All

Breathless

£60.00

Film

Breathless

Additional information

Year

1983

Size/Type

UK Quad / (30″ x 40″) / Single Sided / Printed in England by W.E.Berry Ltd. Bradford

Country of Origin

UK / British

Condition

Very Fine plus – Near Mint minus / Originally rolled (as issued)

Director

Jim McBride

Actor/Actress

Art Metrano, Richard Gere, Valerie Kaprisky

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“Me and Monica! Yeah, me and Monica go to Méjico!”

One of the best Richard Gere images you will see is Eric Pulford’s country unique (British) artwork for the 1983 UK quad movie poster for “Breathless”. To be fair both Gere and co-star Valerie Kaprisky (her first and only US starring role) look pretty good. The original 1983 UK quad movie poster offered here is from first year of release and displays and presents to excellent effect. Originally rolled (as issued) the colours are bright and unfaded and Pulford’s imagery dramatic and exciting. With hardly a defect of note this beautiful rolled unrestored film poster is in investment grade condition and a fine example of rare and collectable original movie memorabilia.

 …more detail

Vintage Movie Posters Grading Criteria... read more +

Film Description

Breathless Movie Poster

“He’s the last man on earth any woman needs…and every woman wants.”

Re-make of the 1959 French Film Nior classic A Bout De Soufflé the US version Breathless has actor Richard Gere as the on the run “Checkered Pants Man”, it’s the only pair he has in the film, Jesse Lujack who’s on the run from the police after accidentally killing a cop who stopped him for speeding on a Las Vegas highway. Jesse ends up hooking, no pun intended, up with this cute French chick Monica Poiccard, Valerie Kaprisky, while being on the lamb. It’s Monica that he had a one night strand with the night before after meeting her in a Vegas casino. Jesse, a master car thief, now plans to steal a hopped up car and drive with Monica to Mexico where, that’s what he thinks, the long arm of the law can’t get to him. Did the guy ever hear of extradition treaties between countries?

Monica a French exchange student at UCLA has no idea that her new found boyfriend is wanted by the police for murder and goes along with him just for the sheer thrill of it. By the time that she does find out what it’s or Jesse is all about she’s torn between turning him, who by then she’s madly in love with, into the police or joining him as a fugitive from justice on his mad dash towards the Mexcan/US border. It’s a terrible decision on Monica’s part but it’s Jesse who ends up making it for her at the end of the film.

French actress Valerie Kaprisky was toted to be the next Bridget Bardot and this was to be her breakout movie but you can see that she was way over her head in here. Not in the acting department but in being paired with her co-star Richard Gere. Gere didn’t seem to have a script to work with in the film and most of his dialog seemed to be ad libbed. This had Gere doing what seemed like, in his unintelligent mumbling, a Marlon Brando imitation which was hard to figure out what he was saying throughout most of the movie.

Miss. Kaprisky, as Monica, who did speak with a sexy French accent in understandable sentences seemed to have trouble interacting with Gere not quite knowing what he was talking about. But as for the sex scenes between the two they were both first class as well as X-rated! It took almost forever for Monica to find out what her boyfriend did, killed a cop, and when she did she started to have second thoughts in her checking out of the country with him. Even though she was made pregnant by Jesse in what had the be the fastest human pregnancy, about 24 hours, in all of recorded medical history!

It turned out that “Breathless” not only bombed out at the box office but turned out to be the both first and last movie that Valerie Kaprisky ever starred in going back to her native France and continuing her film career there. And as it turned out no amount of money or, in co-staring in films with her, top Hollywood leading men would make her ever change her mind.

Vintage Movie Posters Grading Criteria

Mint
A poster that has never been used or displayed and may show the most minor signs of age and wear. The poster should have no holes or tears.

Near Mint
A generally unused poster with fresh, saturated colors. May have minimal tears at folds. Has no significant holes, no paper loss, may have minor tears along edges, may have fine pin holes.

Very Fine
A poster with bright colour and crisp overall appearance. It may have very general signs of use including slight fold separation and fold wear. It may have pin holes or very minor tears. This is the highest grade allowed for a poster that has been restored either on linen or on paper.

Fine
A poster with good colors and overall clean appearance. It may have minor tears small paper loss and minor stains. It may have some fold seperation.

Good
An average poster with overall fresh color. May have tears, minor paper loss, minor hazing. Paper may be brittle due to age, may have minor stains. May have a small amount of writing in an unobtrusive place. May have medium or major restoration.

Fair
A poster with faded colors and brittle paper, showing significant signs of use. May have tears and paper loss. May have tape, writing, stains in image area. In need of restoration or had major restoration.

Poor
A poster that is worn, torn, and/or damaged. May have staining, cracking, dry rot, and/or large tears. May be heavily soiled, may have pieces missing. In need of major restoration.

All photographs and images used on our site are photographs of the actual poster/item you are buying, we do not use stock photographs.

Most Popular Poster Types

US Posters

LOBBY CARD
11 x 14″ printed on heavy stock paper. Used as display in theatre lobbies. Originally made in sets of eight. Some sets have a title card, which contains credits and artwork, essentially a mini-poster. The remaining seven cards are coloured photographic credits and poster artwork showing different scenes from the movie.

WINDOW CARD
14 x 22″ printed on heavy stock paper with the top 4-6 inches usually left blank for the local cinema owner to fill in the cinema and the date it was due to play. Largely discontinued during the 1970’s.

HALF SHEET
22 x 28″ printed on heavy stock paper. The image displayed is normally a smaller version of the main poster, although some do have different artworks and sometimes come in two versions.

INSERT
14 x 36″ printed on heavy stock paper. Inserts usually have the same artwork as a one sheet. Popular with collectors since they are smaller and easier to frame. Normally come tri folded or rolled.

STYLE Y/FORTY BY SIXTY
40 x 60″ printed on heavy stock paper. Rare since they were primarily used for major motion pictures only. Designed to be used outside the theatre, on an easel, normally at a drive-in movie theatre.

ONE-SHEET
27 x 41″ printed on paper. This is the most common size of poster, intended to be displayed in a glass “marquee” case. It is the most sought after size by collectors. Since the 1980’s most posters are sent to the theatre rolled and maybe slightly smaller measuring 27″ by 40″ and with the advent of backlit light boxes a growing number of modern movie posters are available double-sided and the more traditional single-sided.

THREE-SHEET
41 x 81″ printed on paper. These were printed on two or three separate sheets designed to overlap, few survive. Used for larger advertising spaces, normally posted on walls, perfect for huge movie theatres the drive-in, where people could see them from a distance. From the 1970’s on, three-sheets were sometimes printed in one piece and issued as “international” versions to be used abroad.

BRITISH Posters

BRITISH QUAD
30 x 40″ Most common poster size used in the UK. British Quads are horizontal and may have different artwork to the US one sheet. Like a US one sheet they normally come in two versions. Like a US one sheet they are usually supplied single-sided or more commonly now as a double sided poster.

BRITISH ONE-SHEET
27 X 40″, printed on paper. Very rarely used size.

ITALIAN Posters

ITALIAN LOCANDINA
13 x 28″ six inches shorter than the US insert, very nice size to frame. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.

ITALIAN PHOTOBUSTA
18 x 26″ Glossy, high quality, used as lobby cards in Italy. Size may vary, either vertical or horizontal format. There are also double Photobusta or mini Photobusta.

2-FOGLIO (DUE)
(DUE): 39 x 55″ This is the standard poster size used in Italy. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.

4-FOGLIO
(QUATTRO) 55 x 79″ Very large Italian poster printed in two pieces, often contains very beautiful artwork.

FRENCH Posters

FRENCH
47 x 63″ (GRANDE) or 24 x 33″ (PETITE) French movie posters normally come with different artwork to either the US or the UK. Like the Italian’s some of the artwork is extrememly beautiful.