Breathless (1983)
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64% of critics liked it
(11 reviews) -
47% of users liked it
(6,747 ratings)
A botched attempt to remake Jean-Luc Godard's classic nouvelle vague entry, Á Bout de souffle, Breathless follows Jesse (Richard Gere), a fugitive wanted for the murder of a police officer. In the course of his flight from the law, he hitches up with a beautiful French college student (the… More A botched attempt to remake Jean-Luc Godard's classic nouvelle vague entry, Á Bout de souffle, Breathless follows Jesse (Richard Gere), a fugitive wanted for the murder of a police officer. In the course of his flight from the law, he hitches up with a beautiful French college student (the stunning Valerie Kaprisky), and together the two attempt to escape to Mexico. From start to finish, Breathless places style over substance; the film is almost insufferably hip, although its hipness now seems more dated than a time capsule. More attention seems paid to wardrobe, set design and soundtrack than anything else, yet it lacks any of the stark visual impact the original managed to achieve. Gere is passable as the sociopathic killer (although he relies on shirtlessness to carry him through much of the film), but Kaprisky, though beautiful, demonstrates limited acting range. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi
- Directed By
- Jim McBride
- Written By
- François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Romance, Mystery & Suspense, Cult Movies
R,
- In Theaters
- May 13, 1983 Limited
- Studio
- Orion Pictures Corporation
Critic Reviews
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, Time Out
A wanton, playful film, belying the stated despair by its boiling energy.
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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.
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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.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
The attitudes on display are so distanced and derivative that the picture still seems to have no life or identity of its own.
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Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World
A much better remake than its reputation implies
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Richard Gere
as Jesse Lujack
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Valérie Kaprisky
as Monica Poiccard
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Art Metrano
as Birnbaum
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John P. Ryan
as Lt. Parmentel
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William Tepper
as Paul Silverstein
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Garry Goodrow
as Berrutti
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Robert Dunn
as Sgt. Enright
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James Hong
as Grocer
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Waldemar Kalinowski
as Tolmatchoff
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Jack Leustig
as Highway Patrolman
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Eugène Lourié
as Dr. Boudreaux
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Isabelle Cooley
as Photographer
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Nora Gaye
as Vegas Girl
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Lisa Jane Persky
as Salesgirl
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Miguel Pinero
as Carlito
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Henry Sanders
as Man with pipe
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Martin Erlichman
as Vegas Sharpie #2 (uncredited)
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Andres Aybar
as Campus Aide
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Javier Grajeda
as Boudreaux Aide
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Georg Olden
as Kid
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Robert Snively
as Dour Professor
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Keith Addis
as Vegas Sharpie #1 (uncredited)
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Brien Varady
as College student
