RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Breathless
Breathless

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

Breathless (1959)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
96 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 28

Fresh: 27

Rotten:1

Average Rating: 8.5/10

Runtime: 90 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: Former "Cahiers du Cinéma" critic Jean-Luc Godard threw everything he had learned from years of movie watching into his debut feature--creating an enormously influential film and a seminal study of... Former "Cahiers du Cinéma" critic Jean-Luc Godard threw everything he had learned from years of movie watching into his debut feature--creating an enormously influential film and a seminal study of existential longing and betrayal. Within the first few minutes, Michel (Belmondo), a foul-mouthed Parisian who idolizes Humphrey Bogart, shoots a police officer and immediately becomes a fugitive on the run. He visits an ex-girlfriend and while casually charming her, he steals her money. He then gallivants through the marvelous streets of 1940s Paris, pursuing Patricia (Seberg), a blond pixie-like American selling the New York Herald Tribune on the Champs-Elysees. Michel is childlike as he pouts and whines in his fruitless attempts to seduce Patricia, then turns cold as ice as he curses her out, racing off to steal a car or meet up with some other thugs. Meanwhile, Patricia seems to seduce everybody with her youth and naivety. She is just 20-years-old, possibly pregnant, and despite the few scattered assignments she does for the paper, she is dreamy and directionless. Even so, she does not refuse Michel, though she won't commit to him. As they follow each other in and out of cafes and boutiques, sailing past the Eiffel Tower and down the grand boulevards in gorgeous stolen cars, we await what is sure to be a tragic ending. [More]

Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg

Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Screenwriter: Jean-Luc Godard
Story: François Truffaut

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Oct 9, 2001

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Breathless

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

We can't really look at Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless with fresh eyes, any more than we can see Citizen Kane or Sunrise for the first time.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
11/25/08
Dan Callahan
Slant Magazine
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
Screen International
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A half-century has softened the impact, but 'Breathless' still holds its own.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
06/20/08
Donald J. Levit
ReelTalk Movie Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
08/25/07
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's energy over substance.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
08/05/07
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Shot on a shoestring and none the worse for it, Jean-Luc Godard's gritty and engaging first feature had an almost revolutionary impact when first released in 1960.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
04/17/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This film, a first pic by a film critic, shows the immediate influence of Yank actioners and socio-psycho thrillers but has its own personal style.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/17/07
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Regardless of how one feels about Jean-Luc Godard's later, less accessible works, it would be hard to find a more audacious debut feature.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
12/13/06
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Beautiful.

comment Comment
11/21/05
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Even if some of Breathless remains inaccessibly arty and obtuse, it's nonetheless a film of watershed importance.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/28/05
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
06/25/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A stunning classic.

comment Comment
07/29/04
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

Who doesn't like Breathless? It's some kind of free-wheeling comic experiment in cool, and it works the whole way.

comment 1 Comment
04/20/04
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

No review available.

comment Comment
03/27/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

No review available.

comment Comment
11/13/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

No review available.

comment Comment
11/07/03
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Godard's attention to nuance and detail makes this influential classic a must-see for any film lover.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
11/06/03
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

No review available.

comment Comment
09/27/03
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

No review available.

comment Comment
08/21/03
John Esther
Pasadena Weekly

Modern movies begin here, with Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless in 1960. No debut film since Citizen Kane in 1942 has been as influential.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
08/05/03
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Breathless

October 23, 2007: RT on DVD: Hostel II Oozes Onto Shelves, and Criterion Serves Up Breathless!
It's a bit of a slow week for home video releases, led by Eli Roth's torture-for-hire gore fest (Hostel II). Thankfully, Criterion has another wave of beautifully restored... More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for Breathless

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
79%
79%
Gran Torino
30%
30%
12 Rounds
23%
23%
Confessions of a Shopa…
—
The Code
39%
39%
Inkheart

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
22%
22%
Push
12%
12%
The Unborn

More New Releases…

RT On Current TV

What’s Hot On RT

5 Favorite Films

5 Favorite Films

Director Kathryn Bigelow on Hurt Locker, more

Revisiting Hogwarts

Revisiting Hogwarts

Day 2: The Chamber of Secrets

Humpday Clip

Humpday Clip

An exclusive peek at the indie comedy!

RT on Current TV!

RT on Current TV!

Check out the RT Show this Thursday!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: T.J. Hooker Film in Development
0
  • Warners Shortens Green Lantern Wishlist Source: Hollywood Reporter
72
  • Harold Ramis Talks Ghostbusters 3 Source: MakingOf.com
24
  • Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer Source: Latino Review
60
  • Warners Wins Favorable Ruling in Superman Case Source: Variety
18
  • Remo Williams Rides Again Source: Risky Biz
10
  • Mortal Kombat 3 Filming in September? Source: Slashfilm
82
  • MacGruber Gets a Director Source: Variety
39
  • PG-13 Turns 25 Source: VideoETA
8
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
92
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
67
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers and Ice Age Tie for Top Spot
59
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
46
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
43
  • Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow
39
  • Total Recall: Mock Docs That Rock
38
  • Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
35
  • RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
26
  • Five Favourite Films with Jaime Winstone
19
  • Watch RT on Current TV
6
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
0
  • RT Interview: Tony Scott on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
10
  • Cannes 2009: RT Interview - Sally Hawkins on We Want Sex
2
  • RT Interview: Tilda Swinton on Julia
5
  • Hollywood Legend Debbie Reynolds Reflects On her Life in Showbiz
10
  • Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation
24
  • Georgia Groome - Fresh Talent on RT
5
  • RT Interview: Reading The Reader with Stephen Daldry
11
  • RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
7
  • Carey Mulligan - Fresh Talent on RT
7
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Breathless at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno External Link

MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.

Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles
Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles External Link

TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.

A Baywatch Comedy?
A Baywatch Comedy? External Link

BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.