Story here:
I don’t know how famous he was in America, but he wasn’t only one of the biggest stars of French cinema, but of whole Europe. I’ve known him as long as I can think. He was a very versatile actor, playing in nouvelle vague films for the most famous French directors (Godard, Truffaut, Malle), but also in many action and comedy flicks where he did most of his stunts himself. He also always seemed to be a very likable guy. RIP, Jean-Paul.
He was the epitome of the ugly/sexy male French star. RIP.
“UGLY”??? Really?
I actually thought he had died decades ago.
He was very big in Russia, too. Back in the '90s, you could switch the TV on almost any night of the week and a movie of his would be on. (The same was true of Louis de Funès. I had never heard of either before I lived in Eastern Europe.)
RIP, Jean-Paul.
He thought so himself. From this New York Times article:
He had a stroke that affected his speech in 2001, so after that he only made one more film.
My favorite actor (sigh….)
I haven’t seen all of his films - some of them are pretty bad, many more are unmemorable and in a few, his character is an a-hole – but the more entertaining ones showcased his indefatigable charm, athleticism and a disposition equally at home with whimsy or badassery:
Breathless (1960) – His most iconic performance, as an amoral small-time crook smitten with naïve American Jean Seberg. At one point, Belmondo proclaims Maurice Chevalier and the Marquis de Lafayette the lamest of Frenchmen, a judgement that can be taken as implicit acknowledgment that Belmondo was the coolest.
Classe Tous Risques (1960) – Belmondo plays The Transporter 42 years before Jason Statham.
Le Doulos (1962) – Quintessential badass Belmondo performance.
That Man from Rio (1964)
Up to His Ears (1965)
Lighthearted adventures with a touch of the surreal. The latter is based on Jules Verne’s story of a rich man so bored he hires a hitman to kill him, then he meets the woman of his dreams - Ursula Andress, archaeologist by day, stripper by night – and he understandably changes his mind.
Mississippi Mermaid (1969) – Belmondo and Catherine Deneuve have a serious love/hate relationship.
Le Magnifique (1973) – Nearly half a great film starts with Belmondo in a funny James Bond parody, then reveals he is actually the writer of it. Complications with his publisher and Jacqueline Bisset fill out the running time.
The Vultures (1984) – Redo of Kelly’s Heroes has foreign legionnaire Belmondo leading efforts to steal gold bars from a bank in Tunisia. Very entertaining, this movie is also memorable for a scene in which a legionnaire unwisely urinates on an electric fence.