Only Manuscript for Jean-Luc Godard's À Bout De Souffle Script to Auction

A previously-unseen partial manuscript for classic French movie À Bout de Souffle will go under the hammer at Sotheby's this summer with an estimate of €400,000 – €600,000.

Because of Godard’s avant-garde working style, manuscripts for his films are exceptionally rare. For this, his first film, he even resisted the idea of writing up a full synopsis and script. Instead, he wrote up dialogue at the very last minute on each day of the shoot that took place August 17 - September 15, 1959. His vision was for the actors to react as naturally as possible, and he would often even destroy these written records after they were used.

The script features 70 pages, including a scattering of scene synopsis and dialogue charting many of À Bout de Souffle’s most iconic scenes as they first were put to paper by Godard. Among them are the dramatic opening sequence, the scenes in Marseille, the drive back to Paris, Seberg’s character Patricia selling the New York Herald Tribune on the Champs-Élysées, Belmondo’s Michel entering the telephone booth and the altercation with the motorcyclist, and the famous final sentence uttered by Seberg’s character (“Qu'est-ce que c'est dégueulasse?”). The film’s trailer is also mapped out in Godard’s hand.  

The only known manuscript from Godard’s most famous film, this is coming to auction from the family of the film’s producer Georges de Beauregard as part of Sotheby’s Paris online auction of books and manuscripts running June 4 – 18 . The lot will also include a number of photographs from De Beauregard’s archive.