BREATHLESS (1960)
Special Features: 4K Restoration
[À BOUT DE SOUFFLE]
This quintessential French New Wave classic still seems fresh and innovative even after more than 60 years. Jazzy-cool crook Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo), on the run after impulsively shooting a cop, kills time in Paris trying to convince his on-again, off-again American girlfriend Patricia (Jean Seberg) to run away with him to Italy. The deceptively carefree plot; abundant allusiveness to cinema, art and other culture (high and low); and the whimsically unorthodox, energetic editing are all hallmarks that would come to be known as "Godardian" — and all appear here, fully formed, in Jean-Luc Godard's debut feature. Combined with Raoul Coutard's dynamic street photography and star turns by Belmondo and Seberg, BREATHLESS fairly bursts with verve and élan. It's an irresistible, abidingly influential film — and très cool. DIR/SCR Jean-Luc Godard, from the story by François Truffaut and Claude Chabrol; PROD Georges de Beauregard. France, 1960, b&w, 90 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
Restored in 4K from the original camera negative by Studiocanal and CNC at L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory (Bologna).
AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 90 Minutes
Opening Date: Friday, July 14, 2023
Genre: Crime drama