Savage Screen

A friend recently sent me a “New Yorker” article by Richard Brody about the French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard being snubbed by the Academy Awards.

Godard is to be given an honorary Oscar this year, but the Academy is relegating him to a dinky, honorary ceremony Nov. 13.

He’s not the only one; Francis Ford Coppola, Eli Wallach and Kevin Brownlow are all not good enough to be honored at the regular ceremony. To shun this incredible pool of talent is truly a travesty.

For my money, Godard is the greatest living filmmaker. I could spend all day listing off his great films: “My Life to Live,” “Contempt,” “Pierrot Le Fou,” “2 or 3 Things I Know About Her,” as well as the film that ushered in the French New Wave, “Breathless.”

The man has influenced directors such as Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh and Paul Thomas Anderson. There’s nothing more exhilarating than watching a Godard film fly by.

Coppola isn’t exactly a slouch either. Although his career has mostly fizzled out, the man directed four of the best movies of the 20th century, including the first two “Godfather” films, “Apocalypse Now” and “The Conversation.”

Wallach is probably best known for his role as “The Ugly” guy in “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Brownlow is best known for documentaries and books on the history of Hollywood cinema, particularly of the silent age.

So why would the Academy Awards shuffle these great people off to the side? One reason might have to do with Godard’s big fat mouth. In a 1987 film, Godard (who played the protagonist), made some comments commonly considered anti-Semitic. That can’t be forgiven, but it’s not the whole picture. Later in the film, Godard creates a memorial to the Holocaust, the greatest tragedy of the 20th century.

Godard’s views make him someone you wouldn’t want to hang out with, but they don’t diminish the greatness of his films.

More likely, the reason Godard has been shunned is what is interpreted as an anti-American viewpoint. Starting with the great works of the ’60s, the director wasn’t afraid to denounce the war in Vietnam.

In films such as “2 or 3 Things I Know About Her,” Godard criticized American consumerism; the final shot is of a model city constructed with boxes of junk food, detergent containers and assorted brand name groceries.

But Godard’s views don’t explain the lack of Coppola and others. The real reasons they’re not good enough for the regular show: time limits and ratings. The Oscars are so long, and instead of cutting out a dance number or movie preview, they’ll just exclude great artists.

Plus, the suburban mother who just wants to see celebrities might change the channel when they start talking about some French guy. And that’s what they really care about.

Perhaps Godard isn’t a great match for the Oscars; the award show celebrates the commercialism that he abhors. But Coppola and others deserve to be honored at the main ceremony, not shuffled to the side.