BACKSTORY: Released in 1983, "Breathless" is a remake of the 1960 François Truffaut & Jean-Luc Godard French film. Directed and written by Jim McBride (L.M. Kit Carson also wrote the screenplay), it starred Richard Gere as Jesse Lujack, an American drifter, who stalks Monica Poiccard, a young French student, played by Valerie Kaprisky. On the lam for accidentally killing a cop, Lujack attempts to get Monica to drop out of school and join him in Mexico. Although not necessarily a critical success, it has enjoyed a cult following, with Quentin Tarantino being one of its biggest admirers.
Film locations include Murphy Sculpture Garden and Royce Hall at UCLA and the climactic scenes of the film near Runyon Canyon in Hollywood.
