Guy Debord Complete Cinematic Works: Scripts, Stills, Documents

by Guy Debord, Ken Knabb (Translation)

Guy Debord (1931–1994) was the most influential member of the Situationist International, the avant-garde group that triggered the May 1968 revolt in France. His book The Society of the Spectacle is considered the most important theoretical work of the 20th century. But while Debord’s written work is some of the most notorious in the world of political and cultural radicality, deemed "the cornerstone cliché of postmodernism," his films have until now remained tantalizingly inaccessible. After being withdrawn from circulation for nearly two decades (by Debord himself, to call attention to the 1984 assassination of the producer of the films, Gerard Lebovici), all six films were featured in a special "Guy Debord -Retrospective" at the 2001 Venice Film Festival and re--released in France in 2002. The most famous of the films is Debord’s cinematic adaptation of his own book, The Society of the Spectacle . As passages from the book are read in voiceover, the text is illuminated, via direct illustration or various types of ironic contrast, by clips from Russian and Hollywood features ( Battleship Potemkin, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Johnny Guitar , etc.), TV commercials, softcore porn, newsreels and documentary footage. Some of the other films evoke Debord’s adventures in the bohemian underworld of Paris during the 1950s, and in others Debord attacks the film medium itself, directly challenging the viewer by critiquing the traditional separation of spectacle and spectator. Ken Knabb’s translation of Debord’s Complete Cinematic Works accompanies the long-awaited English versions of these films, which will be coming to the United States in 2003. The scripts are illustrated with 62 stills, and Debord’s own annotations help elucidate the subtleties of these astonishing works, which are like nothing else in cinema history. Ken Knabb edited and translated the highly regarded -Situationist International Anthology .

Genres: Film, Art, Theory

350 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1977

About the author

Guy Ernest Debord was a French theorist, writer, filmmaker, hypergraphist and founding member of the groups Lettrist International and Situationist International. In broad terms, Debord's theories attempted to account for the spiritually debilitating modernization of the private and public spheres of everyday life by economic forces during the post-WWII modernization of Europe. Alienation, Debord postulated, could be accounted for by the invasive forces of the 'spectacle'—"a social relation between people that is mediated by images." Central to this school of thought was the claim that alienation is more than an emotive description or an aspect of individual psychology; rather, it is a consequence of the mercantile form of social organization which has reached its climax in capitalism. Debord committed suicide, shooting himself in the heart at his property on November 30, 1994.

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hopefully one day this work will come out to the open, where one doesn't have to know someone to see the films of Guy Debord. But then again, that is why Guy Debord is sort of fun.

But his writings and films are pretty essential for the modern boy or girl in this disaster that we call the 21st Century. For those who don't know Debord's films, he uses old film footage from Hollywood as well as other sources. And with that one gets a talk or lecture on the soundtrack from M. Debord. It's pretty great.

The next best thing to seeing the actual films is to own and read this book. Fully illustrated with film stills from the film plus the script.

[Ezequiel]

Hay algo antipático en Debord: no el malditismo mismo sino el esfuerzo por; el elogio de la obra propia, con lo que tiene de repulsivo, y que no sólo no acepta críticas negativas (nadie está a la altura) sino, por supuesto (no podría ser de otro modo), tampoco positivas (nadie está a la altura). Otra cosa: es discutible que la pionera "película sin imágenes" realmente pueda considerarse como tal, como "sin imágenes" (alternación del blanco y negro, luz y oscuridad, hecho básico de todo cine fotoquímico (véase Kluge)). Asimismo, la crítica a la imagen no es acompañada por una crítica a la palabra: Debord es verborrágico y convencionalmente legible.

[Lance Grabmiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating but I think I'd rather watch the films. What does make this volume pretty great though are the extensive notes and additional materials.

[Tentatively, Convenience · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hhmm.. Debord, the Situationists. Being a neoist I occassionally read somewhere that NEOISM has followed in the footsteps of FLUXUS & SITUATIONISM. There's a slight case to be made for this, but not, IMO, that strong of one - esp regarding the latter. It's seems noteworthy that I read something written by a Situationist somewhere long ago that there is no such thing as Situationism - that there are only Situationists. That one statement resonantes profoundly w/ me since I don't think that there's exactly anything called NEOISM - that there're only neoists. Nonetheless, both 'movements' have been oversimplified for historical purposes - in the case of neoism by someone who cd make his career off such oversimplifications. Oh well..

Back to this bk (well, sortof): I've seen some of these movies thanks to my friend Keith Sanborn who subtitles them in English & then releases video copies. He & I teamed up to give what must've been a fairly early English-subtitled screening of "The Society of the Spectacle" in Buffalo in 1995. I like his work but, in a way, it leaves me feeling the way much Andre Breton does: a bit stultified rather than liberated. I wish Debord had made MORE movies b/c having absorbed somewhat what little I've had access to, I feel like it's sortof 'closed' to me now. Still, Debord occupies a fairly unique place in film history - "The Society of the Spectacle" alone is one of the most incisive critiques of capitalism ever made.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

unfortunately, I haven't seen the films. this is the next best thing. brilliant.