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Above: detail from the Argentinian poster for Magnet of Doom. Artist unknown.Jean-Paul Belmondo, the great French movie star who died last week at the age of 88, had a marvelous face. He wasn’t a classic matinee idol like his friend and compatriot Alain Delon but with the combination of his soulful puppy-dog eyes, lopsided boxer’s nose, and luscious feminine lips he could play both hoodlums or heartthrobs (and in Breathless he played both at the same time). A classic tough guy best known outside France for art movies, he was initially synonymous with the angry alienation of the French New Wave and starred in films by Godard, Truffaut, Melville, Malle and Lelouch. But he could play comedy as well as action (he was renowned for doing his own stunts) and was for a while promoted as a French James Bond. By the ’70s and ’80s—when he was...

If Jean-Paul Belmondo had gotten his way, he would have been a stage actor. He applied to the Conservatoire de Paris three times before the illustrious drama school accepted him and spent the 1950s trying to launch a theater career.

Lucky for world cinema, Belmondo had greater success on screen, thanks to his role in 1960’s “Breathless,” the movie that launched the French New Wave — and instantly rendered everything Hollywood had been doing old-fashioned. In “Breathless,” Belmondo wasn’t playing a gangster so much as someone who had seen too many gangster movies, a self-styled tough guy who took Humphrey Bogart as his model. His crime spree feels more improvised than scripted, while his doesn’t-care, screw-society attitude effectively thumbed its nose at all the good reasons on-screen criminals had used to justify their actions before.

Godard’s film made Belmondo the face of the New Wave — a handsome mug...

By Lee Pfeiffer

International screen icon Jean-Paul Belmondo has died at the age of 88. The French star was one of the major influences in terms of popularizing anti-heroes on screen. His somewhat shaggy, rough-hewn look was at odds with traditional screen leading men. Belmondo was not handsome in the traditional sense, nor did he specialize in playing erudite, sophisticated characters. He excelled  in playing the common man who was often caught up in extraordinary situations. Belmondo had flirted with being a boxer in his youth before gravitating to acting at the precise time French cinema's "New Wave" was taking the world by storm, led by directors and actors who would revolutionize world cinema. After appearing in numerous French films in the late 1950s, he became a sensation with his leading role in director Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 crime classic "Breathless". There would be no looking back. In the decades to come,...

It's a sad day in show business as acclaimed French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo has passed away. Belmondo, who achieved international fame with his memorable role in Jean-Luc Godard's New Wave classic Breathless, reportedly died on Monday at his home in Paris. No information has yet been revealed about the cause of death, but his passing was confirmed by his lawyer Michel Godest. Belmondo was 88 years old.

Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo was born on April 9, 1933, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. As a teenager, Belmondo took an interest in boxing, though he retired undefeated after winning three fights. He then had a stint in the military, serving in Algeria as a private for half a year, though he had gotten bit by the acting bug by his late teens. At the age of 20, he attended the Conservatoire of Dramatic Arts, studying the craft to launch his career as a performer.

Starting in theatre, Belmondo...

French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, known for films like Breathless and Two Women, has died at age 88. The actor, whose death was confirmed by his lawyer to Afp News Agency, died at his home in Paris. No cause of death has been given.

Belmondo, born in 1933 in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, got his start in acting in the 1950s, first working in theater before moving into film. He collaborated with French New Wave auteur Jean-Luc Godard in 1958 short Charlotte And Her Boyfriend, and went on to work with Godard several more times,...

His film roles included Two Women, That Man From Rio, Pierrot le Fou, The Thief Of Paris and The Brain.

Actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, one of the biggest stars of postwar French cinema, has died aged 88 in his Paris home, his lawyer told Afp on Monday (September 6).

“He had been very tired for some time. He died peacefully,” his lawyer, Michel Godest, told Afp. The exact cause of death has not been announced.

Belmondo was born on April 9 1933 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris. His father was renowned sculptor Paul Belmondo and his mother was painter Sarah Rainaud-Richard.

Prior to becoming an actor,...

Actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, whose performance in Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 “Breathless” helped usher in the French New Wave, has died at the age of 88. The actor’s lawyer confirmed the report to news outlets on Monday. No cause of death has been revealed. Belmondo starred in nearly 100 features, for both film and television including the aforementioned “Breathless” and “Pierrot le Fou.”

Belmondo was April 9, 1933 west of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Acting didn’t come immediately to Belmondo. He began as a boxer, making his amateur debut in the ring in 1949. The physical changes to his face, according to the actor, compelled him to leave the sport. He would eventually attend a private drama school , transitioning to the Conservatoire of Dramatic Arts in his twenties. He made his stage debut in 1953.

His first film role came in Jean-Pierre Cassel’s 1957 “On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels,” but he wound up on the cutting-room floor.

Jean-Paul Belmondo, the French cinema star best known for his performance in Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” in 1959, has died, his lawyer confirmed to the news agency Afp on Monday. He was 88.

A cause of death has not been made public.

Belmondo skyrocketed to international fame after appearing in Godard’s 1959 New Wave French classic “Breathless,” and became one of the country’s biggest stars throughout the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.

Born in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, the young Belmondo started out as an amateur boxer and, in fact, had an undefeated record. But after spending years pursuing a career as a fighter, he later recalled, “I stopped when the face I saw in the mirror began to change.”

His spent his later teen years at a private drama school and started to perform comedy sketches in the French provinces. After studying for three years at the Conservatoire of Dramatic Arts,...

Jean-Paul Belmondo, one of the most iconic French actors of the 20th century and a leading face of the French New Wave, has died at the age of 88.

The actor’s agent confirmed the news to the Afp news agency. French press reported he died peacefully at his home in Paris.

Belmondo began acting in the theater in the 1950s before breaking into film later that decade. His first collaboration with Jean-Luc Godard came in the 1958 short Charlotte And Her Boyfriend. Shortly after, while having success on stage, he began to be offered lead roles in film, appearing in the 1960 gangster movie Consider All Risks with Lino Venture.

His next lead role was in Godard’s debut feature Breathless, which cemented the actor’s position as a leading man of the French New Wave movement. Starring Belmondo as a wandering criminal named Michel, the film was an instant hit, and...

‘Toni Erdmann’ (Courtesy: Tiff)

By: Carson Blackwelder

Managing Editor

It’s not too often that foreign-language films get recognized for anything at the Oscars beyond the best foreign-language film category — but it does happen. And, believe it or not, it happens more for best original screenplay and best adapted screenplay than many other categories. A prime example of that is Toni Erdmann, Germany’s submission this year that is proving to be a cross-category threat, which could score a nomination — or a win — for its writing.

The story of Toni Erdmann — which has a solid Rotten Tomatoes score of 91% — follows a father who is trying to reconnect with his adult daughter after the death of his dog. It sounds simple enough but, of course, the two couldn’t be more unalike. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 and where it won the Fipresci Prize. Since then, it...

The 73rd Venice International Film Festival will award its Golden Lion awards for lifetime achievement to French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski.

The festival noted that it plans to start awarding two Golden Lions for career achievement at each edition of the festival, starting this year. One will be to a director and one to an actor.

Belmondo is well known for films such as Breathless, Pierrot le Fou (which competed in Venice in 1965), Hit Man, That Man From Rio and The Professional.

Venice festival director Alberto Barbera said: “Thanks to his fascinating face, irresistible charm and extraordinary versatility, he has played roles in dramas, adventure movies and even comedies, making him a star who is universally respected, by engagé directors and escapist cinema alike.”

Skolimowski has enjoyed a 50-year career including his early Polish trilogy of Rysopis, Walkover and Barrier; The Departure; Deep End; The Shout; Moonlighting and Essential Killing (which won a special...

Director Philippe De Broca (King of Hearts) directed this spy spoof at the apex of Bondmania in 1964 and transformed easy-going art-house favorite Jean-Paul Belmondo into a box office mega-star. Featuring a fast-paced globe-trotting chase for an Amazonian statue, That Man From Rio is more Indiana Jones than James Bond but French audiences didn’t care, making it the 5th highest earner at theaters that year. Co-starring the ethereal Françoise Dorléac and sporting an actual Bond villain, Adolfo Celi, the film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay. Watch it here.

Director Philippe De Broca (King of Hearts) directed this spy spoof at the apex of Bondmania in 1964 and transformed easy-going art-house favorite Jean-Paul Belmondo into a box office mega-star. Featuring a fast-paced globe-trotting chase for an Amazonian statue, That Man From Rio is more Indiana Jones than James Bond but French audiences didn’t care, making it the 5th highest earner at theaters that year. Co-starring the ethereal Françoise Dorléac and sporting an actual Bond villain, Adolfo Celi, the film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay.

What an adventure!

The vast majority of foreign language films that make any noise in the United States are solemn or nuts. And yet there are foreign action films, foreign comedies, and the like that go mostly unseen and unknown here. The home video market, in league with Amazon and other internet stores, has made it possible to make up lost time with high quality, restored transfers that give you the same--or even improved--experience that you missed by living outside of Europe or New York City. With the Cohen Film Collection's recent release of That Man from Rio (1964) and Up to His Ears (1965), you can enjoy two rather entertaining French adventure comedies from a director you've never heard of with an actor you might vaguely recognize.

Read more...

Two of director Philippe de Broca’s earliest renowned titles get new restorations and are available for the first time on Blu-ray, That Man From Rio (1964) and Up to His Ears (1965), the first two titles from a loose James Bond spoof trilogy featuring Jean-Paul Belmondo. Certainly ahead of his time, de Broca’s amusing adventure films are much more than the kind of lowbrow entertainment that would come to typify the genre known as spoof, and this became a notable inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones films, particularly 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Inspired by the adventures of Belgian cartoonist Herge’s Tintin adventures (which also provided the basis for a 2011 Steven Spielberg adaptation), a prized Amazonian statue is stolen from a Parisian museum. Three such statues left South American on an expedition that involved the late father of Agnes (Francoise Dorleac) and and two colleagues. Professor Catalan...

First Time Fest co-founders Mandy Ward and Johanna Bennett with Harvey Weinstein as Gay Talese looks on Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

At the closing night awards ceremony, First Time Fest co-founders Johanna Bennett and Mandy Ward honoured Harvey Weinstein for his distinguished career and support of first-time filmmakers. The 400 Blows by François Truffaut and Kurt Vonnegut's book Cat's Cradle influenced him when he went on to distribute Cinema Paradiso. Federico Fellini and Philippe de Broca's Jean-Paul Belmondo movies That Man From Rio and Cartouche were a part of his cinema education growing up in Queens, New York, which may have equipped him for his relationship with Quentin Tarantino.

Previously fêted for their commitment to cinema were Darren Aronofsky, by Martin Scorsese, and Julie Taymor. While waiting for Harvey's arrival, I joined Gay Talese and Tony Bennett for a lively conversation on movies, the demise of burlesque and tennis...

Qui aime les films français ?

If you do and you live in St. Louis, you’re in luck! The Seventh Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — co-presented by Cinema St. Louis and the Webster University Film Series begins March 13th. The Classic French Film Festival celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1930s through the early 1990s, offering a comprehensive overview of French cinema. The fest is annually highlighted by significant restorations.

This year features recent restorations of eight works, including an extended director’s cut of Patrice Chéreau’s historical epic Queen Margot a New York-set film noir (Two Men In Manhattan) by crime-film maestro Jean-Pierre Melville, who also co-stars; a short feature (“A Day in the Country”) by Jean Renoir, on a double bill with the 2006 restoration of his masterpiece, The Rules Of The Game, and the...

Jean-Paul Belmondo in a white dinner jacket. There. That should be enough to sell you on Philippe de Broca's 1964 crime caper–spoof That Man From Rio, but if for some reason it's not, let's throw in Jean-Paul Belmondo on a motorcycle, Jean-Paul Belmondo elbowing his way onto a flight from Paris to Rio de Janeiro with no ticket or passport, and Jean-Paul Belmondo performing his own stunts — he scrambles across multiple stories' worth of construction scaffolding with "what, me worry?" aplomb. Still not sold? Two more words: Françoise Dorléac. And if that doesn't do it, there's no hope.

Dorléac, as fans of Jacques Demy's euphoric musical romance Young Girls of Rochefort will know, is the sultry, flirty redhead (and sister of Cat...

Cohen Media Group is bringing a new restoration of "That Man From Rio," a dazzlingly wild 1964 adventure comedy starring sexy French screen icon Jean-Paul Belmondo and directed by Philippe de Broca, to NY's Film Forum on August 22. Watch an exclusive trailer for the new print, which bowed at Cannes 2014, below. A blow dart-wielding thug snatches a rare statuette from the Musée de l’Homme; anthropologist Jean Servais is kidnapped in broad Parisian daylight; serviceman Jean-Paul Belmondo begins his 8-day leave by changing to civvies in a Métro entrance and witnesses fiancée Françoise Dorléac (Catherine Deneuve’s sister, killed in a car accident 3 years later) getting kidnapped herself – and then the chase begins: by motorcycle, shoe leather, flight to Rio de Janeiro sans ticket or passport, airport baggage carrier, cable car, pink car complete with green stars and a rumble seat, water skies, Amazon river boat, seaplane, jungle...

Some of the international movie posters presented in Cinema Retro issue #28, which features in-depth coverage of the making of Zulu.

By Brian Hannan

The 50th anniversary showing of Zulu in Britain next month is unlikely to be repeated in the U.S. where the film flopped. But even the poorest box-office performer has an afterlife. So in 1965 Zulu was pushed out again anywhere that would have it. That meant it supported some odd, not to say ugly, bedfellows – exploitationer Taboos of the World in Kansas City, The Three Stooges in The Outlaws Is Coming in Phoenix, B western Stage To Thunder Rock in Long Beach, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini in Des Moines and Rhino in Abilene. They liked it in Long Beach where it supported both Circus World and That Man from Rio. It was the second feature to None But the Brave in Provo, Utah, and to two more successful Joe E.

The 2013 Cannes Film Festival lineup continues to grow, today with the announcement of the films playing in the Cannes Classics selection as well as the titles playing on the beach at night as part of the Cinema de la Plage selection. It was already announced Kim Novak would be in attendance to present the restored version of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, but the restorations that will be screening don't end there. In addition to Vertigo a restored print of Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Cleopatra will screen along with restorations of Billy Wilder's Fedora, Yasujir? Ozu's An Autumn Afternoon, Hal Ashby's The Last Detail starring Jack Nicholson and a 3-D conversion of Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor. Additional notable names include films from Alain Resnais, Marco Ferreri, Chris Marker and Rene Clement. In addition to those titles a special presentation of Jean Cocteau's La Belle et La Bete...

We are here to continue with news from Cannes. We just learned that The Festival de Cannes will welcome Jean-Paul Belmondo on Tuesday 17 May with a special evening held in his honour. That definitely sounds great, and if anybody deserves to have a special night at this year’s Cannes, it’s Mr. Belmondo, I hope you all agree.

Since the late 1950s, Jean-Paul Belmondo has encapsulated the very best of popular cinema (Philippe de Broca, Henri Verneuil, Gérard Oury, Georges Lautner, Jacques Deray), ably blending this with the glorious art-house cinema of the ‘60s and ‘70s. (Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Melville, François Truffaut, Claude Lelouch and Alain Resnais, not to mention Vittorio Sica and Alberto Lattuada).

That Man from Rio, Breathless, Pierrot le Fou, Léon Morin,Priest, Mississippi Mermaid, Le Magnifique, Stavisky and Borsalino are just a few examples of his extraordinary range.

Or, as Gilles Jacob and Thierry Frémaux...

The Cannes Film Festival will honor Jean-Paul Belmondo on May 17 with a gala event celebrating the actor's career. French New Wave star Belmondo worked with directors Philippe de Broca, Henri Verneuil, Gérard Oury, Georges Lautner, Jacques Deray, Jean-Pierre Melville, François Truffaut, Claude Lelouch and Alain Resnais, Vittorio Sica, Alberto Lattuada, and - of course - Jean Luc Godard, whose 1960 Breathless helped launch his long career. Among his other credits are That Man from Rio, Pierrot le Fou, Léon Morin, Priest, Mississippi Mermaid, Le Magnifique, Stavisky and Borsalino. See photo gallery and video clips below. “We are delighted," say Cannes's Gilles Jacob and Thierry Frémaux. "His range and personal charisma, the precision of his acting, his cocky wit, the ease with which he carries ...

The Festival de Cannes will welcome Jean-Paul Belmondo on Tuesday 17 May with a special evening held in his honour. “We are delighted that he has agreed to attend this gala evening in celebration of his talent and career. His range and personal charisma, the precision of his acting, his cocky wit, the ease with which he carries himself have made him, along with Jean Gabin and Michel Simon, one of the greatest French actors of all time, a fact to which many films bear ample witness. No doubt the entire panoply of French actors, headed by his Conservatory friends Jean Rochefort, Claude Rich, Pierre Vernier and Jean-Pierre Marielle, will want to walk up that Cannes staircase to celebrate ‘Bébel’ to the sound of the rapturous applause of his diehard fans,” say Gilles Jacob and Thierry Frémaux. The time has certainly come to celebrate this extraordinarily talented French actor. Since the late 1950s,...

One of the most versatile actors of his generation and any generation since, to be honest, Jean-Paul Belmondo has entertained for decades and for good reason.

He’s famous in the art house circuit by being one of the main protagonists within the French New Wave movement of the 1960’s but has also done some rather wonderful slapstick comedies as well. Somehow he has done both with such ease, always interweaving between the two and making the most of his on screen time.

A renaissance man of sorts on film, he could be having a normal conversation while battling super-spies with a telephone and doing it with a straight face the whole time, smoking a cigarette and just looking cooler than SteveMcQueen while doing it.

Yes, I just said he was cooler than Steve McQueen.

If you’re asking me who Jean Paul Belmondo is, you might be on the wrong site.