"I would say I've done everything I wanted to," says Jean-Paul Belmondo. Take a trip down memory lane as the star of the French New Wave and countless gangster movies celebrates his 85th birthday.
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From petty gangster to war hero: Jean-Paul Belmondo's best films
As one of the icons of the French New Wave and Film Noir turns 85, we select the best entries from Jean-Paul Belmondo's filmography. His oeuvre contains something for everyone.
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The breakthrough: 'Breathless' (1960)
Jean-Luc Godard's cult movie was not Belmondo's debut, but it turned the 26-year-old actor into a star. In "Breathless," Belmondo portrays petty criminal Michel who kills a policeman after having stolen a car. He plans to escape to Italy with his girlfriend, aspiring American journalist Patricia, but she starts questioning her love for him once she learns he is being investigated for murder.
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More than a gangster: 'Léon Morin, Priest' (1961)
When communist Barny (Emmanuelle Riva) meets good-looking priest Léon Morin (Belmondo), they get into a heated debate about God. They begin regularly seeing each other for intellectual conversations, and eventually Barny falls in love with the priest. Critics praised the movie as it shows Belmondo and director Jean-Pierre Melville departing from the gangster films they were known for.
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A tribute to Film Noir: 'Pierrot le Fou' (1965)
Bored to death with his family and the bourgeois lifestyle, Belmondo as Ferdinand Griffon runs away with his ex-girlfriend, Marianne. They embark on a crime spree through the French countryside, and the journey has a deadly end for Ferdinand after he realizes Marianne has been using him. Jean-Luc Godard's film's title comes from the nickname "Pierrot," or "sad clown," Marianne gives to Ferdinand.
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Slapstick humor: 'Up to His Ears' (1965)
Don't hire an assassin to kill you when you're not really sure if you really want to die. That's the moral of "Up to His Ears," directed by Philippe de Broca and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and former Bond girl Ursula Andress. The slapstick comedy tells the story of a bored millionaire who, after his 10th failed suicide attempt, hires a man to finish the job.
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Inspired by Al Capone: 'Borsalino' (1970)
When Siffredi, played by Alain Delon, and Capella, portrayed by Belmondo, meet for the first time in the 1930s Marseille, they fight over a mutual love interest. But the two quickly become friends doing jobs for local mob bosses. In the end, they decide to become masters of the underworld themselves. The film was a huge success in most of Europe.
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The police officer: 'Fear Over the City' (1975)
Terror paralyzes Paris when several young women are murdered in a city. As police officer Jean Letellier, Jean-Paul Belmondo is on the killer's track, but also has to deal with infamous gangster Marcucci. If you enjoy a thriller filled with explosions, wild stunts and fast cars, this is the right Belmondo flick for you.
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In the secret service: 'The Professional' (1981)
The story of secret agent Beaumont is one of the most sinister of Belmondo's career. After he is ordered to murder an African despot, the French intelligence service changes its mind and hands him over to a detention center in a fictional African country. He flees after two agonizing years and decides to carry out his original mission, and also take revenge on his ex-superiors.
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Typical Belmondo flick: 'Le Marginal' (1983)
Belmondo's appearances in many gangster movies earned him a reputation of a macho man who does not think twice before he acts. It is no surprise that the role of agent Jordan in "Le Marginal" was written especially for him: Jordan is pursuing drug lords in Marseilles when he is transferred to Paris after an accident. That does not prevent him from chasing the original gangsters, however.
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Patriotic action: 'The Vultures' (1984)
During the WWII, foreign legionnaire Augagneur and his company are tasked with salvaging gold bars from a deserted Tunisian town and taking them to France. However, the squad is ambushed by the German army, leaving Augagneur and his three comrades as the sole survivors. When the Germans leave, the team must decide what to do with the gold.
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Cult actors: 'One Hundred and One Nights' (1995)
Marcello Mastroianni, Alain Delon, Jeanne Moreau, Hanna Schygulla, Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, Gina Lollobrigida and, of course, Jean-Paul Belmondo are among the many stars of Agnes Varda's "One Hundred and One Nights." The quirky comedy, in which Monsieur Cinema reflects on film history, is an homage to 100 years of cinema.
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"You really suck," says Jean-Paul Belmondo playing small-time criminal Michel Poiccard at the end of "Breathless," a 1960 movie directed by Jean-Luc Godard. It's with this sentence that the career of this now-legendary French actor took off.
It wasn't his first film, but it was his breakthrough. At the age of 26, he embodied the free spirited French rebel who accepts no rules except his own.
With his role in "Breathless," he became one of the central figures of French New Wave cinema of the late 1950s and 1960s. It was the cinema of the unconventional, independent and unpredictable; its directors dared to innovate and create new aesthetics.
Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut and Claude Chabrol — three major directors of the cinema of that era — all wanted Belmondo in front of their cameras.
Workaholic, chameleon and male icon
Looking at Belmondo's career, one can have little doubt that he enjoyed his job.
Out of the 80 movies in his filmography, half were shot in the 1960s. His roles have also shown that he is a versatile performer who is not afraid of taking up very different roles. Even though people may know him mainly from crime and thriller features where he portrayed gangsters or cops, he also starred in melodramas with Romy Schneider and Alain Delon.
François Truffaut's romantic drama "Mississippi Mermaid" shows Belmondo's different, sensitive side, alongside co-star Catherine DeneuveImage: picture-alliance/Courtesy Everett Collection
His distinctive features and typically macho attitude made him shine in many films of the 1970s and 1980s. During those decades, he starred in his most popular titles, including "The Professional," whose theme song by Ennio Morricone made the film famous across the world.
Belmondo was his own stuntman
He didn't need a stunt double for the many dangerous and spectacular scenes he took part in — he did them himself.
In the 1980s, he made fewer films and returned to his theatrical roots by performing in classical theater productions.
His health took a turn in 2001 when he was admitted to a Paris hospital after suffering a stroke. The actor had to laboriously learn to speak and walk again. However, as soon as he was healthy, he was back on stage.
Still a superstar at 85
His most recent film, "A Man and His Dog," was released in 2009. However, it was a flop with critics and the public. Belmondo later apologized for the work, but acknowledged that the film had helped him overcome the effects of his stroke.
Jean-Paul Belmondo and actress Monica Bellucci at the 23rd Lumieres awards ceremony in 2018Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Mori
In 2010, Belmondo was honored by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for his life's work. A year later, he received the Golden Palm in Cannes. Venice also honored the actor in 2016 with a Golden Lion, and in 2017 he received the César award in Paris.
Although he has not shot movies for a long time and prefers to live a quiet life, Belmondo is still celebrated as a superstar in France. When asked what he wanted most on his 80th birthday, he replied: "Life, life, life, life."
