Jean-Paul Belmondo at 80

Jean-Paul Belmondo
(photo: bloomberg.com)

The French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo celebrated his 80th birthday yesterday at a Paris restaurant. In his heydey, Belmondo was the French New Wave made flesh, famously starring in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless. He also worked with the great director Jean-Pierre Melville in three films and with Alain Resnais in the underestimated Stavisky. Belmondo faded from the movies, successfully switched to the stage, and kept a relatively low professional profile after suffering a stroke in 2001.

At his best, Belmondo embodied his roles, giving them youthful vigor and Gallic soul. He often performed as his own stunt man, an almost unthinkable concept among today's highly-insured stars. He also was not a very exportable star, in the sense that nearly all of his films were French productions. Belmondo's cup of coffee in Hollywood was a brief one, and he wisely returned to France.

To mark Belmondo's 80th birthday, take time to watch his signature roles in Godard's Pierrot Le Fou or Melville's Le Doulos. Unfortunately, the Criterion version of both films are out of print.