"A cross between Bogart and Dean": how the American press sees Belmondo

Alexis Guilleux 9:08 am, September 07, 2021

A "magnetic star of the French New Wave": this is how the

greeted Jean-Paul Belmondo, who died Monday at the age of 88.

From the "sturdy actor with the disdainful gaze" that he was, the newspaper retains "his boxer's nose, his sultry lips and his cynical gaze [which] personified youth."

Because if it marked French cinema, "Bébel" of course made itself known across the Atlantic, where we readily recognize its contribution to the seventh art.

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The American media thus estimate that "with his rough features and his bubbling anger", Jean-Paul Belmondo brought a realistic counterpoint to the romantic stars of the time.

Many saw it as a "cross between Humphrey Bogart and James Dean," said the

.

"He often played tough characters who were reckless but also nonchalantly French."

An inspiration for de Niro or Pacino

And yet, that did not prevent him, in the eyes of Americans, from inspiring the greats of their country.

"Belmondo set a precedent for ordinary-looking stars like Robert de Niro, Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman" who would mark Hollywood films of the 1970s and 1980s.

Of the 80 feature films by Jean-Paul Belmondo, the American press especially retains

. "No movie has done more to define his personality," writes the

. The work of Jean-Luc Godard, "sexy, witty, young and fatalistic", become a cultural phenomenon, will fix its image forever in the collective memory across the Atlantic.