''British Sounds'' (also known as ''See You at Mao'') is an hour-long

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

film shot in February 1969 for television, written and directed by

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as ...

and

Jean-Henri Roger Jean-Henri Roger (24 January 1949 – 31 December 2012) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor. He co-directed with Juliet Berto the 1983 film '' Cap Canaille'', which was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. ...

, and produced by Irving Teitelbaum and

Kenith Trodd Kenith Trodd (born 1936) is a British television producer best known for his professional association with television playwright Dennis Potter. Early life The son of a crane driver, Trodd was born in Southampton, Hampshire, and raised in the Chri ...

. It was produced during Godard's most outspokenly political period.

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...

refused to screen it owing to its controversial content, but it was subsequently released in cinemas. Godard credited the film as being made by 'Comrades of the Dziga-Vertov Group'.

Synopsis

The film opens with a long

tracking shot In cinematography, a tracking shot is any shot where the camera follows backward, forward or moves alongside the subject being recorded. Mostly the camera’s position is parallel to the character, creating a sideway motion, tracking the chara ...

of workers at an

MG Cars MG is a British automotive marque founded by Cecil Kimber in the 1920s, and M.G. Car Company Limited was the British sports car manufacturer existing between 1930 and 1972 that made the marque well known. Since 2007 the marque has been contro ...

manufacturing plant, with a voiceover containing quotes from the

Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'' (), originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (), is a political pamphlet written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, commissioned by the Communist League and originally published in London in 1848. The t ...

. Subsequent scenes depict a naked woman walking around a house with a voiceover from a

Marxist feminist Marxist feminism is a philosophical variant of feminism that incorporates and extends Marxist theory. Marxist feminism analyzes the ways in which women are exploited through capitalism and the individual ownership of private property. According ...

tract, a newsreader, representing the British

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

, delivering a

reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...

rant interspersed with footage of workers, a meeting of

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

trade unionists, students creating political posters against a soundtrack of parodies of songs by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. The film closes with footage of fists punching through

Union Jacks ''Union Jacks'' is the Babys' fourth album, which peaked at number 42 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in 1980. The lead single "True Love True Confession" failed to chart and was succeeded by the minor hit "Midnight Rendezvous," and finally the hit si ...

References

External links

''British Sounds''
at

Vimeo Vimeo ( ) is an American Online video platform, video hosting, sharing, and services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices and operates on a ...

* * 1969 television films 1969 films Documentary films about the labor movement Films about communism Films directed by Jean-Luc Godard Films directed by Jean-Henri Roger Films set in the United Kingdom British avant-garde and experimental films French avant-garde and experimental films French documentary films British documentary television films 1960s British films 1960s French films {{France-documentary-film-stub