X
- 1961
- TV-14
- Films Around the World (I)
- 1 h 30 m
- 1961
- TV-14
- Films Around the World (I)
- 1 h 30 m
Summary A small-time crook, hunted by the authorities for a car theft and the murder of a police officer, attempts to persuade a hip American journalism student to run away with him to Italy.
Directed By: Jean-Luc Godard
Written By: Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut
- 1961
- TV-14
- Films Around the World (I)
- 1 h 30 m
- 1961
- TV-14
- Films Around the World (I)
- 1 h 30 m
Breathless
7.5
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Summary A small-time crook, hunted by the authorities for a car theft and the murder of a police officer, attempts to persuade a hip American journalism student to run away with him to Italy.
Directed By: Jean-Luc Godard
Written By: Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut
Where to Watch
Coming Soon
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 24 Critic Reviews
96
100% Positive
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 24 Critic Reviews
96
100% Positive
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Jean-Luc Godard’s masterpiece stands the test of time, still managing to feel incredibly fresh and exciting.
By Laurence Boyce FULL REVIEW
What shapes Breathless as such an influential and long lasting ‘classic’ of French cinema is Godard’s ferocious delivery of simplistic subject matter, his direction of iconic actors Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg, and his all-out gallantry in creating the first of many films that broke all the rules, both in his homeland and overseas.
By Laura J. Smith FULL REVIEW
The thin, conventional storyline is swept along by the imaginative, urgent style with its then innovative jump cuts, overlapping dialogue and handheld camerawork. A landmark film, it forever changed perceptions of cinema.
By George Perry FULL REVIEW
There is simply no other film which demonstrates so perfectly what it feels like to be young and in love.
Breathless remains a living movie that retains the power to surprise and involve us after all these years.
Godard's technical innovations have become so commonplace that they no longer jolt. But the aura of urban fatalism remains compelling, and so does the acting by Jean-Paul Belmondo as a Bogart-worshipping fugitive and especially Jean Seberg as his amoral girlfriend. [02 Aug 1991, p.24]
There are too many epigrams and a bit too much palaver in all this. However, it is picaresque and has enough insight to keep it from being an out-and-out melodramatic quickie.
By Staff (Not Credited) FULL REVIEW
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 13 User Ratings
7.5
69% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
23% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
8% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 13 User Ratings
7.5
69% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
23% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
8% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Oct 31, 2025
"Breathless" remains a living movie that retains the power to surprise, involve and move us after all these years. Jean-Luc Godard brought to the screen the jagged, intuitive temperament of youth in a way that nobody else had ever done before at that era.
Report
Awards
Berlin International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
French Syndicate of Cinema Critics
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Prix Jean Vigo
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
