Jean-Luc Godard (France) Part 1: The 60s

Jean-Luc Godard is an influential French filmmaker notably associated with the Nouvelle Vague film movement (“New Wave” in English). Hi films were variously experimental, genre-deconstructing, intellectual, political and funny. He was married to actress Anna Karina, who graced many of his 1960s films with her beauty and charm.

Vivre sa vie (France, 1962) [A.K.A. My Life To Live]
Director: Jean-Luc Godard. Starring: Anna Karina, Sady Rebbot, André S. Labarthe...

A couple of scenes where the main characters play pinball. In the first scene, Anna plays a Sea Belles (Gottlieb, 1956)...

In the second scene, Anna’s friends play a Sweet Sioux (Gottlieb, 1959). This was a 4-player game, which normally had wood side rails, but metal ones also existed, as pictured here...

Bande à part (France, 1964) [A.K.A. Band of Outsiders].
Director: Jean-Luc Godard. Stars: Anna Karina, Claude Brasseur, Sami Frey...

Just a brief glimpse of a Sunset (Gottlieb, 1962) as the gang walks into a café…

Pierrot le fou (France, 1965)
Director: Jean-Luc Godard. Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Anna Karina...

A very brief glimpse of two machines in a bowling alley.
The one on the left is a Sky·Line (Gottlieb, 1965), which was pretty much brand new when the film was shot.

The other we don’t see enough of to identify...

Made In U.S.A. (France, 1966)
Director: Jean-Luc Godard. Starring: Anna Karina, László Szabó, Jean-Pierre Léaud...

Godard’s last feature film with Karina… they had divorced in 1965. I don’t remember much of the plot, but it was a sort of mish-mash film noir with gangsters and politics and deconstructed.

Some of the gang Anna’s with hang out in a garage where there’s a Sea-Shore (Gottlieb, 1964)...

Bonus:
Godard’s 1965 film Alphaville (which also starred Anna Karina) inspired Jerry Kelley for the artwork for Capersville (Bally, 1966)...

Anna (France, 1967)

Anna (France, 1967). Director: Pierre Koralnik. Starring: Anna Karina, Serge Gainsbourg, Jean-Claude Brialy, Marianne Faithfull...

It’s a Gainsbourg/Gottlieb special! Anna was a crazy musical comedy shot on 35mm color film but for TV. Gainsbourg was a friend of Koralnik’s and wrote some music for it, as well as acted in it. Of course it’s mostly about Anna Karina, and well, what more do you need?

I found some interesting background info on it in this blog post.

In a scene where Gainsbourg is hanging out with Brialy and singing, he leans on a Paradise (Gottlieb, 1965)... 

During that scene, the angle changes and we can spot a bit of a Bank-A-Ball (Gottlieb, 1965)  as well...

I found this photo by Paul Almásy of Gainsbourg playing the above-mentioned Paradise machine, no doubt during a break from shooting. I don’t know who the other person is (but it’s bad form to block a player’s view like that :-)...

Serge Gainsbourg playing pinball, photo by Paul Almásy.

In the office where Anna works, there is some pinball-themed art with neon tubes hanging on the walls, artist unknown...

Bonus Serge Gainsbourg pinball photos:
Gainsbourg and an Aloha (Gottlieb, 1961). Photo by Roger Kasparian, 1963 (also seems to exist in color, but I couldn’t find a decent-sized one)...

Serge Gainsbourg & pinball machine, photo by Roger Kasparian, 1963.

Gainsbourg playing a Tropic Isle (Gottlieb, 1962) with his daughter Charlotte (8), and Jane Birkin’s daughter Kate (12). Photo by Tony Frank, 1979...

Serge Gainsbourg playing pinball, photo by Tony Frank, 1979.

Yup, looks like Gainsbourg was no stranger to pinball, and they are all Gottlieb machines.