Breathless
2-disc Special Edition from Criterion in October
5
August 2007
On
the countdown chart of cult films by cult director's
Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 debut feature Breathless
(À bout de souffle) must
rank somewhere near the top. Both an homage to and
critique of the American 1940s b-movies that so
influenced him as a writer for Cahiers du cinema,
the story of a young car thief (played by Jean-Paul
Belmondo) who likes to pretend he's tougher than
he is (written by Godard and his compatriot François
Truffaut) is a springboard for a freewheeling and
rule-busting approach to narrative and handling
that has been described by some as the birth of
the modern movie.
Criterion
have announced a 2-disc Special Edition release
of the film for October with the following features:
- New,
restored high-definition digital 1.33:1 transfer,
approved by director of photography Raoul Coutard;
- Archival
interviews with director Jean-Luc Godard, and
actors Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, and Jean-Pierre
Melville;
- New
video interviews with Coutard, assistant director
Pierre Rissient, and filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker;
- New
video essays: filmmaker and critic Mark Rappaport's
"Jean Seberg" and critic Jonathan Rosenbaum's
"Breathless as Film Criticism";
- Chambre
12, Hotel de suede, an eighty-minute French
documentary about the making of Breathless, with
members of the cast and crew;
- Charlotte
et son Jules, a 1959 short film by Godard,
starring Belmondo;
- French
theatrical trailer;
- New
and improved English subtitle translation;
- A
booklet featuring writings from Godard, film historian
Dudley Andrew, Francois Truffaut's original film
treatment, and Godard's scenario.
Release
date is 23rd October 2007 at the SRP of $39.95.
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