"A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end … but not necessarily in that order."
— Jean-Luc Godard

January 1, 1970

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Original Language: English

Sources

While this statement and a few variants are often attributed entirely to Godard, it is actually a paraphrase of combined remarks, incorporating a query made by director Henri-Georges Clouzot, and Godard's response, as reported in "Films: Verdict on Cannes" by Kenneth Tynan in The Observer (22 May 1966), p. 24; this report is cited, along with precursors and later variants in the Quote Investigator article "Films Should Have a Beginning, a Middle, and an End" "Yes, But Not Necessarily in That Ord