The 2011 Cannes Film Fest celebrated the career of the versatile actor and star, Jean-Paul Belmondo.
Photo: Belmondo in Louis Malle’s The Thief of Paris
“We are delighted that he has agreed to attend this gala evening in celebration of his talent and career. His range and personal charisma, the precision of his acting, his cocky wit, the ease with which he carries himself have made him, along with Jean Gabin and Michel Simon, one of the greatest French actors of all time, a fact to which many films bear ample witness. No doubt the entire panoply of French actors, headed by his Conservatory friends Jean Rochefort, Claude Rich, Pierre Vernier and Jean-Pierre Marielle, will want to walk up that Cannes staircase to celebrate ‘Bébel’ to the sound of the rapturous applause of his diehard fans,” say Gilles Jacob and Thierry Frémaux. “The time has certainly come to celebrate this extraordinarily talented French actor.”
Since the late 1950s, Jean-Paul Belmondo has symbolized the best of popular cinema (Philippe de Broca, Henri Verneuil, Gérard Oury, Georges Lautner, Jacques Deray), ably blending this with the glorious art-house cinema of the ‘60s and ‘70s (Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Melville, François Truffaut, Claude Lelouch and Alain Resnais, not to mention Vittorio Sica and Alberto Lattuada). That Man from Rio, Breathless, Pierrot le Fou, Léon Morin, Priest, Mississippi Mermaid, Le Magnifique, Stavisky and Borsalino are just a few examples of his extraordinary range.
Known throughout the world, the inspiration for generations of actors, Belmondo is one of the best loved personalities in French cinema.
Surrounded by friends and admirers, Belmondo attende the première of Vincent Perrot and Jeff Domenech’s documentary, “Belmondo, The Career” on Tuesday, May 17.
Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (April 9, 1933–Sept 6, 2021) was a French actor, producer and distributor.
Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s due to the success of the film Breathless (1960), he also acted in other modern movies, Two Women (1960), Le Doulos (1962), That Man from Rio (1964), Greed in the Sun (1964),[6] and Weekend at Dunkirk (1964).
With the film That Man from Rio, he also became a stuntman.[5]
In 1971, he became a film producer and distributor.[8] He then steered his acting career towards commercial cinema starting in 1975.[9] An undisputed box-office champion along with Louis de Funès and Alain Delon, Belmondo attracted nearly 160 million viewers over his 50-year career. He notably appeared four times in the most watched French film of the year in France: The Brain (1969), The Night Caller (1975), Animal (1977), and Ace of Aces (1982); he was only surpassed on this point by Louis de Funès.[10] Having also acted in theatre in his early career, he returned to the scene in Kean (1987) and achieved success.
In 1993, he produced his first play, which would become famous: Le Dîner de cons
Belmondo frequently played heroic, brave, virile characters, which made him popular with a wide audience both in France and abroad. Despite being heavily courted by Hollywood, Belmondo refused to appear in English-language films.
He also played more profound roles, notably in Léon Morin, Priest (1961) and Mississippi Mermaid (1969).
During his career, he was called the French counterpart of actors such as James Dean, Marlon Brando and Humphrey Bogart. Described as icon and national treasure of France, Belmondo was seen as an influential actor in French cinema and an important figure in shaping. He was nominated for two BAFTA Awards throughout his career.
In 2011, Belmondo received the Honorary Palme d’Or, in 2016 the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, and in 2017 he received a tribute from the César Academy at the 42nd César Awards.
Early life
Jean-Paul Belmondo was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris, on April 9, 1933.
Belmondo’s father, Paul Belmondo, was a Pied-Noir sculptor who born in Algeria of Italian descent, whose parents were of Sicilian and Piedmontese origin.
His mother, Sarah Madeleine Rainaud-Richard, was a painter.
As a boy, he was more interested in sport than school, developing interest in boxing and soccer.
Belmondo made his amateur boxing debut on May 10, 1949 in Paris when he knocked out René Desmarais in one round.
Belmondo’s boxing career was undefeated, but brief. He won three straight first-round knockout victories from 1949 to 1950.”I stopped when the face I saw in the mirror began to change”, he later said.
He did his National Service in French Algeria where he may have broken his nose “with a rifle butt to end his military service.”
Belmondo was interested in acting.
His late teenage years were spent at private drama school, and he began performing comedy sketches in the provinces.
He studied under Raymond Giraud and then attended the Conservatoire of Dramatic Arts when he was twenty.
He studied there for three years.[30] He probably would have won the prize for best actor, but he participated in a sketch mocking the school, which offended the jury; this resulted in his getting only an honorable mention, “which nearly set off a riot among his incensed fellow students” in August 1956. The incident made front-page news.
Belmondo’s acting career began in 1953, with two performances at the Théâtre de l’Atelier in Paris in Jean Anouilh’s Médée and Georges Neveux’s Zamore.
Belmondo began touring the provinces with friends including Annie Girardot and Guy Bedos.
Belmondo first appeared in the short Moliere (1956).[15] His first film role was a scene with Jean-Pierre Cassel in On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels (1957),[33] which was cut from the final film;[34] however he had a bigger part in the follow-up A Dog, a Mouse, and a Sputnik (1958).[34]
Belmondo had a small role in the comedy Be Beautiful But Shut Up (1958), appearing with Alain Delon,[35] followed by a role as a gangster in Young Sinners (1958), directed by Marcel Carné.[36]
Belmondo supported Bourvil and Arletty in Sunday Encounter (1958).
Godard
Jean-Luc Godard directed him in a short, Charlotte and Her Boyfriend (1958), where Belmondo’s voice was dubbed by Godard after he was conscripted into the army. As part of his compulsory military service, he served in Algeria as private for 6 months.
Belmondo’s first lead role was in Les Copains du dimanche (1958).
He later had supporting part in An Angel on Wheels (1959) with Romy Schneider then appeared in Web of Passion (1959) for Claude Chabrol.
He played D’Artagnan in The Three Musketeers (1959) for French television.
Belmondo starred in Consider All Risks (1960), a gangster story with Lino Ventura.
He then played the lead role in Godard’s Breathless (À Bout de Souffle, 1960), which made him a major figure in the French New Wave.
Breathless was a major success in France and overseas and launched Belmondo internationally and as the face of the New Wave – even though, as he said “I don’t know what they mean” when people used that term. It led to his having “more acting assignments than he can handle.”[42]
He followed it with 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 may disappoint those who’ve got me typed” said Belmondo. “But so much the better,” then opposite Claudia Cardinale in The Lovemakers (1961).
Two Women and Breathless were widely seen in the United States and the UK.[41] In 1961, The New York Times called him “the most impressive young French actor since the advent of the late Gérard Philipe”.[46]
He was reunited with Godard for A Woman Is a Woman (1961)[47] and made another all-star anthology comedy, Famous Love Affairs (1961).[45]
Later, he acted in Jean-Pierre Melville’s philosophical movie Léon Morin, Priest (1961), playing a priest.[48] He was a retired gangster in A Man Named Rocca (1962),[49] then had a massive hit with the swashbuckler Cartouche (1962), directed by Philippe de Broca.[50] Also popular was A Monkey in Winter (1962), a comedy where he and Jean Gabin played alcoholics.[51]
Belmondo filming That Man from Rio in 1963
François Truffaut wanted Belmondo to play the lead in an adaptation of Fahrenheit 451.[52] This did not happen (the film was made several years later with Oskar Werner);[52] instead Belmondo made two movies with Jean-Pierre Melville: the film noir crime film The Fingerman (Le Doulos, 1963) and Magnet of Doom (1963).[53][54] He co-starred with Gina Lollobrigida in Mad Sea (1963) and appeared in another comedy anthology, Sweet and Sour (1963).[55] There was some controversy when he was arrested for insulting a policeman, when the policeman was charged with assaulting Belmondo.[56]
Banana Peel (1963), with Jeanne Moreau, was a popular comedy.[57] Even more successful was the action-adventure tale That Man from Rio (1964), directed by Philippe de Broca – a massive hit in France, and popular overseas as well.[58] A 1965 profile compared him to Humphrey Bogart and James Dean.[58] It stated Belmondo was:
A later manifestation of youthful rejection… His disengagement from a society his parents made is total. He accepts corruption with a cynical smile, not even bothering to struggle. He is out entirely for himself, to get whatever he can, while he can. The Belmondo type is capable of anything. He knows he is defeated anyway… He represents something tough yet vulnerable, laconic but intense, notably lacking in neuroses or the stumbling insecurities of homus Americanus. He is the man of the moment, completely capable of taking care of himself – and ready to take on the girl of the moment too.[58]
Belmondo’s own tastes ran to Tintin comics, sports magazines, and detective novels.[30] He said he preferred “making adventure films like Rio to the intellectual movies of Alain Resnais or Alain Robbe-Grillet.[30] But with François Truffaut I’d be willing to try.”[30] His fee was said to be between US$150,000–$200,000 per film. Belmondo said he was open to making Hollywood films but he wanted to play an American rather than a Frenchman and was interested in Cary Grant type roles instead of James Dean/Bogart ones.[30]
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 manly.”[30] Backfire (1964) reunited him with Jean Seberg, his Breathless co-star.[59] After a role in Male Hunt (1964) he played the lead in Weekend at Dunkirk (1965), another big hit in France.[citation needed]
Belmondo dominated the French box office for 1964 – That Man from Rio was the fourth most popular movie in the country, Greed in the Sun was seventh, Weekend at Dunkirk ninth, and Backfire 19th.[60]
Crime on a Summer Morning (1965) was less successful, though it still performed well on the strength of Belmondo’s name.[61] Up to His Ears (1965) was an attempt to repeat the popularity of That Man Rio, from the same director, but did less well.[62]
There were Hollywood offers, but Belmondo turned them down.[13] “He won’t make films outside of France”, said director Mark Robson, who wanted him for Lost Command (1966).[13] “He has scripts stacked up and he doesn’t see why he should jeopardise his great success by speaking English instead of French.”[13]
Belmondo was reunited with Godard for Pierrot le Fou (1965) then made a comedy, Tender Scoundrel (1966).[63][64] He had small roles in two predominantly English speaking films, Is Paris Burning? (1966) and Casino Royale (1967).[65][66]
After making The Thief of Paris (1967) for Louis Malle, Belmondo took acting hiatus for over a year. “One day it seemed that life was passing me by”, he said. “I didn’t want to work. So I stopped. Then one day I felt like starting again. So I started.”[14]
Belmondo spent three months of that time off in Hollywood but did not accept any offers.[14][13] He did not 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 being falsely modest but why would they need me? I prefer a national film to an international film. Something is lost. Look at what happened to Italy when they went international.[14]
Belmondo returned to filmmaking with the crime movie, Ho! (1968),[67] then had a massive hit with a comedy co-starring David Niven, The Brain (1969).[68] He later appeared in Mississippi Mermaid (1969) for François Truffaut with Catherine Deneuve and the romantic drama Love Is a Funny Thing (1969).
Belmondo starred alongside Alain Delon in Borsalino (1970), a successful gangster film.[70] The latter produced the film and Belmondo ended up suing Delon over billing.[71]
The Married Couple of the Year Two (1971) was also popular; even more so was The Burglars (1971).[72][73]
In 1971, he became a film producer and distributor by acquiring 50% of René Chateau. He named his production company Cerito Films in homage to his grandmother.[8]
Belmondo was a passionate football fan and he participated in the financial rescue of Paris Saint-Germain in 1973 with Daniel Hechter and Francis Borelli. He became vice-president of the Parisian club on this occasion and remained in this position until 1976[74].
Inspired by the success Alain Delon had producing his own films, Belmondo formed his own production company, Cerito Films (named after his grandmother, Rosina Cerrito), to develop movies for Belmondo.[75] The first Cerito film was the black comedy Dr. Popaul (1972), with Mia Farrow, the biggest hit to date for director Claude Chabrol.[37]
La scoumoune (1972) was a new version of A Man Named Rocca (1961).[76] The Inheritor (1973) was an action film; Le Magnifique (1974), a satiric action romance reunited him with Philippe de Broca.[77][78]
He produced as well as starred in Stavisky (1974).[79] Then he made a series of purely commercial films: Incorrigible (1974),[80] The Night Caller (1975; one of Belmondo’s biggest hits of the decade and the first time he played a policeman on screen),[81] The Hunter Will Get You (1976),[82] and Body of My Enemy (1977).[83] Animal (1977) cast him as a stuntman opposite Raquel Welch and he starred as a policeman in Cop or Hood (1979).[84][85]
In 1980, Belmondo starred in another comedy, Le Guignolo.[86] He was a secret service agent in The Professional (1981) and a pilot in Ace of Aces (1982).[87][88]
“What intellectuals don’t like is success”, said Belmondo.[89] “Success in France is always looked down on, not by the public, but by intellectuals. If I’m nude in a film, that’s fine for the intellectuals. But if I jump from a helicopter, they think it’s terrible.”[89]
Belmondo kept to commercial films: Le Marginal (1983) as a policeman,[90] Les Morfalous (1984) as a sergeant in the French Foreign Legion,[91] Hold-Up (1985) as a bank robber,[47] and Le Solitaire (1987), again playing another policeman in the last one, the latter one was a big box office disappointment and Belmondo returned to theatre shortly afterwards.[92]
In 1987, he returned to the theatre after a 26-year absence in a production of Kean, adapted by Jean-Paul Sartre from the novel by Alexandre Dumas.[89] “I did theatre for 10 years before going into movies and every year I planned to go back”, he recalled.[89] “I returned before I became an old man.”[89]
For Claude Lelouch, Belmondo starred in and co-produced Itinerary of a Spoiled Child (1988).[93] For his performance in the film, also titled as Itineraire d’un Enfant Gate, he won a César.[47]
Belmondo claimed there were “several reasons” why he made fewer films in the 1980s.[89] “I’m now a producer so it takes time to organise things”, he said.[89] “But it’s also difficult to find good screenplays in France. We have serious writing problems here. And I’d prefer to do theatre for a long time than take on a mediocre film.”[89]
In 1990, he played the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac on the stage in Paris, another highly successful production.[89] In 1991, he buys the Théâtre des Variétés. In 1993, he produced his first play, which would become famous: Le Dîner de cons.[12]
He had a small role in One Hundred and One Nights (1995) then the lead in Lelouch’s version of Les Misérables (1995).[94][95] He also appeared in the comedy Désiré (1996),[96] Une chance sur deux (1998),[97] and in the science fiction comedy Peut-être (1999).[98]
Belmondo was initially going to act in the television film Joseph [fr] (2005), a remake of La Horse (1970). Due to suffering a stroke, he was unable to act in the film.[99] In 2009, Belmondo starred in A Man and His Dog (“Un homme et son chien”), his final film role.[100] Despite his difficulty in walking and speaking, he played a character who had the same disability.[101] Following this film he was forced into retirement in 2011 having earlier suffered a stroke in 2001.[102]
He appeared in 2016 in a documentary Belmondo by Belmondo where he revisited the locations of some of the films in which he acted.[103]
Honours and awards
Belmondo’s handprint at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès
In 1989, Belmondo won the César Award for Best Actor for his performance in Itinéraire d’un enfant gâté.[15]
Belmondo was made a Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre National du Mérite, promoted to Officier (Officer) in 1986 and promoted to Commandeur (Commander) in 1994.[104] He was also made a Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur, promoted Officier (Officer) in 1991, and promoted to Commandeur (Commander) in 2007.[105]
During his career, he was nominated for two BAFTA Awards.
Belmondo received honorary awards – Palme d’Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, Golden Lion at the 2016 Venice Film Festival, and César in 2017.[107][108] In 2009, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association gave him a career achievement award.[109]
In 2017, he was received a lifetime achievement honor at the 42nd César Awards accompanied by a two-minute standing ovation.[19]On 4 December 1952, Belmondo married Élodie Constantin,[110] with whom he had three children: Patricia (1953–1993), who was killed in a fire, Florence (born 1958), and Paul (born 1963).[15] Belmondo and Constantin separated in 1965.[15] She filed for divorce in September 1966, and it was finalised on 5 January 1968.[111]
He had relationships with Ursula Andress from 1965 to 1972,[112] Laura Antonelli from 1972 to 1980,[113] Brazilian actress and singer Maria Carlos Sotto Mayor from 1980 to 1987,[114] and Barbara Gandolfi from 2008 to 2012.[115]
In 1989, Belmondo was in his mid-50s when he met 24-year-old dancer Natty Tardivel.[15] The couple lived together for over a decade before marrying in 2002.[15] On 13 August 2003, Tardivel gave birth to then 70-year-old Belmondo’s fourth child, Stella Eva Angelina.[15] Belmondo and Tardivel divorced in 2008.[15]
Belmondo was a supporter of football club Paris Saint-Germain.[116]
Belmondo died on 6 September 2021 at his home in Paris, aged 88.[15] He had been in failing health since he suffered a stroke a decade earlier.[102] A national tribute was held on 9 September in Hôtel des Invalides.[17] President Emmanuel Macron called Belmondo a “national hero”.[17] The last tribute melody was “Chi Mai” by Ennio Morricone (from The 1981 film The Professional). The next day, 10 September, his funeral took place at the Saint-Germain-des-Prés church in the presence of relatives and family. The actors Alain and Anthony Delon also were present.[117] His remains were cremated at the Père Lachaise Cemetery.[118] Unlike his father, the sculptor Paul Belmondo, who was buried at the Montparnasse Cemetery, Jean-Paul had his ashes scattered in the garden of his childhood home in Piriac-sur-Mer, in Loire-Atlantique.[119]
Legacy
Belmondo at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival
Throughout his career, he was called the French counterpart of actors such as James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Humphrey Bogart.[15] On the day of his death, television channels in France altered their schedules to add screenings of his films, which drew over 6.5 million viewers cumulatively.[120] For his performances as a police officer in many films, the National Police said that “Even if it was just cinema you were in a way one of us, Mr. Belmondo”.[120] Throughout his career, he was regarded as an influential French actor and was often seen as the face of the French New Wave.[25] Belmondo was described as the “figurehead” of the French New Wave, with his acting techniques often seen as capturing the style and imagination of France in the 1960s.[16]
Many of his film roles, especially as Michel Poiccard, were regarded as “legendary” and highly influential.[121] Despite his reluctance to learn English, many often believed had he accepted offers from Hollywood, his success there would have been comparable to that of French actors Charles Boyer or Maurice Chevalier.[121] In an obituary for The Guardian, they hailed Belmondo as an “integral part of the history of French cinema, and France itself”.[121] He was described as the “epitome of cool”.[122]
American film director Quentin Tarantino cited Belmondo as an influence and called Belmondo “a verb that represents vitality, charisma, a force of will, it represents super coolness”.[17] English director Edgar Wright said that “cinema will never be quite as cool again” following Belmondo’s death.[19] He was described as an icon of French cinema and being influential in shaping modern European cinema.[16]
Belmondo, particularly his role in That Man from Rio, proved highly popular in Japan and influenced the creation of the popular manga and media franchise Lupin the Third.[123][124][125]
Selected filmography
Year Title Role Director Notes
1956 Molière[15] Le Merluche Norbert Tildian short film
1957 On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels (À pied, à cheval et en voiture)[33] Venin Maurice Delbez A vehicle for Noël-Noël; Belmondo’s role cut from film
1958 Be Beautiful But Shut Up (Sois belle et tais-toi)[126] Pierrot Marc Allégret With Mylène Demongeot, Henri Vidal and Alain Delon
Young Sinners (Les tricheurs)[126] Lou Marcel Carné With Pascale Petit
Sunday Encounter (Un drôle de dimanche)[36] Patrick Marc Allegret With Danielle Darrieux, Arletty and Bourvil
Les copains du dimanche[38] Trebois
1959 Charlotte and Her Boyfriend (Charlotte et son Jules)[37] Jean Jean-Luc Godard Short film
An Angel on Wheels (Mademoiselle Ange)[126] Michel Barrot Géza von Radványi With Romy Schneider and Henri Vidal
The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires)[40] D’Artagnan Claude Barma For French TV
Web of Passion (À double tour, Leda)[126] Laszlo Kovacs Claude Chabrol With Madeleine Robinson
1960 Breathless (À bout de souffle)[126] Michel Poiccard Jean-Luc Godard With Jean Seberg; from a story by François Truffaut
The Big Risk (Classe Tous Risques)[126] Eric Stark Claude Sautet With Lino Ventura
Seven Days… Seven Nights (Moderato cantabile)[126] Chauvin Peter Brook With Jeanne Moreau
Trapped by Fear (Les distractions)[43] Paul Frapier Jacques Dupont With Alexandra Stewart and Sylva Koscina
Love and the Frenchwoman (La française et l’amour)[126] Anthology film
Letters By a Novice (Lettere di una novizia)[126] Giuliano Verdi Alberto Lattuada Italian film with Pascale Petit
Two Women (La Ciociara)[126] Michele de Libero Vittorio De Sica Italian film with Sophia Loren
1961 The Lovemakers (La viaccia)[126] Amerigo Mauro Bolognini Italian film with Claudia Cardinale
Léon Morin, Priest (Léon Morin, prêtre)[126] Léon Morin Jean-Pierre Melville With Emmanuelle Riva
A Woman Is a Woman (Une femme est une femme)[47] Alfred Lubitsch Jean-Luc Godard With Anna Karina and Jean-Claude Brialy
Famous Love Affairs (Amours célèbres)[45] Lauzun Michel Boisrond Anthology film
A Man Named Rocca (Un nommé La Rocca)[49] Roberto La Rocca Jean Becker 1972 remade by Belmondo as La Scoumoune
1962 The Finger Man (Le Doulos)[126] Silien Jean-Pierre Melville
Swords of Blood (Cartouche)[126] Louis Dominique Bourguignon Philippe de Broca With Claudia Cardinale
A Monkey in Winter (Un singe en hiver)[126] Gabriel Fouquet Henri Verneuil With Jean Gabin
Un cœur gros comme ça (A heart like that) (documentary “The Winner”)[126] as himself François Reichenbach
1963 Mad Sea (Mare matto)[127] Il Livornese Renato Castellani Italian film with Gina Lollobrigida
Banana Peel (Peau de banane)[126] Michel Thibault Marcel Ophüls With Jeanne Moreau
Sweet and Sour (Dragées au poivre)[126] Raymond Jacques Baratier
Magnet of Doom (L’Aîné des Ferchaux)[126] Michel Maudet Jean-Pierre Melville Set in the USA; based on a novel by Georges Simenon
The Shortest Day (Il giorno più corto)[128] Erede Siciliano Sergio Corbucci Unbilled cameo
1964 That Man from Rio (L’Homme de Rio)[126] Adrien Dufourquet Philippe de Broca With Françoise Dorléac
Greed in the Sun (Cent mille dollars au soleil)[126] Rocco Henri Verneuil With Lino Ventura
Backfire (Échappement libre)[126] David Ladislas Jean Becker Second film with Jean Seberg
Weekend at Dunkirk (Week-end à Zuydcoote)[126] Julien Maillat Henri Verneuil With Catherine Spaak
Male Hunt (La Chasse à l’homme)[126] Fernand Édouard Molinaro With Jean-Claude Brialy, Françoise Dorléac, Catherine Deneuve
1965 Crime on a Summer Morning (Par un beau matin d’été)[61] Francis Jacques Deray With Geraldine Chaplin
Pierrot le Fou[126] Pierrot (Ferdinand Griffon) Jean-Luc Godard With Anna Karina
Up to His Ears (Les Tribulations d’un Chinois en Chine)[126] Arthur Lempereur Philippe de Broca With Ursula Andress
1966 Tender Scoundrel (Tendre Voyou)[126] Antoine Maréchal Jean Becker With Geneviève Page, Stefania Sandrelli, Mylène Demongeot, Nadja Tiller and Robert Morley
Is Paris Burning? (Paris brûle-t-il?)[126] Yvon Morandat René Clément Hollywood financed film
1967 Casino Royale[126] French Legionnaire Ken Hughes, John Huston and others cameo role
The Thief of Paris (Le Voleur)[126] Georges Randal Louis Malle With Geneviève Bujold
1968 Ho![67] François Holin Robert Enrico Based on a novel by José Giovanni
1969 The Brain (Le Cerveau)[126] Arthur Lespinasse Gérard Oury With David Niven, Eli Wallach and Bourvil
Mississippi Mermaid (La Sirène du Mississippi)[126] Louis Mahé François Truffaut With Catherine Deneuve
Love Is a Funny Thing (Un homme qui me plaît)[126] Henri Claude Lelouch Filmed in the USA; with Annie Girardot
1970 Borsalino[126] François Capella Jacques Deray With Alain Delon
1971 The Married Couple of the Year Two (Les Mariés de l’an II)[126] Nicolas Philibert Jean-Paul Rappeneau With Marlène Jobert
The Burglars (The Burglars)[126] Azad Henri Verneuil With Omar Sharif, Dyan Cannon
1972 Scoundrel in White (Dr Popaul)[126] Doctor Paul Simay Claude Chabrol With Mia Farrow; also producer
Scoumoune (La Scoumoune)[126] Roberto Borgo José Giovanni With Clauda Cardinale
1973 The Inheritor (L’Héritier)[126] Bart Cordell Philippe Labro
The Man from Acapulco (Le Magnifique)[126] François Merlin / Bob Saint-Clar Philippe de Broca With Jacqueline Bisset; also producer
1974 Stavisky[126] Alexandre Stavisky Alain Resnais With Charles Boyer; also producer
1975 Incorrigible (L’Incorrigible)[126] Victor Vauthier Philippe de Broca With Geneviève Bujold; also producer
The Night Caller (Peur sur la ville)[126] Jean Letellier Henri Verneuil First time Belmondo played a policeman; also producer
1976 The Hunter Will Get You (L’Alpagueur)[126] Roger Pilard (“L’Alpagueur”) Philippe Labro Also producer
Body of My Enemy (Le Corps de mon ennemi) François Leclercq Henri Verneuil
1977 Animal (L’Animal)[126] Mike Gaucher / Bruno Ferrari Claude Zidi With Raquel Welch; also producer
1979 Cop or Hood (Flic ou voyou)[126] Antonio Cerutti / Stanislas Borowitz Georges Lautner Also producer
1980 Le Guignolo[86] Alexandre Dupré
1981 The Professional (Le Professionnel)[126] Josselin Beaumont, a.k.a. “Joss”
1982 Ace of Aces (L’As des as)[87] Jo Cavalier Gérard Oury
1983 Le Margina, Philippe Jordan Jacques Deray With Henry Silva; also producer
1984 The Vultures (Les Morfalous)[126] Pierre Augagneur Henri Verneuil Also producer
Happy Easter (Joyeuses Pâques)[126] Stéphane Margelle Georges Lautner With Sophie Marceau; also producer
1985 Outlaws[129] Producer only
Hold-up[126] Grimm Alexandre Arcady Filmed in Canada; with Kim Cattrall.
Also producer; remade as Quick Change
1987 The Loner (Le Solitaire)[126] Stan Jalard Jacques Deray Also producer
1988 Itinéraire d’un enfant gâté[126] Sam Lion Claude Lelouch
Chocolat[130] Producer only
Kean[89] Kean Pierre Badel Film of Jean-Paul Sartre play which Belmondo performed on stage
1990 Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano, Robert Hossein Film of play which Belmondo performed on stage
Tom and Lola Producer only
1992 Stranger in the House (L’inconnu dans la maison)[126] Georges Lautner Also producer
1993 Tailleur pour dames[132] Bernard Murat TV movie
Le nombril du monde[126] Producer only
1995 A Hundred and One Nights (Les Cent et Une Nuits de Simon Cinéma)[126] Professeur Bébel Agnès Varda
Les Misérables[126] Henri Fortin / Jean Valjean Claude Lelouch
1996 Désiré[126] Désiré Bernard Murat also producer
1997 La puce à l’oreille[133] Yves Di Tullio Based on play by Georges Feydeau
1998 Half a Chance (Une chance sur deux)[126] Léo Brassac Patrice Leconte With Alain Delon and Vanessa Paradis
1999 Peut-être[126] Ako Cédric Klapisch with Romain Duris
Frédérick ou le Boulevard du Crime[134] Bernard Murat Recording of play by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt starring Belmondo
2000 The Actors (Les Acteurs)[126] Himself Bertrand Blier documentary
Amazon[126] Edouard Philippe de Broca
2001 Ferchaux[135] Paul Ferchaux TV movie from novel by Georges Simenon
2009 A Man and His Dog (“Un homme et son chien”) [126] Charles Francis Huster Final movie role
2010 Allons-y! Alonzo! short
