Band of Outsiders

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Band of Outsiders

1964

1h 37m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Cinephile slackers Franz (Sami Frey) and Arthur (Claude Brasseur) spend their days mimicking the antiheroes of Hollywood noirs and Westerns while pursuing the lovely Odile (Anna Karina). The misfit trio upends convention at every turn, be it through choreographed dances in cafés or frolicsome romps through the Louvre. Eventually, their romantic view of outlaws pushes them to plan their own heist, but their inexperience may send them out in a blaze of glory -- which could be just what they want.

Critics Consensus

An oddball heist movie with an dark streak that picks apart every rule in filmmaking.

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Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

AV Club

May 5, 2016

A

Behind its substantial charm and light touch is a movie that's more morbid, alienated, and personal than it lets on.

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Jaime N. Christley

Slant Magazine

Sep 7, 2011

3/4

The film sees Godard parsing out his feelings for Karina, then his wife, and meditating on the mercurial nature of his own preoccupations.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Mar 3, 2008

4/4

This 1964 feature remains one of Godard's most appealing and underrated films, relatively relaxed and strangely optimistic.

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Sean Burns

WBUR’s Arts & Culture

Oct 10, 2022

It’s impossible to imagine Tarantino’s italicized pulp fiction without the arch influence of this effervescent caper.

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Aug 19, 2022

4.5/5

Viewed by some as Godard’s most accessible movie, “Band of Outsiders” is a playful, saucy romp which has influenced a variety of filmmakers through the decades that have followed.

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Michael J. Casey

Michael J. Cinema

Jul 17, 2021

5/5

A documentary of Godard's affection for Karina.

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David M

@DavidH99 Dec 12, 2025

Vastly overrated when compared to Goddard's other films such as Breathless, Contempt, A Woman is a Woman. A film that is simultaneously boring and repetitive, riding the coattails of Goddard's popularity.

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Juan A

@itscheezybaby Dec 15, 2024

There’s some good/unique parts. So far what I’m getting from 1960 French heist movies they loved narration

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 Sep 7, 2024

One of the few Goddard films I can not only tolerate but genuinely enjoy. There’s an actual plot in this one which helps. The dance scene is one of the best I’ve seen in cinema. It’s a good Goddard film. Watched on DVD.

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Samuel S

@RT22368225 Mar 10, 2023

It was a 2.5 for me, until the end which bumped it up. It seemed clever and was just cathartic for me. It's quite a conventional film about love gone wrong with a heist to cap it off, but it has that French New Wave spice in it that helps give it more personality, with some memorable moments coming out of it.

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Andrey T

@RT95492063 Dec 3, 2022

A very frustrating film. I think I went in expecting way too much and was left severely disappointing. There are definitely some standout scenes in there, some great laughs but also a lot of tedious repetitive moments.

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jordan m

@RT33422384 Jun 22, 2022

I almost chalked this up as another worrying example of a foreign film classic that I had failed to appreciate until I got past the halfway mark and things started to pick up. The heist finale really is quite good, and the dance scene with the narration was appreciable. This was my first Jean-Luc movie and I think I was just expecting more than what I got; this actually holds up quite well against other foreign language movies I've seen. A review cited on the movie's Wiki page says this is among his most accessible movies, so I think I'll need to see more of his work to really gain an appreciation for why he's so beloved.

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Jean-Luc Godard

Director

Anna Karina

Odile

Sami Frey

Franz

Claude Brasseur

Arthur

Jean-Luc Godard

Le narrateur

Chantal Darget

Arthur's Aunt

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Synopsis

Cinephile slackers Franz (Sami Frey) and Arthur (Claude Brasseur) spend their days mimicking the antiheroes of Hollywood noirs and Westerns while pursuing the lovely Odile (Anna Karina). The misfit trio upends convention at every turn, be it through choreographed dances in cafés or frolicsome romps through the Louvre. Eventually, their romantic view of outlaws pushes them to plan their own heist, but their inexperience may send them out in a blaze of glory -- which could be just what they want.

Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Screenwriter: Jean-Luc Godard, Dolores Hitchens
Distributor: Royal Films International, Criterion Collection, Rialto Pictures
Production Co: Dorsay Films, Anouchka Films
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 5, 1964, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): May 6, 2016
Release Date (DVD): Jan 7, 2003
Box Office (Gross USA): $37.7K
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Mono

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