Atemlos

Richard Gere in a cheesy remake of a '60s French nouvelle vague classic? Sounds like it should really suck, right?

Wrong. Turns out that Jim McBride's "Breathless" one of the best American films of the '80s. Electric performances, superb use of music, and direction with great zip and flair. The fact that this still gets so many negative reviews proves that, even now, most people simply don't get it. The main thing is Gere's performance - you'll either love his preening, irrepressible arrested adolescent, or find him grating. I think it's the performance of his career. This is one of Tarantino's favourite movies, and although it's not really anything like a QT movie, you can see why it appeals to him. I was all set to hate it, but by the end I loved it. Check it out, and decide for yourself.

Oh, and not even LA in the height of summer is anything like as hot as Valerie Kaprisky.

I got tired of watching my censored taped-from-TV version of this film, so I finally bought the DVD. I am one happy hombre. In addition to the superior video and audio quality, one gets several unobstructed views of the object of Gere's love/lust -- and that's no insignificant treat.

One reviewer aptly referred to this film as Gere doing his "early-80s cheeseball riff on the sexiest man alive." I concur. "Breathless" could be seen as an expansion of his minor role as Diane Keaton's dangerous pretty-boy in "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" -- transposed from wintery Chicago to sultry L.A.

I won't analyze this film. It doesn't hold up under criticism, and certainly there is plenty to dislike, starting with the relentlessly sociopathic behavior of its protagonist. Rather, in the spirit of the film's love-almost-conquers-all theme, here's just a partial list of what I love about "Breathless":

1. Kaprisky in her see-through swimsuit. Rowrrrr! The rest of her wardrobe is pretty damn sexy, too. (The jury's still out on Gere's blue 'soot.')

2. The kiss at the diving board. It has to be one of the best in cinema history. Kaprisky is a goner after that.

3. Gere's line: "I think maybe I was rolling dice when I should have been rolling you." Cheesy, sure, but look at her face when he says it.

4. The shower scene, together. Kaprisky running hot and cold. "Jesse, you're crazy." ... "So what?" ... "It's OK. I like it."

5. Gere turning female heads wherever he goes, as he exudes his studly scent.

6. Los Angeles as The Place to Be. I lived and loved in L.A. during the early/mid-80s, and can vouch for the intoxication of being young and on the go in the City of Dreams. It's one big-ass place. McBride and veteran lensman Richard Kline do a superb job of capturing its heat, light (L.A. sunsets put a glow over the whole city), and diversity -- from the downtown hotels and office towers, to the industrial sections, to the Hollywood hills, to upscale West L.A., to the beach communities (where we see what must be every mural in L.A.).

7. The amazing ending. Gere taking his "all-or-nothing" motto to the wire. In what other movie will you see a dude dancing and singing to his woman while the cops have their guns drawn on him?

"Breathless" is Gere at his best. Maybe Kaprisky, too, for whatever that's worth. Don't think too hard about it. Just enjoy the ride.

Richard Gere is quite simply the whole show in Breathless. To this day, this remains his most flamboyant performance of them all. He's immoral, yet charming and by sheer enthusiasm you can't help but root for this tragic character. The story seems to be a mere excuse to showcase Gere's charisma and sex appeal and he carries this movie as far as it can go.

Although this is hardly groundbreaking stuff, director Jim McBride seems to be an ample filmmaker. The film is filled with nice location photography and some flashy angles here and there.

I also dug the music score, shame there's no soundtrack album available anywhere. I recommend this film to anyone. Probably seen it over 20 times and I never get tired of it. Granted, I am a Richard Gere fan, but I also think this movie is truly entertaining.

"Breathless" is an unheralded '80s remake of Godard's revolutionary 1960 flick.

In this one, Richard Gere plays the Belmondo role as a dimwitted yet charismatic car-thief who accidentally (or not?) kills a policeman during a traffic stop and goes on the run.

He hooks up with a girl - Valerie Kaprisky playing a French girl in America, just as Jean Seberg played an American girl in France - and they go on the run together.

Nowadays, "Breathless" is remembered mostly, if it is remembered at all, for Kaprisky's nude scenes. Gere is hard to swallow in the lead role; he just seems like an obnoxious idiot. We don't get into his head at all.

Nor do we really understand Kaprisky's motivations. She seems too smart to do what she does, whereas Gere seems too stupid.

As I had never seen the French original, I don't have nothing to say about it, although the American version is too much underrated by the critics, l spent last night checking out this picture which I had good memories from the early 90's when I'd watched it on TV, indeed Breathless aged very well and holds up at the time, Richard Gere plays Jesse a wild guy car thief, living blithely as hadn't anything on the future, often reading a comic book of his fave hero Silver Surfer as pure escapism.

Jerry had a misfortune to kill inadvertently a cop after committed a mistake on the road, Jerry had plans to your newest French girlfriend Monica (Valérie Kaprisky) at Mexico, henceforth your life turns upside down, whatever he does all things getting worst, although his adventure spirit he goes ahead in randomly, following his own survival instincts, plenty of nudes and sexy scenes notable by the splendorous Monica, also rocked by the Killer Jerry Lee Lewis's Breathless as highlights at fabulous soundtrack.

Richard Gere illustrates that is a multilayer and versatile actor, also Art Metrano in a funny queer character with ice screen at mouth as owner of scrap yard and the recurrent stereotyped John P. Ryan as Lt. Parmental of the L. A. Police who enforces a chase without respite of Jesse, moreover the final sequence is really breathless!!

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 1993 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7.5.