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Breathless

Play trailer Poster for Breathless Released Feb 7, 1961 1h 30m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
95% Tomatometer 81 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Petty thug Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) considers himself a suave bad guy in the manner of Humphrey Bogart, but panics and impulsively kills a policeman while driving a stolen car. On the lam, he turns to his aspiring journalist girlfriend, Patricia (Jean Seberg), hiding out in her Paris apartment while he tries to pull together enough money to get the pair to Italy. But when Patricia learns that her boyfriend is being investigated for murder, she begins to question her loyalties.
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Breathless

Breathless

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Critics Consensus

Breathless rewrote the rules of cinema -- and more than 50 years after its arrival, Jean-Luc Godard's paradigm-shifting classic remains every bit as vital.

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Critics Reviews

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Oliver Stone Village Voice Nine years ago, I fell in love with Breathless. Time has aged her since, but poems of chaos, having little structure, are gloriously free from decay. May 2, 2024 Full Review Roger Angell The New Yorker The camera in Breathless, which was wielded by Raoul Coutard, is jumpy, fluid, irritable, and comic -- alive with glimpses, sudden turns, rude stares, and angry changes of mood. Jan 22, 2024 Full Review Archer Winsten New York Post It is a thin story, filled to the brim with extraordinary character of the modem, wild, criminal youth, as exemplified by Belmondo. Aug 11, 2022 Full Review JD Duran InSession Film The cold demeanor of Breathless isn’t very effective and as a result, it feels conceited and in a word; fake. Rated: B- Aug 19, 2024 Full Review David Harris Spectrum Culture In an era before social media, Breathless presages the hyper-narcissistic age we embody where everyone with a phone and an Instagram account can create and curate whatever type of existence they choose. Feb 27, 2024 Full Review Penelope Gilliatt Observer (UK) Breathless seems to me the most original, insolently gifted and shattering work the young French directors have, yet produced. Jan 22, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Shane C One of the most famous art house films to date Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/25/25 Full Review Stephen C Success in 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In French (France) and English versions with English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/10/25 Full Review jacob c Breathless is at once straightforward and enigmatic, using its contrasting, fleshed-out, terrifically-acted characters and their cheeky interplay to create a bold, innovative, and seminal work of the French New Wave, and cinema in general. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/06/25 Full Review Insomniac X Giddily nihilistic snapshot of an ill-fated love affair. Godard's use of unconventional techniques hints at his protagonist's rejection of traditional morality. The film's prolonged bedroom scene is fascinating for its naturalism and its solipsistic portrayal of modern intimacy -- it's unclear whether the lovers feel anything for each other, or if we should either. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/30/25 Full Review Vítor Pimentel de Oliveira V Despite being one of the most focused and linear works by Godard (especially in comparison with Pierrot le Fou), the confused storytelling and dated stylistic choices leaves the viewers wanting. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/14/25 Full Review Lorenz L Not only did it forever change the way I regard and view cinema, it forever changed cinema itself. Every time you see it you will come away dazzled by what seems to be a totally new experience, even after 50 screenings. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/19/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Breathless

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Cast & Crew

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Jean-Luc Godard

Director

Jean-Paul Belmondo

Michel Poiccard alias Laszlo Kovacs

Jean Seberg

Patricia Franchini

Daniel Boulanger

Police Inspector

Jean-Pierre Melville

Parvulesco

Henri-Jacques Huet

Antonio Berrutti

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Breathless

Breathless (1959) Breathless (1959) Breathless (1959) Breathless (1959) Breathless (1959) Breathless (1959) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Petty thug Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) considers himself a suave bad guy in the manner of Humphrey Bogart, but panics and impulsively kills a policeman while driving a stolen car. On the lam, he turns to his aspiring journalist girlfriend, Patricia (Jean Seberg), hiding out in her Paris apartment while he tries to pull together enough money to get the pair to Italy. But when Patricia learns that her boyfriend is being investigated for murder, she begins to question her loyalties.
Director
Jean-Luc Godard
Producer
Georges de Beauregard
Screenwriter
Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut
Production Co
Imperia, Les Films Georges de Beauregard
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 7, 1961, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 29, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$47.1K
Runtime
1h 30m
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