No year resonates more powerfully than 1968. This month is the 40th anniversary of the Parisian student riots.

New Yorkers can mark the occasion with two rich and wide-ranging film programs that aim to capture, on screen, the spirit of the student uprisings.

One, at Film Forum (through June 5), is devoted to Filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard in the 1960s, when he was at the height of his influence, productivity and creative power.

The other, at Lincoln Center (through...