There is hardly a film around which film history revolves as much as Out of Breath by Jean-Luc Godard. The most famous work of the French Nouvelle Vague launched a cinema revolution whose aftershocks can still be felt 63 years later.
It inspired a number of films such as Martin Scorsese’s Cauldron, Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express and Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise. You can now stream the masterpiece for free in the ARD media library.
In the ARD media library: Out of Breath revolutionized film history
On the surface, Out of Breath is gangster gear. The petty criminal Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is hiding with the young American Patricia (Jean Seberg), after he shot a police officer. Together they plan an escape to Italy, which neither of them will ever undertake.
Arthaus/Studiocanal
Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg in Out of Breath
Godard and contemporaries like François Truffaut wanted to banish the outdated cinema of the post-war period from the screening room with fast-paced, young, authentic street stories. Out of Breath hit the international scene like a bomb.
Godard went against the traditional methods of his time in 1,000 ways. He used amateur actors, disdained studio recordings and artificial lighting and used completely new techniques such as the so-called jump cut.
No wonder then that Out of breath again in 2023 as one of the best films of all time and is considered an important work in film history. He also launched the careers of Belmondo and Seberg, who would become celebrated stars of the 1960s. Podcast: Why is German TV so boring?
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