This special limited edition J-card MediaBook slipcase (designed by Sam Smith) is limited to 5,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.
Taking its name from the Lumière Brothers invention of the same name, Cinématographe is a new sub-label from Vinegar Syndrome that seeks to fill gaps in the canon of American cinema. Offering a mix of auteur driven studio films produced during the New Hollywood era of the late 1960s and 70s all the way through the indie boom of the 1980s and 90s, Cinématographe will explore the wide breadth of American moviemaking, spanning numerous genres and scales of production. Curated and produced by Vinegar Syndrome's Justin LaLiberty, each limited edition release will be housed in a specially designed, cloth-bound, media book with embossed foil titles and custom molded disc trays accompanied by a slipcase featuring newly commissioned art and an individually numbered J-card.
Jesse (Richard Gere, American Gigolo), a restless and cocky common criminal with a penchant for fast cars, rock ‘n roll music and comic books, finds himself obsessed with Monica (Valérie Kaprisky, La Femme Publique), a French exchange student at UCLA. On the run for car theft and the accidental slaying of a highway patrolman, Jesse finds himself on the streets of Los Angeles, passing time in swimming pools, making love with Monica and dodging the law that is closing in on him.
A controversial remake of Jean-Luc Godard’s iconic staple of the French New Wave, À bout de souffle (1960), BREATHLESS is a decidedly 80s updating of the tried-and-true merging of romance and crime, giving way to the sex and violence expected from its era. Directed by American iconoclast Jim McBride (David Holzman’s Diary, The Big Easy), who co-wrote the script with L.M. Kit Carson (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2; Paris, Texas), BREATHLESS is a potent blast of pop-culture idolation, eschewing the gritty monochrome of its source for a vibrant, colorful, Los Angeles, gorgeously captured by director of photography Richard H. Kline (Body Heat, The Fury). Cinématographe is proud to present Jim McBride’s illustrious neo-noir in its world UHD debut of a new 4K restoration from its original camera negative.
directed by: Jim McBride
starring: Richard Gere, Valérie Kaprisky, Art Metrano, John P. Ryan, William Tepper, James Hong
1983 / 100 min / 1.85:1 / English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Additional info:
2-Disc Set: 4K Ultra HD + Region A Blu-ray
New audio commentary with director and co-writer Jim McBride, moderated by Cinématographe's Justin LaLiberty
New audio commentary with film writer Travis Woods
Rock N Roll As an Attitude - a new video interview with Jim McBride
A Different Perspective - a new video interview with casting director Jane Jenkins
To Ensnare is to Enshrine: The Ghostly Layers of Jim McBride's Breathless - a new video essay by film historian Daniel Kremer
Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending with audio commentary from Jim McBride
Theatrical Trailer
Booklet featuring text essays by Cinématographe's Justin LaLiberty, film programmer Justine Peres Smith and film critic Kristen Yoonsoo Kim as well as original production notes and lobby cards
VS's new master has been approved by Director Jim McBride as well. Even from the trailer above you can see a nice improvement over the FCE relaese.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JLaLibs
I know that some will balk at the Breathless reissue but here's the deal: I have been obsessed with this film for about twenty years. It is exactly the type of film, and filmmaker, that I want to champion with Cinématographe and regardless of when the FCE release came out, it is effectively OOP.
Add to that the opportunity to use the OCN (FCE and others utilized the IP) and do a new 4K scan and restoration, which is rather gorgeous and approved by Jim McBride, and it was really a no-brainer for me. I was also able to get Jim to do a full length audio commentary for the film in addition to other new extras and a 60 page book, a first for Cinematographe, that includes new essays as well as reprinted original production notes and sales sheets.
I don't expect everyone will want to upgrade but those who love the film won't find any better treatment for it.
Tempted. I already have the FCE.
Always appreciated the use of the Philip Glass music at the end.
I say Monica, you ever been to Mexico, honey?
I say Monica, darlin', you coming to Mexico with me?
Monica, you coming to Mexico with me!
Me and Monica!
Cos I'm gonna tell you how it's gonna be!
Mon-Monica and me!
Me and Monica! Yeah, me and Monica go to Méjico!
Watched this on the Criterion Channel a couple years ago and was surprised by the gonzo energy (the art always made me stay away when I was younger, it looked like a melodramatic cheese fest to my young eyes, well before I knew this was a remake of a French movie I'd never heard of when I was 10).
This movie is awesome, and it's one of the Tarantino hot takes I'm on board with, I'm in.
They used to play this a lot on cable and I'd tune in for Valerie Kaprisky. It's sort of a had a critical reassessment over the last 15-20 years. I like it and own the Fun City disc. This 4K is probably the title I'm most excited for from VS this month.
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Breathless (1983) 4K UHD (Cinématographe)
The previous Fun City Editions Blu-ray was a 2K scan of an interpositive
It's sort of a had a critical reassessment over the last 15-20 years. I like it and own the Fun City disc. This 4K is probably the title I'm most excited for from VS this month.
Linear Mode
