Breathless

R

Released May 13, 1983

1h 45m

Drama

List

63%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

48%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Jesse Lujack (Richard Gere) is a small-time hustler who, while leaving Las Vegas in a stolen car, shoots and kills a police officer. When his picture turns up in the papers, Jesse hides out in Los Angeles with a French student, Monica Poiccard (Valérie Kaprisky), whom he knows from a previous affair. Monica is bewitched by his reckless behavior, enough so that she keeps quiet even after learning that he's wanted. But when police identify her as Jesse's lover, she has second thoughts.

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Abe A

The movie was cartoonish, unlike Belmondo's rendition which hit the nerve perfectly. Gere's role was far too affectedly zany and Kaprisky a bit too wooden. The Silver Surfer insert was silly but in keeping with the cartoonish zeitgeist. Gere's trying to act like Silver Surfer, who he idolizes...but he doesn't have any of Silver Surfer's powers, or Silver Surfer's questioning of morality of his decisions, nor Silver Surfer's Prometheus-like or Christ-like qualities--it just seems like tacked-on symbolism that's poorly thought out. In the original Breathless Belmondo idolizes Bogie and acts tough like Bogie, but that symbolism makes sense and is a better character fit; this one doesn't. The relationship between the two main characters feels strained and unnatural in the remake, probably because neither character is lifelike or realistic. When Gere's affected role spilled over into silliness, as in the last scene of the movie, it further distanced itself from the nuance of Belmondo's portrayal in 1960. I watched the original Godard version and this McBride remake in tandem on the same day, and the gulf in technique, characterization and thematic treatment is night and day.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/24

Full Review

ana sofia V

Surprisingly better than Godard's original film. Has that Hollywood something that's now lost in movies.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/30/22

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william k

Disappointing, superfluous remake of the Jean-Luc Godard classic reduces to the original's story into a fast-paced superficial crime story, all modern-looking and shiny colorful, but without any substance whatsoever (which may have been Jim McBride's intention, but still isn't anymore exciting).

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

dave s

Despite the fact that it has a strong performance from Richard Gere and an electric sort of energy, you've got to wonder why director Jim McBride would even consider doing a remake of Jean-Luc Godard's French New Wave-classic Breathless. Gere plays Jesse, an immature, repugnant narcissist who demands the love of Monica (Valerie Kaprisky), a girl he met over the course of a few days in Las Vegas. On top of it being a bad idea to remake a cinematic landmark, the movie fails in a couple of other ways. The supporting cast is brutal throughout, including Kaprisky, who seems to be reading her lines from a teleprompter. Her relationship with Jesse never feels real, especially when she comes to realize that he is a murderer and career criminal. Whoa, what a catch!! And really, could Jesse be any more of an annoying character? Could he not have had his showdown with the police earlier in the movie? Lesson learned? Don't remake films that are as iconic as the original Breathless.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Guy had girl, guy stalks girl, guy (kinda) gets girl, even though girl is gettin got with someone else, and it all ends in a blaze of glory. Jesse (Richard Gere) is a petty criminal drifter who is obsessed with The Silver Surfer comics and Jerry Lee Lewis — he also loves to steal cool cars. After accidentally killing a cop in Barstow — at the edge of the desert — he completes his journey to Los Angeles in the hopes of reuniting with a French college student, Monica (Valerie Kaprisky). Breathless is a remake of a French New Wave film of the same name, with French criminal and American muse. Right when Monica thought she was out, Jesse pulls her back in (or is it the other way around?). This back and forth, plus Jesse evading the police as his profile grows from a description to a full-page photo, makes up the entirety of the movie. I enjoyed this movie for being very Los Angeles — orange skies with palm tree sunsets, unbuttoned shirts, convertible cars, seedy dive bars, that shot through one of those giant donuts. There are some silly moments — Jesse must not look at the road for a full seven seconds while driving at one point — but the final third actually makes this a more enjoyable movie. It's very attractive people making very poor decisions, but you still want them to make it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

kevin c

This is a guilty pleasure of mine. Richard Gere stars as a small time Las Vegas car thief with a love of Jerry Lee Lewis and The Silver Surfer, who ends up killing a cop and looks to get to Los Angeles to get his dream girl and pick up money for a job and get away to Mexico. Valerie Kaprisky stars as his incredibly beautiful love interest. Great little flick that I've always loved.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Jim McBride

Director

Richard Gere

Jesse Lujack

Valérie Kaprisky

Monica Poiccard

Art Metrano

Birnbaum

William Tepper

Paul

John P. Ryan

Lt. Parmental

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Time Out

A wanton, playful film, belying the stated despair by its boiling energy.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Vincent Canby

New York Times

I still don't understand why Mr. McBride and Mr. Carson elected to do the film but, considering the more obvious possible pitfalls, they could have done a lot worse. That is meant to be praise.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 30, 2004

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The result is a stylistic exercise without any genuine human concerns we can identify with -- and yet, an exercise that does have a command of its style, is good-looking, fun to watch, and develops a certain morbid humor.

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 12, 2004

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

McBride and Carson try to find their own approach to the fugitive lovers on the run picture, updating it with oversaturated colors, a high-energy soundtrack of classic rock and contemporary punk rock songs, and lots of steamy sex and nudity.

Aug 19, 2023

Full Review

Jas Keimig

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

While it's fun to watch Gere gnaw on the scenery, Kaprisky's wooden performance makes their dynamic feel lopsided...despite these misgivings, I can acknowledge that all of the above is what makes it a perfect B-movie...

Dec 9, 2021

Full Review

Molly Haskell

Vogue

Even with its tragic ending, this is a sunny, almost wholesome Breathless, with lovers who are less like film noir antagonists than two cuddly, sexy kids on a spree.

Feb 26, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Jesse Lujack (Richard Gere) is a small-time hustler who, while leaving Las Vegas in a stolen car, shoots and kills a police officer. When his picture turns up in the papers, Jesse hides out in Los Angeles with a French student, Monica Poiccard (Valérie Kaprisky), whom he knows from a previous affair. Monica is bewitched by his reckless behavior, enough so that she keeps quiet even after learning that he's wanted. But when police identify her as Jesse's lover, she has second thoughts.

Director: Jim McBride
Producer: Keith Addis
Screenwriter: Jean-Luc Godard, L.M. Kit Carson, Jim McBride
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 13, 1983, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2018
Runtime: 1h 45m

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