Editing Jean-Paul Belmondo (section)

==Career==
===1950s===
[[File:Jean-Paul Belmondo, Rome, 1962.jpg|upright=0.9|thumb|Belmondo in [[Rome]] in 1962]]
Belmondo's acting career properly began in 1953, with two performances at the [[Théâtre de l'Atelier]] in Paris in [[Jean Anouilh]]'s ''[[Médée (Anouilh)|Médée]]'' and [[Georges Neveux]]'s ''Zamore''.<ref name="left">{{cite web|title=Jean Paul Belmondo|website=Le Film Guide|url=http://www.lefilmguide.com/biography/jean-paul-belmondo.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815133128/http://lefilmguide.com/biography/jean-paul-belmondo.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 August 2018|access-date=12 September 2016}}</ref> Belmondo began touring the provinces with friends including [[Annie Girardot]] and [[Guy Bedos]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Belmondo|last1=Guérif|first1=François|last2=Levy Klein|first2=Stéphane|publisher=PAC|year=1976|pages=81}}</ref>

Belmondo first appeared in the short ''Moliere'' (1956).<ref name=nytobit/> His first film role was a scene with [[Jean-Pierre Cassel]] in ''[[On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels]]'' (1957),<ref name=foot>{{Cite book|editor-last1=Oscherwitz|editor-first1=Dayna|editor-last2=Higgins|editor-first2=MaryEllen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=57aIGJqhWDcC|title=The A to Z of French Cinema|year=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7038-3|oclc=665838566|page=51}}</ref> which was cut from the final film;<ref name=wrap>{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/jean-paul-belmondo-french-actor-and-star-of-breathless-dies-at-88/|title=Jean-Paul Belmondo, French Actor and Star of 'Breathless,' Dies at 88|date=6 September 2021|publisher=The Wrap|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> however he had a bigger part in the follow-up ''[[A Dog, a Mouse, and a Sputnik]]'' (1958).<ref name=wrap/>

Belmondo had a small role in the comedy ''[[Be Beautiful But Shut Up]]'' (1958), appearing with [[Alain Delon]],<ref name=contempauthors>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth174peac|url-access=registration|title=Contemporary Authors|chapter=BELMONDO, Jean-Paul 1933–|volume=174|year=1999|publisher=Gale|isbn=0-7876-2666-X|location=Detroit|oclc=42200439|pages=[[iarchive:contemporaryauth174peac/page/41/mode/1up|41–44]]}}</ref> followed by a role as a gangster in ''[[Young Sinners (1958 film)|Young Sinners]]'' (1958), directed by [[Marcel Carné]].<ref name=vanity>{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/09/jean-paul-belmondo-face-of-the-french-new-wave-dies-at-age-88|title=Jean-Paul Belmondo, Face of the French New Wave, Dies at Age 88|date=6 September 2021|publisher=Vanity|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

Belmondo supported [[Bourvil]] and [[Arletty]] in ''[[Sunday Encounter]]'' (1958).<ref name=vanity/> [[Jean-Luc Godard]] directed him in a short, ''[[Charlotte and Her Boyfriend]]'' (1958), where Belmondo's voice was dubbed by Godard after Belmondo was conscripted into the army.<ref name=guardianobit>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/sep/06/jean-paul-belmondo-star-of-breathless-dies-aged-88 |title=Jean-Paul Belmondo, star of Breathless, dies aged 88 |first=Andrew |last=Pulver|date= 6 September 2021 |work=The Guardian }}</ref> As part of his compulsory military service, he served in Algeria as a private for six months.<ref name="merry">{{Cite news|date=21 June 1964|title='That Man' Belmondo on a Movie Merry-Go-Round|last=Barry|first=Joseph|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/06/21/archives/that-man-belmondo-on-a-movie-merrygoround.html|access-date=6 September 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Belmondo's first lead role was in ''[[Les Copains du dimanche]]'' (1958).<ref name=copains>{{Cite news|last=O'Connor|first=Roisin|date=6 September 2021|title=French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo has died|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/jean-paul-belmondo-death-age-breathless-b1915140.html|access-date=6 September 2021|work=[[The Independent]]|language=en}}</ref> He later had a supporting part in ''[[An Angel on Wheels]]'' (1959) with [[Romy Schneider]] then appeared in ''[[Web of Passion]]'' (1959) for [[Claude Chabrol]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://popculture.com/celebrity/news/jean-paul-belmondo-french-actor-breathless-dead-88/|title=Jean-Paul Belmondo, French Actor Best Known for 'Breathless,' Dead at 88|date=6 September 2021 |publisher=Pop Culture|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> He played [[Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan#Portrayals in fiction|D'Artagnan]] in ''The Three Musketeers'' (1959) for French television.<ref name=musket>{{cite web|url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/jean-paul-belmondo-plays-artagnan-in-three-musketeers-news-photo/497137354|title=Jean Paul Belmondo plays Artagnan in "Three Musketeers"|date=13 November 2015 |publisher=Getty Images|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

===1960s===
[[File:Cartouche 1962 Zürich (16) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|Belmondo in 1962]]
Belmondo starred in ''[[Consider All Risks]]'' (1960), a gangster story with [[Lino Ventura]].<ref name=LAO>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-09-06/actor-jean-paul-belmondo-star-of-breathless-dies-at-88|title='Breathless' star Jean-Paul Belmondo dies at 88|work=Los Angeles Times|date=6 September 2021|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> He then played the lead role in [[Jean-Luc Godard]]'s ''[[Breathless (1960 film)|Breathless]]'' (''À Bout de Souffle'', 1960), which made him a major figure in the [[French New Wave]].<ref name=guardianobit/>

''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.<ref name="jean"/> In the words of ''[[The New York Times]]'' it led to his having "more acting assignments than he can handle."<ref>{{cite news|title=MOVIE ACTIVITIES ALONG THE SEINE: Explosive Premieres – Idol – New Clement, Camus Features|first=Cynthia|last=Grenier|work=The New York Times|date=15 May 1960|page= X7}}</ref>

He followed it with ''[[Trapped by Fear]]'' (1960), then the Italian film ''[[Letters By a Novice]]'' (1960).<ref name=fear>{{cite web|url=https://filmartgallery.com/collections/belmondo-jean-paul|title=Jean-Paul Belmondo|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> With [[Jeanne Moreau]] and director [[Peter Brook]] he made ''[[Seven Days... Seven Nights]]'' (1961) which he later called "very boring."<ref name="merry"/>

Belmondo appeared as a [[gigolo]] in the anthology film ''[[Love and the Frenchwoman]]'' (1960).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|date=28 February 1961|title=Screen: 7 Ages of l'Amour: Premiere of 'Love and the Frenchwoman'|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/02/28/archives/screen-7-ages-of-1-amourpremiere-of-love-and-the-frenchwoman.html|access-date=6 September 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 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."<ref name="jean"/>), then opposite [[Claudia Cardinale]] in ''[[The Lovemakers (film)|The Lovemakers]]'' (1961).<ref name=ind>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/jean-paul-belmondo-death-breathless-b1915184.html|title=Jean-Paul Belmondo: How the sensual and enviably stylish star came to epitomise French New Wave cool|work=The Independent|date=7 September 2021|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

''Two Women'' and ''Breathless'' were widely seen in the United States and the UK.<ref name=LAO/> In 1961, ''The New York Times'' called him "the most impressive young French actor since the advent of the late [[Gérard Philipe]]".<ref name="new">{{Cite news|last=Thompson|first=Howard|date=25 February 1961|title=Jean-Paul Belmondo Displays Talent for a Variety of Roles; French Actor in 'Breathless' Is Slated to Depict Priest, Gigolo, Mountaineer and Factory Worker in New Films|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/02/25/archives/jeanpaul-belmondo-displays-talent-for-a-variety-of-roles-french.html|access-date=6 September 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

He was reunited with Godard for ''[[A Woman Is a Woman]]'' (1961)<ref name=bbcobit>{{Cite news|date=6 September 2021|title=French film great Jean-Paul Belmondo dies at 88|language=en-GB|publisher=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-11811293|access-date=6 September 2021}}</ref> and made another all-star anthology comedy, ''[[Famous Love Affairs]]'' (1961).<ref name=ind/>

Later, he acted in [[Jean-Pierre Melville]]'s philosophical movie ''[[Léon Morin, Priest]]'' (1961), playing a priest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/films/27660-l-on-morin-priest|title=Léon Morin, Priest|publisher=The Criterion Collection|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> He was a retired gangster in ''[[A Man Named Rocca]]'' (1962),<ref name=rocca>{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210906-belmondo-french-film-s-handsome-devil-dies-at-88|title=Belmondo, French film's handsome devil, dies at 88|date=6 September 2021|publisher=France24|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> then had a massive hit with the swashbuckler ''[[Cartouche (film)|Cartouche]]'' (1962), directed by [[Philippe de Broca]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/09/06/jean-paul-belmondo-dies-breathless-made-him-a-star-despite-ruffians-mug/|title=Jean-Paul Belmondo dies; 'Breathless' made him a star despite 'ruffian's mug'|date=6 September 2021|publisher=Mercury News|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> Also popular was ''[[A Monkey in Winter (film)|A Monkey in Winter]]'' (1962), a comedy where he and [[Jean Gabin]] played alcoholics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1967/3/22/monkey-in-winter-pin-a-dreary/|title=Monkey in Winter|publisher=The Crimson|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Jean Paul Belmondo em O Homem no Rio.tiff|thumb|upright=0.9|Belmondo filming ''[[That Man from Rio]]'' in 1963]]
[[François Truffaut]] wanted Belmondo to play the lead in an adaptation of ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]''.<ref name=fah>{{Cite news|last=Thompson|first=Howard|date=1962-08-05|title=Jazz Plus Truffaut, Hamilton Agendas|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/08/05/archives/new-york-report-jazz-plus-truffaut-hamilton-agendas.html|access-date=2021-09-07|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> This did not happen (the film was made several years later with [[Oskar Werner]]);<ref name=fah/> instead Belmondo made two movies with Jean-Pierre Melville: the [[film noir]] crime film ''[[Le Doulos|The Fingerman]]'' (''Le Doulos'', 1963) and ''[[Magnet of Doom]]'' (1963).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/opinion/jean-paul-belmondo-dead-critic-appreciation-spielberg-tarantino-1235057482/|title=Remembering Jean-Paul Belmondo, the Suave French Film Icon Who Inspired Spielberg and Tarantino Alike|date=7 September 2021|publisher=Variety|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.criterionchannel.com/magnet-of-doom|title=Magnet of Doom|publisher=Criterion Channel|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> He co-starred with [[Gina Lollobrigida]] in ''[[Mad Sea]]'' (1963) and appeared in another comedy anthology, ''[[Sweet and Sour (1963 film)|Sweet and Sour]]'' (1963).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsbinding.com/entertainment/jean-paul-belmondo-5-things-about-the-legendary-french-actor-who-passed-away-at-88/|title=Jean-Paul Belmondo: 5 Things About The Legendary French Actor Who Passed Away At 88|publisher=News Binding|access-date=7 September 2021|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907100154/https://newsbinding.com/entertainment/jean-paul-belmondo-5-things-about-the-legendary-french-actor-who-passed-away-at-88/|url-status=usurped}}</ref> There was some controversy when he was arrested for insulting a policeman, when the policeman was charged with assaulting Belmondo.<ref>{{cite news|title=French Actor Has Day in Court As Accuser Becomes Accused|newspaper=The New York Times |date=14 May 1963|page= 21}}</ref>

''[[Banana Peel]]'' (1963), with [[Jeanne Moreau]], was a popular comedy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://shop.tcm.com/banana-peel/029502945640|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427211239/http://shop.tcm.com/banana-peel/029502945640|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 April 2017|title=Banana Peel|access-date=7 September 2021|publisher=TMC}}</ref> 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.<ref name="bogart"/> A 1965 profile compared him to [[Humphrey Bogart]] and [[James Dean]].<ref name="bogart">{{Cite news|last=Archer|first=Eugene|date=6 June 1965|title=The Bogart of the 'Sixties|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/06/06/archives/the-bogart-of-the-sixties.html|access-date=6 September 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It stated Belmondo was:
<blockquote>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.<ref name="bogart"/></blockquote>
Belmondo's own tastes ran to [[The Adventures of Tintin|Tintin]] comics, sports magazines, and detective novels.<ref name="merry"/> He said he preferred "making adventure films like ''Rio'' to the intellectual movies of [[Alain Resnais]] or [[Alain Robbe-Grillet]].<ref name="merry"/> But with [[François Truffaut]] I'd be willing to try."<ref name="merry"/> His fee was said to be between US$150,000–$200,000 per film. Belmondo said he was open to making [[Hollywood (film industry)|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.<ref name="merry"/>

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."<ref name="merry"/> ''[[Backfire (1964 film)|Backfire]]'' (1964) reunited him with [[Jean Seberg]], his ''Breathless'' co-star.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.unifrance.org/movie/34/backfire|title=Backfire de Jean Becker|publisher=Unifrance|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> After a role in ''[[Male Hunt]]'' (1964) he played the lead in ''[[Weekend at Dunkirk]]'' (1965), another big hit in France.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com.au&sl=fr&u=http://www.boxofficestory.com/france-1964-c22750409&usg=ALkJrhikvyW3lHBC4wgH3OJjjaqT2ePFWw|title=1964 French box office|website=Box Office Story|access-date=28 August 2016}}</ref>

''[[Crime on a Summer Morning]]'' (1965) was less successful, though it still performed well on the strength of Belmondo's name.<ref name=crime>{{cite web|url=https://en.unifrance.org/movie/37/crime-on-a-summer-morning|title=Crime on a Summer Morning|publisher=Unifrance|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> ''[[Up to His Ears]]'' (1965) was an attempt to repeat the popularity of ''That Man Rio'', from the same director, but did less well.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/05/18/archives/belmondo-is-daredevil-in-up-to-his-ears.html|title=Belmondo Is Daredevil in 'Up to His Ears'|work=The New York Times|date=18 May 1966|access-date=7 September 2021|last1=Alden|first1=Robert}}</ref>

There were Hollywood offers, but Belmondo turned them down.<ref name=chicago/> "He won't make films outside of France", said director [[Mark Robson (film director)|Mark Robson]], who wanted him for ''[[Lost Command]]'' (1966).<ref name=chicago/> "He has scripts stacked up and he doesn't see why he should jeopardise his great success by speaking English instead of French."<ref name=chicago>{{cite news|title=Actors as Seen Thru a Director's Eyes|last=Clifford|first= Terry|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=5 June 1966|page= i15}}</ref>

Belmondo was reunited with Godard for ''[[Pierrot le Fou]]'' (1965) then made a comedy, ''[[Tender Scoundrel]]'' (1966).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/films/149-pierrot-le-fou|title=Pierrot le fou|publisher=Criterion|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.unifrance.org/movie/41/tender-scoundrel|title=Tender Scoundrel|publisher=Unifrance|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> He had small roles in two predominantly English speaking films, ''[[Is Paris Burning? (film)|Is Paris Burning?]]'' (1966) and ''[[Casino Royale (1967 film)|Casino Royale]]'' (1967).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/79428/is-paris-burning#overview|title=Is Paris Burning? (1966)|publisher=TMC|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/casino-royale-1967|title=Casino Royale|publisher=Roger Ebert.com|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

After making ''[[The Thief of Paris]]'' (1967) for [[Louis Malle]], Belmondo took an acting hiatus for over a year.<ref name="time"/> "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."<ref name="time">{{cite news|title=Belmondo Back on Film-Making Scene|last=Blume|first=Mary|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=17 April 1968|page= d12}}</ref>

Belmondo spent three months of that time off in Hollywood but did not accept any offers.<ref name="time"/><ref name=chicago/> He did not want to learn English and appear in English-language films:
<blockquote>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.<ref name="time"/></blockquote>

Belmondo returned to filmmaking with the crime movie, ''[[Ho!]]'' (1968),<ref name=ho>{{cite web|url=http://annyas.com/screenshots/updates/ho-1968-jean-paul-belmondo/|title=Ho! (1968)|date=16 March 2015|publisher=Annays.com|access-date=7 September 2021|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907100910/http://annyas.com/screenshots/updates/ho-1968-jean-paul-belmondo/|url-status=dead}}</ref> then had a massive hit with a comedy co-starring [[David Niven]], ''[[The Brain (1969 film)|The Brain]]'' (1969).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/breathless-star-jean-paul-belmondo-dies-aged-88/5163052.article|title='Breathless' star Jean-Paul Belmondo dies aged 88|publisher=Screen Daily|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> He later appeared in ''[[Mississippi Mermaid]]'' (1969) for [[François Truffaut]] with [[Catherine Deneuve]] and the romantic drama ''[[Love Is a Funny Thing]]'' (1969).<ref name=guardianobit /><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/what-to-stream-mississippi-mermaid-francois-truffauts-hitchcockian-thriller|title=What to Stream: "Mississippi Mermaid," François Truffaut's Hitchcockian Thriller|magazine=The New Yorker|date=28 May 2021|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

===1970s===
[[File:Belmondo 1971.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Belmondo in 1971]]
Belmondo starred alongside [[Alain Delon]] in ''[[Borsalino (film)|Borsalino]]'' (1970), a successful gangster film.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/14/archives/the-screen-gangland-french-stylean-elaborate-borsalino-opens-at.html|title=The Screen: Gangland French Style:An Elaborate 'Borsalino' Opens at Cinema I|work=The New York Times|date=14 August 1970|access-date=7 September 2021|last1=Greenspun|first1=Roger}}</ref> The latter produced the film and Belmondo ended up suing Delon over billing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/16/archives/article-2-no-title-hes-good-when-hes-bad.html|title=The French Think He's Good When He's Bad|work=The New York Times|date=16 August 1970|access-date=7 September 2021|last1=Klemesrud|first1=Judy}}</ref>

''[[The Married Couple of the Year Two]]'' (1971) was also popular; even more so was ''[[The Burglars]]'' (1971).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://trakt.tv/movies/the-married-couple-of-the-year-two-1971|title=The Married Couple of the Year Two 1971|publisher=Trakt|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clevelandmemory.org/mastroianni/tm016.html|title=The Sharif loses out to "The Burglars"|publisher=Cleveland Press|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com.au&sl=fr&u=http://www.boxofficestory.com/box-office-jean-paul-belmondo-c22691425/36 |title=Dr Popaul box office information|website=Box Office story|access-date=28 August 2016}}</ref> The first Cerito film was the black comedy ''[[Dr. Popaul]]'' (1972), with [[Mia Farrow]], the biggest hit to date for director [[Claude Chabrol]].<ref name=guardianobit/>

''[[La Scoumoune|La scoumoune]]'' (1972) was a new version of ''[[A Man Named Rocca]]'' (1961).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lindependant.fr/2021/09/06/pyrenees-orientales-quand-belmondo-tournait-la-scoumoune-au-fort-de-bellegarde-au-perthus-9772737.php|title=Pyrénées-Orientales - When Belmondo was filming "La Scoumoune" at the Fort de Bellegarde in Perthus|publisher=L'Independent|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> ''[[The Inheritor]]'' (1973) was an action film; ''[[Le Magnifique]]'' (1974), a satiric action romance reunited him with Philippe de Broca.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/18/archives/film-belmondo-a-bogart-of-his-own-in-inheritorthe-cast.html|title=Film: Belmondo, a Bogart of His Own, in 'Inheritor':The Cast|work=The New York Times|date=18 October 1973|access-date=7 September 2021|last1=Sayre|first1=Nora}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.austinfilm.org/films/le-magnifique/|title=MONDO BELMONDO LE MAGNIFIQUE|publisher=Austin Film.org|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

He produced as well as starred in ''[[Stavisky]]'' (1974).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-stavisky-review-20181011-story.html|title=Review: Alain Resnais' 'Stavisky' has a fizzy charm all its own|work=Los Angeles Times|date=11 October 2018|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> Then he made a series of purely commercial films: ''[[Incorrigible (1975 film)|Incorrigible]]'' (1974),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/79175/lincorrigible/#overview|title=L'INCORRIGIBLE|publisher=TMC|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> ''[[Fear Over the City]]'' (1975; one of Belmondo's biggest hits of the decade and the first time he played a policeman on screen),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jean-paul-belmondo-french-actor-151902723.html|title=Jean-Paul Belmondo, French Actor and Star of 'Breathless,' Dies at 88|date=6 September 2021 |publisher=Yahoo|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> ''[[Hunter Will Get You]]'' (1976),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://shop.tcm.com/hunter-will-get-you-1976-the-hunter-will-get-you-aka-lalpagueur/738329255763|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907102307/https://shop.tcm.com/hunter-will-get-you-1976-the-hunter-will-get-you-aka-lalpagueur/738329255763|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 September 2021|title=The Hunter Will Get You|publisher=TMC|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> and ''[[Body of My Enemy]]'' (1977).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/487911/le-corps-de-mon-ennemi|title=LE CORPS DE MON ENNEMI|publisher=TMC|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> ''[[Animal (1977 film)|Animal]]'' (1977) cast him as a stuntman opposite [[Raquel Welch]] and he starred as a policeman in ''[[Cop or Hood]]'' (1979).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://shop.tcm.com/lanimal/737088095887|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023031852/https://shop.tcm.com/lanimal/737088095887|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 October 2020|title=L'Animal|access-date=7 September 2021|publisher=TMC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://frenchculture.org/film-tv-and-new-media/dvd-and-vod/2536-cop-or-hood|title=Cop Or Hood|publisher=French Culture|access-date=7 September 2021|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907102315/https://frenchculture.org/film-tv-and-new-media/dvd-and-vod/2536-cop-or-hood|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===1980s===
[[File:Jean-Paul Belmondo Cannes 2011.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|Belmondo at the 2011 [[Cannes Film Festival]]]]
In 1980, Belmondo starred in another comedy, ''[[Le Guignolo]]''.<ref name=leg>{{cite web|url=https://consent.yahoo.com/v2/collectConsent?sessionId=1_cc-session_49d18e66-e8c7-4028-affd-3475ccca3e0d|title="he was my best friend": the homage of Jean-Paul Belmondo to Charles Gérard|publisher=Yahoo|access-date=7 September 2021}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He was a secret service agent in ''[[The Professional (1981 film)|The Professional]]'' (1981) and a pilot in ''[[Ace of Aces (1982 film)|Ace of Aces]]'' (1982).<ref name=ace>{{cite web|url=https://www.criterionchannel.com/the-professional|title=The Professional|publisher=Criterion Channel|access-date=7 September 2021|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907103030/https://www.criterionchannel.com/the-professional|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/in-the-press/20210907-french-papers-bid-adieu-to-the-ace-of-aces-actor-jean-paul-belmondo|title=French papers bid adieu to the 'Ace of Aces', actor Jean-Paul Belmondo|date=7 September 2021|publisher=France24|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

"What intellectuals don't like is success", said Belmondo.<ref name="theatre"/> "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."<ref name="theatre"/>

Belmondo kept to commercial films: ''[[Le Marginal]]'' (1983) as a policeman,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fr.finance.yahoo.com/actualites/cerveau-tmc-marginal-c8-jean-134924538.html|title=The Brain (TMC) / Le Marginal (C8) – Jean-Paul Belmondo, cop and thug|date=3 May 2019 |publisher=Yahoo|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> ''[[Les Morfalous]]'' (1984) as a sergeant in the [[French Foreign Legion]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b747820fc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303162213/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b747820fc|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2018|title=Les MORFALOUS (1984)|publisher=BFI|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> ''[[Hold-Up (1985 film)|Hold-Up]]'' (1985) as a bank robber,<ref name=bbcobit/> and ''[[Le Solitaire (film)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b76e6e864|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518212133/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b76e6e864|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 May 2017|title=Le Solitaire|access-date=7 September 2021|publisher=BFI}}</ref>

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]].<ref name="theatre"/> "I did theatre for 10 years before going into movies and every year I planned to go back", he recalled.<ref name="theatre"/> "I returned before I became an old man."<ref name="theatre">{{Cite news|last=Riding|first=Alan|date=14 March 1990|title=Belmondo Revels in Playing Cyrano in Paris|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/14/theater/belmondo-revels-in-playing-cyrano-in-paris.html|access-date=6 September 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

For [[Claude Lelouch]], Belmondo starred in and co-produced ''[[Itinerary of a Spoiled Child]]'' (1988).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.in-24.com/lifestyle/movies/111055.html|title=Homage to Jean-Paul Belmondo: TF1 deprograms "A perfect mother" and offers the film "Itinerary of a spoiled child"|date=7 September 2021|publisher=News In 24|access-date=7 September 2021|archive-date=28 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028082613/https://news.in-24.com/lifestyle/movies/111055.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> For his performance in the film, also titled as '' Itineraire d'un Enfant Gate'', he won a [[Cesar Awards|César]].<ref name=bbcobit/>

Belmondo claimed there were "several reasons" why he made fewer films in the 1980s.<ref name="theatre"/> "I'm now a producer so it takes time to organise things", he said.<ref name="theatre"/> "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."<ref name="theatre"/>

===1990s and later career===
In 1990, he played the title role in ''[[Cyrano de Bergerac (play)|Cyrano de Bergerac]]'' on the stage in Paris, another highly successful production.<ref name="theatre"/> He had a small role in ''[[One Hundred and One Nights]]'' (1995) then the lead in Lelouch's version of ''[[Les Misérables (1995 film)|Les Misérables]]'' (1995).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/films/30563-one-hundred-and-one-nights|title=One Hundred and One Nights|publisher=The Criterion Collection|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/les-miserables-1995|title=Les Miserables|access-date=7 September 2021|publisher=Roger Ebert.com}}</ref> He also appeared in the comedy ''[[Désiré (1996 film)|Désiré]]'' (1996),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/13336%7C80932/Jean-paul-Belmondo#overview|title=Jean-Paul Belmondo|access-date=7 September 2021|publisher=TMC}}</ref> ''[[Une chance sur deux]]'' (1998),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.monaco-tribune.com/en/listing/une-chance-sur-deux/|title=Une chance sur deux|publisher=Monaco Tribune|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> and in the science fiction comedy ''[[Peut-être]]'' (1999).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/culture/cinema/jean-paul-belmondo/mort-de-jean-paul-belmondo-huit-choses-que-vous-ne-saviez-peut-etre-pas-sur-bebel_4762215.html|title=Mort de Jean-Paul Belmondo : huit choses que vous ne saviez peut-être pas sur Bébel|date=7 September 2021|publisher=FranceTVInfo|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

In 2009, Belmondo starred in ''[[A Man and His Dog]]'' ("Un homme et son chien"), his final film role.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/movies/22belm.html|title=French Star as He Is, Stroke and All|work=The New York Times|date=21 January 2009|access-date=7 September 2021|last1=Sciolino|first1=Elaine}}</ref> Despite his difficulty in walking and speaking, he played a character who had the same disability.<ref>{{cite news |author=Ronald Bergan |title=Jean-Paul Belmondo obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/sep/06/jean-paul-belmondo-obituary |work=The Guardian |date=6 September 2021 |access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> Following this film he was forced into retirement in 2011 having earlier suffered a [[stroke]] in 2001.<ref name=upi>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2021/09/06/france-obit-film-star-Jean-Paul-Belmondo-dies-88/9551630948503/|title=Quintessential French film star Jean-Paul Belmondo dies at 88|publisher=UPI|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>