Breathless, by Jean-Luc Godard

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Through extensive research it is clear that many critics would agree, New Wave of French films has been unsatisfactory, although more than a few respectable films emerged from it. With the appearance of 1960s Breathless, there came a film (for it’s time) that is new, aesthetically and ethically. In a clean, yet rebellious way, Godard makes the statement, ‘Anything is possible when it comes to cinema, that there is no limit to the possibilities of film form.’ Godard understood the rules and clichés of cinema and had the guts to fool around around with them. Godard split ways from classic cinema to make a film that was at the peak of cinematic innovation, while simultaneously paying homage to those past films much like many artists were doing during that time. He innovated countless conventions and posed a scandalous new view for the time. Godard would continue to make great films, but it was Breathless that changed cinema indefinitely.

With a brief overview of Godard and his film Breathless it will be clear why his motion picture is timeless and made such an impact on film. Jean-Luc Godard was born in Paris, France in 1930. Jean-Luc had three siblings that his prosperous French-Swiss parents raised primarily in Switzerland. With his success being established mostly as a French film director, screenwriter and film critic Godard is often recognized with the 1960s French film movement ‘New Wave’. Similar to his ‘New Wave’ contemporaries, Godard disapproved of conventional French cinema's ‘Tradition of Quality’’ , which "emphasized craft over innovation, privileged established directors over new directors, and preferred the great works of the past to experimentation." To defy this tradition, he and like-minded critics decided ...

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¬––"Letterboxd — Your life in film." 'Breathless' review by Gustav • Letterboxd. http://letterboxd.com/gustavr/film/breathless/ (accessed February 25, 2014).

Romney, JonathanSaunders, Frances Stonor. "Breathless, again." New Statesman 129, no. 4494 (July 10, 2000): 43. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 23, 2014).

––"The Cinemaniacs." The Cinemaniacs. http://thecinemaniacs15.com/2012/11/07/a-breath-of-fresh-air-godards-breathless/ (accessed February 25, 2014).

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