Breathless (1960)

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, written by Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard.

Godard said "All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun." Godard attributed the quote to D. W. Griffith, but there's no record of Griffith saying it. Jean-Paul Belmondo, in a 1961 interview says that when Godard gave him the original script it was three small sentences: "He leaves Marseilles. He steals a car. He wants to sleep with the girl again. She doesn’t. In the end, he either dies or leaves." The actual script was worked out each day before shooting.

Breathless was based on an real couple. In 1952, Michel Portail, a petty criminal stole a car and murdered the motorcycle cop who pulled him over. His American journalist girlfriend, Beverly Lynette, eventually turned him in to the police.

The film was shot entirely with hand held camera and almost no lighting. Godard had to use special film and camera to do this. The camera was noisy and could not synchronize sound, so the entire film was dubbed.

The film was shot around Paris, without permission of the authorities or permits. Much of the script was written on the spot. There are numerous cameos and in-jokes. For example, Poiccard uses the alias Laszlo Kovacs, the real Kovacs was a Hungarian cinematographer who had secretly filmed the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. And the man hit by a car is played by the Godard's fellow New Wave director, Jacques Rivette. More cameos are listed below.

The picture on the left shows the real Michel Portail on a magazine cover in 1952. The text reads: Arrested! Michel Portail was taken without resistance on a yacht in Paris by police inspectors Lanne and Bougenot.

Staring:

Jean-Paul Belmondo (1933-2021), (Michel Poiccard): Belmondo was deeply associated with the French New Wave. Although Breathless was not his first film, it was a breakthrough for him. He went on to play in other New Wave films but in the mid 1960s he switched to mainstream films, mostly comedies, and remained one of France's most popular actors through the mid 1980s. He won numerous awards including, Knight of the French National Order of Merit, Knight of the Legion of Honour (France's most prestigious national organization), and he received a career achievement award from the LA Film Critics Association. The picture shows Belmondo in 2018:

Jean Seberg (1938-1979), (Patricia Franchini): An American actress who played frequently in both French and American films. Probably best known in the US for her roles in the 1969 musical Paint Your Wagon and the 1970 disaster film Airport. However, she also acted in numerous films in France. She was briefly married to Francois Moreuil, one of the New Wave directors. Although she lived mostly in France, Seberg was associated with numerous civil rights causes in the United States including the NAACP and the American Indian Movement, particularly in Iowa. Several donations she made to the Black Panther Party brought her to the attention of the FBI and she was targeted by CONINTEL, an FBI program that between 1956 and 1971, infiltrated organizations and attempted to discredit their members. In Seberg's case, in 1970, CONINTEL spread the rumor that Seberg was pregnant by a high ranking member of the Black Panthers. The FBI's goal (according to its own documentation) was to cause Seberg "embarrassment and serve to cheapen her image with the public." Seberg was, in fact, pregnant...but by her then husband, Romain Gary. According to Gary, the stress of the FBI attack caused Seberg to go into early labor. She delivered a girl by C-section but the child died three days later. Seberg said in a 1974 interview that she "cracked up" after the baby's death. Gary said that she tried to commit suicide every year on the anniversary of the baby's death. In 1979 she succeeded. She was just 40. Shortly after her death, the FBI publicly admitted to its campaign to destroy Seberg's reputation. The story of Seberg's persecution by the FBI was the subject of the not-very-good political thriller Seaberg (2019).

Daniel Boulanger (1922-2014) (Police Inspector Vital), is primarily known as a novelist and screenwriter. He played minor parts in a variety of films.

Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) Bogart doesn't appear in the film (at least not in person) but because Poiccard, and maybe Franchini, imagine themselves as Bogart or hold him as an icon, it's important to know who he was. Bogart was a dominant male lead in American movies from the 1940s until shortly before his death. He was known for playing brutally tough, wisecracking characters that were, in most cases, cool under all circumstances, and, of course, sexually irresistible. In the first part of his career, Bogart largely played villains and gangsters but after he tended to play more heroic characters. But, since mostly he played in film noir, his heroic characters did not fit conventional molds and were often compromised in some way. Bogart's most famous films include High Sierra (1941) , The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), The Big Sleep (1946), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1947), and The African Queen (1951). Here's a small compilation of a few famous Bogart scenes. Late in his career, he tended to play more deeply troubled characters. His later roles included Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny (1954) and roles in Sabrina (1954) and The Barefoot Contessa (1954). Here's the famous courtroom scene from The Caine Mutiny. Bogart was a heavy smoker and drinker. By 1955, at age 54 his health was failing. He died of esophageal cancer in early 1957, so his death was quite recent when Goddard was making Breathless.

Next: Japanese Film

Read my longer analysis of the film here (required)

Read Roger Ebert's 2003 Review (required)

Cameos in Breathless:
In addition to the cameo appearances listed above:
Godard himself appears as the guy who sees Poiccard's picture in the newspaper and shows it to the cop.
Jean-Pierre Melville who plays Parvulesco was a film director who had a major influence on New Wave directors.
Jean Douchet, a Cahiers author appears as one of the journalists at the Parvulesco interview.
Andre Labarthe, another French director is another of the journalists.
Jose Benazeraf, a New Wave producer and later pornographer, appears (in the elevator) as a man about to have his car stolen (and it's his actual car that Poiccard steals).
Samuel Fuller, an American director of low budget films appears as a man with a cigar (he usually had one).
And, Cahiers du Cinema itself makes a cameo...it's the magazine that Poiccard refuses to buy. And here's another easter egg for you. Find out about two of the people listed in cameos. Write a 50-100 word summary of what you find out. Upload your response to canvas practice with the file name newwave before the second exam and I'll add 5 points to your first exam grade. Please note that this is an easter egg for students who make the effort read carefully and on time. This only works if you don't tell your classmates about it and don't ask me about it in class (if you do I'll deny any knowledge). It won't show up officially in gradebook but the points will be added to your grade. If you want to talk to me about it, please either come by my office or send me an email.