Search - Breathless on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Not For Children Movie Release: 1960 DVD Release: 11/20/2001 Format: DVD - Black and White Edition: Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: French Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 30 mins Studio: Fox Lorber Members Wishing: 19 Genres: Drama, Psychological Drama, Crime Drama, Urban Drama See Also: Breathless [Criterion Collection]

The first feature film directed by Jean-Luc Godard and one of the seminal films of the French New Wave, Breathless is story of the love between Michel Poiccard, a small-time hood wanted for killing a cop, and Patricia Franchini, an American who sells the International Herald Tribune along the boulevards of Paris. Their relationship develops as Michel hides out from a dragnet. Breathless uses the famous techniques of the French New Wave: location shooting, improvised dialogue, and a loose narrative form. In addition Godard uses his characteristic jump cuts, deliberate "mismatches" between shots, and references to the history of cinema, art, and music. Much of the film's vigor comes from collisions between popular and high culture: Godard shows us pinups and portraits of women by Picasso and Renoir, and the soundtrack includes both Mozart's clarinet concerto and snippets of French pop radio. When Breathless was first released, audiences and critics responded to the burst of energy it gave the French cinema; it won numerous international awards and became an unexpected box-office sensation. ~ Louis Schwartz, All Movie Guide

Jean-Paul Belmondo - Michel Poiccard
Jean Seberg - Patricia Franchini
Daniel Boulanger - Police Inspector
Jean-Pierre Melville - Parvulesco
Liliane David - Minouche
Henri-Jacques Huet - Antonio Berrutti

Jean-Luc Godard's debut feature, Breathless, was of the finest and most influential films to come out of the French nouvelle vague, and it's still invigorating viewing more than four decades after its was first released, so it's welcome news that that the film has been made available on North American DVD. Fox Lorber/ Genius Entertainment's edition of Breathless has been transferred to disc in the film's original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the transfer is clean, well-detailed and sharp; while the notes on the digital restoration falsely claim that the film was shot on 16mm, this edition still looks better and more pleasing than previous VHS releases of the title. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo, retaining the original monophonic sound mix, and the results sound quite good given the period. The dialogue is in French (except for a few scenes in English), with optional French subtitles. The disc includes an optional commentary track from critic and film historian David Sterritt, which unfortunately often comes off as facile, as if he's lecturing in a course called Godard For Dummies, though he does make a reasonable case for the film's lasting importance and trail-blazing approach. The disc also includes filmographies for Godard and stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg, as well as a page of web links to internet sites with information on Godard. Since Fox Lorber's DVD of Breathless was released, The Criterion Collection has released a two-disc deluxe edition of the film that looks better and boasts far more in the way of quality supplements; those who are serious students of Godard and his work should pick up the Criterion release, but if you're just looking for a good-looking transfer of the movie without the frills, Fox Lorber's disc will serve your needs well. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide