Jean Paul Belmondo (1933-2021) French actor first associated with the "New Wave" of the 1960s and a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s. His best known credits include Breathless – 1960 and That Man from Rio – 1964. Jean-Paul Belmondo was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine on April 9, 1933. Belmondo's father, Paul Belmondo, was an Algerian-born Pied-Noir sculptor of Italian descent, whose parents were Sicilian and Piedmontese. His mother, Sara Rainaud-Richard, was a painter. As a child he was more interested in sports than in school, developing a special interest in boxing and football. Belmondo made his amateur boxing debut on May 10, 1949 in Paris when he knocked out Rene Desmarais in a single round. Belmondo's boxing career was undefeated but brief. Belmondo then had three straight first-round and knockout victories from 1949 to 1950. "I stopped when the face I saw in the mirror started to change," he would later say. 
As part of his mandatory military service, he served in Algeria as a private for six months. Belmondo later became interested in acting. His last teenage years were spent at a private drama school and he began performing comedy sketches in various provinces. So he studied under Raymond Giraud and then attended the Conservatory of Dramatic Arts when he was twenty. Studied there for three years. He probably would have won the award for best actor, but he took part in a sketch mocking the school, which offended the jury; this resulted in him receiving only an honorable mention, "which nearly caused a riot among his angry comrades" in August 1956, according to one report. The incident made front page news. Belmondo's acting career began properly in 1953, with two performances at the Theater de l'Atelier in Paris in Jean Anouilh's Médée and Georges Neveux's Zamore. Belmondo began visiting the provinces with friends including Annie Girardot and Guy Bedos. Belmondo first appeared in the short film Moliere (1956). His first film role was a scene with Jean-Pierre Cassel in On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels (1957); however, he had a larger part in the follow-up film "A dog, a mouse and a Sputnik" (1958). Then a small role in the comedy "Be Beautiful But Shut Up" (1958), appearing with Alain Delon, followed by another role as a gangster in "Young Gunners" (1958), directed by Marcel Carné. 
Belmondo supported Bourvil and Arletty in Sunday Encounter (1958). Jean-Luc Godard directed him in a short film, Charlotte and Her Boyfriend (1958), in which Belmondo's voice was dubbed by Godard after Belmondo was drafted into the army. Belmondo's first leading role was in Les Copains du dimanche (1958). He had a part in "An Angel on Wheels" (1959) with Romy Schneider then appeared in "Web of Passion" (1959) for director Claude Chabrol. Belmondo played D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers (1959) for French television. Around this time, he had a breakthrough on the stage at Oscar (1958) in Paris, which led to playing leading roles. The first of these was Consider All Risks (1960), a gangster story with Lino Ventura. The second was in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (out bout de souffle, 1960), which made him a major figure in the French New Wave. The role in the film Breathless was a huge success in France and abroad and launched Belmondo internationally and as the face of the New Wave – although, as he put it, "I don't know what they mean" when people used that term. In the words of The New York Times, this led to him having "more acting assignments than he can handle." Then other roles and interpretations continued, such as "Trapped by Fear" (1960), then the Italian film "Letters By a Novice" (1960). With Jeanne Moreau and director Peter Brook he made Seven Days … Seven Nights (1961) which he later called "very boring". Belmondo appeared as a gigolo in the anthology film Love and the Frenchwoman (1960). Then he made two Italian films: supporting Sophia Loren in Two Women (1961), as a bespectacled country boy ("It might disappoint those who oppressed me," said Belmondo. "But all the better."), then opposite Claudia Cardinale in "The Lovemakers" (1961). 
Two Women and Breathless were widely seen in the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1961 The New York Times called him "the most impressive young French actor since the arrival of the late Gérard Philippe." He reunited with Godard for A Woman Is a Woman (1961) and made another comedy anthology, Famous Love Affairs (1961). Later, he starred in Jean-Pierre Melville's philosophical film Léon Morin, Priest (1961), playing the role of a priest. He was a gangster in A Man Named Rocca (1962), then had a massive hit with the flick Cartouche (1962), directed by Philippe de Broca. Also popular was the film "A Monkey in Winter" (1962), a comedy where he and Jean Gabin played alcoholics. Belmondo went on to have a cameo appearance in the Italian comedy The Shortest Day (1962). Director François Truffaut wanted Belmondo to play the lead role in an adaptation of Fahrenheit 451. This did not happen (the film was made a few years later with Oskar Werner); instead, Belmondo made two films with Jean-Pierre Melville: the crime film noir The Fingerman (Le Doulos, 1963) and Magnet of Doom (1963). It should also be mentioned that he co-starred with Gina Lollobrigida in Mad Sea (1963) and appeared in another comedy anthology, Sweet and Sour (1963). There was some controversy when he was arrested for insulting a policeman, and when the policeman was accused of attacking Belmondo. Banana Peel (1963), with Jeanne Moreau, was a popular comedy. Even more successful was the action-adventure film "That Man from Rio" (1964), directed by Philippe de Broca – a massive hit in France, and also popular overseas. 
A 1965 profile compared him to Humphrey Bogart and James Dean. It said that Belmondo was: A later manifestation of youthful rejection … He accepts corruption with a cynical smile, not even bothering to fight. He is all for himself, to get what he can, when possible. The Belmondo type is capable of everything…. He represents something tough yet tangible, laconic yet intense, notably lacking in the neuroses or stifling insecurities of homus Americanus. He is the man of the moment, fully capable of taking care of himself – and ready to take the girl of the moment too. Belmondo's tastes range from Tintin comics, sports magazines and detective novels. He preferred making adventurous films like Rio to the intellectual films of Alain Resnais or Alain Robbe-Grillet. But for director François Truffaut he would be willing to try. 
His fee was said to be between $150,000-$200,000 per film. Belmondo said he was open to doing Hollywood films, but he wanted to play an American rather than a Frenchman and was interested in Cary Grant-type roles rather than James Dean/Bogart ones. Belmondo made Greed in the Sun (1964) with Lino Ventura for director Henri Verneuil, who said Belmondo was "one of the few young actors in France who is young and a man". Backfire (1964) reunited him with Jean Seberg. After an appearance in Male Hunt (1964) he played the title role in Weekend at Dunkirk (1965), another big hit in France. Belmondo dominated the French box office for 1964 – "The man from Rio" was the fourth most popular film in the country, "Greed in the Sun" was seventh, "Weekend at Dunkirk" ninth and "Backfire 19". Crime on a Summer Morning (1965) was less successful, although it still performed well on the strength of Belmondo's name. Up his ears (1965) was an attempt to repeat the popularity of That Man Rio, by the same director, but made less of a splash. Belmondo had Hollywood offers, but turned them all down. "He won't make films outside France," said director Mark Robson, who wanted him for The Lost Command (1966). "He has scripts piled up and doesn't see why he should risk his huge success by speaking English instead of French." Belmondo reunited with Godard for Pierrot le Fou (1965) then made a comedy, Tender Scoundrel (1966). He had small roles in two mostly English-language films, Is Paris Burning? (1966) and "Casino Royale" (1967). After making The Thief of Paris (1967) for Louis Malle, Belmondo took a year and a half off. "One day it seemed like life was passing me by," he said. "I didn't want to work. So I stopped. Then one day I felt like starting again. That's how I started." Belmondo spent three months of that time off in Hollywood but turned down no offers. He didn't want to learn English and appear in English-language films: Every Frenchman dreams of making a Western, of course, but America has plenty of good actors. I'm not falsely modest, but why would they need me? I prefer a national film to an international film. Something is lost. Look what happened to Italy when they went international. Belmondo returned to shooting with the crime film, "Ho"! (1968), then had a massive hit with a comedy he co-starred with David Niven, The Brain (1969), the most popular film at the French box office that year. The most prestigious was "Mississippi Mermaid" (1969) for director François Truffaut with Catherine Deneuve. Love is a Funny Thing (1969) was a romantic drama. He had his big break in a gangster film with Alain Delon, Borsalino (1970). The latter produced the film, and Belmondo ended up suing Delon for billing. 
“The Married Couple of the Year Two (1971) was also popular; even more so was "The Burglars" (1971). Inspired by the success that Alain Delon had produced his films, Belmondo also created his own production company, Cerito Films (named after his grandmother, Rosina Cerrito). Cerito's first film was the black comedy “Dr. Popaul "(1972), with Mia Farrow, the biggest success to date for director Claude Chabrol. La scoumoune (1972) was a remake of A Man Named Rocca (1961). The Heir (1973) was an action film as was Le Magnifique (1974). He produced as well as starred in films such as "Stavisky" (1974). Then he made a series of purely commercial films: "Incorrigible" (1974), "Fear Over the City" (1975 one of Belmondo's biggest hits of the decade (as well as the first time he played a policeman on screen), "Hunter Will Get You" (1976) and "The Body of My Enemy" (1977); "Cop or Hood" (1979). Belmondos continued in the 80s: he starred in another comedy, "Le Guignolo". While he was a secret service agent in the film "The Professional" (1982) What intellectuals don't like is success," said Belmondo. "Success in France is always looked down upon, not by the public, but by intellectuals. If I'm naked in a movie, that's fine for intellectuals. But if I jump out of a helicopter, they they think it's terrible." 
Belmondo stuck to commercial films: "Le Marginal" (1983), "Les Morphalous" (1984), "Hold-Up" (1985), "Le Solitaire" (1988), playing another policeman. In 1987, he returned to the theater after a 26-year absence in a production of Kean, adapted by Jean-Paul Sartre from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. "I did theater for 10 years before going into cinema and every year I planned to come back," he recalled. "That's how I got back before I got old." For Claude Lelouch, Belmondo starred in and co-produced Itinerary of a Spoiled Child (1988).[75] For his performance in the film, also titled "Itineraire d'un Enfant Gate", he won the "César". Belmondo would claim there were "several reasons" why he made fewer films in the 1980s. "I'm now a producer so it takes time to organize things," he said. "But it's also hard to find good scripts in France. We have serious problems with writing here. And I'd rather do theater for a long time than get a mediocre film." In the 90s and later he continued his career. In 1990, he played the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac on the Paris stage, another very successful production. He then had a small role in One Hundred and One Nights (1995), then another major role in Lelouch's version of Les Misérables (1995). He also appeared in the comedy Désiré (1996), Une random sur deux (1998), and the science fiction comedy Peut-être (1999). In 2009, Belmondo starred in Un homme et son chien, his last film role. Despite his difficulty in walking and speaking, he played a character who had the same disability. After this film he was forced to retire in 2011 having previously suffered a stroke in 2001. AWARDS AND TITLES Belmondo was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre National du Mérite, promoted to Oficer (Officer) in 1986 and is he was also promoted to Commander in 1994. He was also made a Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur, promoted to Officer in 1991 and promoted to Commander in 2007. During his career, he was nominated for two BAFTA Awards. Belmondo received several honorary awards – the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011, the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2016 and the Cesar in 2017. In 2009, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association gave him an award for career achievements. 
Personal life On 4 December 1952, Belmondo married Élodie Constantin, with whom he had three children: Patricia (1953–1993), who died in a fire, Florence (born 1958) and Paul (born 1963). Belmondo and Constantin separated in 1965. She filed for divorce in September 1966 and it was finalized on January 5, 1968. Belmondo had relationships with Ursula Andress from 1965 to 1972, Laura Antonelli from 1972 to 1980, Brazilian actress and singer Maria Carlos Sotto Mayor from 1980 to 1987, and Barbara Gandolfi from 2008 to 2012. In 1989, Belmondo was in his mid-50s when he met 24-year-old ballerina Natty Tardivel. The couple lived together for more than a decade before marrying in 2002. On August 13, 2003, Tardivel gave birth to the then 70-year-old Belmondo's fourth child, Stella Eva Angelina. Belmondo and Tardivel divorced in 2008. Belmondo was a supporter of Paris Saint-Germain football club. He passed away on September 6, 2021 at his home in Paris, at the age of 88. He had been in poor health since suffering a stroke two decades ago. President Emmanuel Macron called Belmondo a "national hero". _________________________ Albanian cinematography 2013-2021 P. Bj: September 7, 2021 Please contact us anytime if you have any issues on the pictures attached on this article. Thank you!
Follow us: Blog: https://albaniancinematography.blogspot.com/ Vimeo: Albanian Cinematography (vimeo.com) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ksh.faqjazyrtare Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/kinetografiashqiptareartisporti YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDRYQ5xCyGkfELm3mX8Rhtw
Discover more from Albanian Cinematography - Sport
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
