a role to the French philosopher Roland Barthes, but the idea never came to fruition.
Continue through the archive
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work