This film was to cinema what Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue was for music; it went beyond just radiating coolness, and it simply set the standard for exotic cool. This movie came along the same year as Breathless, and there was no turning back afterwards. It would take Hollywood a good ten years to catch up.
Technically it’s still perfect. Beautifully shot with a leering, sweeping camera that feels more like a ride through a Roman fairy tale than a movie, and it’s full of imagery and performances that are now iconic.
