"Actor's Watch" focuses on watches worn by actors in movies, television, etc.
This time, for the 18th installment, I would like to focus on the wristwatch of Jean-Paul Belmondo , a famous French actor. Thank you to ANON-san who requested it on YouTube!
*Source: http://www.watchound.com/
Jean-Paul Belmondo is said to be the model for the animated characters "Lupin the Third" and "Cobra ," and in Japan he is known as the leading actor in Nouvelle Vague films such as Godard 's "Breathless" and "Pierrot le Fou."
*Source: https://see-mag.fr/
After parting ways with director Godard in the late 1960s, he went on to star in a number of adventure films, including "The Man from Rio" (1964) and "The Man from Kathmandu" (1965). He built a reputation as an action star who performed dangerous stunts himself. It was in the 1970s, when he became an action star, that he began to wear a number of brand watches in his films.
So let's take a look at his wrist through the years.
A Funny, Funny Adventure
The Magnificent (1973)
A slapstick action comedy about the immensely popular spy novelist François (Belmondo) and a beautiful woman (Jacqueline Bisset) who is writing a thesis based on one of his novels, as they embark on a spy adventure set in the world of the novel.
*Source: https://www.telerama.fr
In the film, Belmondo wears a Seiko Yachtsman (Ref. 6138) , a popular vintage Seiko model known overseas as the "UFO" due to its thick, rounded case shape and sci-fi-like design of the sub-dials.
*Source: https://vintagewatchinc.com/seiko/6138-chronograph/ufo/
From the late 1960s to the 1970s, Seiko dominated the top spots in numerous watch accuracy contests held by European observatories, beating out a host of Swiss brands. This choice seems to reflect the times, and is fitting for an actor who loves watches.
Jean-Paul Belmondo's City of Terror
Peur sur la ville (1975)
This is a crime action movie that depicts the tense battle between the Paris police's most skilled inspector (Belmondo) and a serial killer. The action scenes in the city, such as the action on the roof of a moving train and the chase on high roofs, where one wrong move could mean death, are said to have influenced Jackie Chan.
Belmont's Phantom Thief Twenty Faces
Incorrigible (1975)
A slapstick comedy about a con man (Belmondo) who has just been released from prison and causes trouble using disguises and different voices, but then falls in love at first sight with the beautiful probation officer Geneviève Bujold.
A man who buys risk
The Alpagueur (1976)
An action film that depicts the battle between a lone wolf assassin (Belmondo) who takes on "dangerous cases" that the police cannot handle, and a dangerous criminal who continues to commit robberies and murders.
*Source: http://kaltan1.free.fr/
In these three films from 1975-76, Belmondo wears a Rolex hand-wound Daytona (Ref. 6263) . He must have been very fond of the watch, as he wore it in three consecutive films. The watch is particularly noticeable in "The City of Terror," which features a number of intense action scenes.
*Source: https://www.christies.com/
This Reference 6263 was later passed down from Jean-Paul Belmondo to his son, F1 racer Paul-Alexandre Belmondo, and then it appeared at a Christie's auction in 2013, where it was sold for 203,000 Swiss francs (approximately 25 million yen).
Police Inspector
Flic or voyeur (1979)
In the French underworld, collusion between police and the mafia never ceases. This is a crime action movie that depicts the exploits of Inspector Borowitz (Belmondo), who goes undercover to investigate the mafia in order to solve these cases. Perhaps because he is acting like a mafia member, he wears a rare Datejust instead of his usual sports model.
*Source: https://wedplain15.hatenablog.com/
The man called Lion
The story of a young child (1988)
A successful businessman (Belmondo) loses contact and disappears while sailing across the Atlantic Ocean. He sets off on a journey in search of something he feels is missing in his life...
*Source: https://solar-management.fr
Now 55 years old and with a nice wrinkled, mature look, Belmondo is wearing a Breitling Chronomat . The Chronomat, with its slightly rebellious atmosphere, matches perfectly with his character as a "50-year-old who can't forget his sense of adventure."
The Eldest Ferchaux (2000)
It appears to be a French TV drama, but the details are unknown.
Belmondo was born in 1933, making him 67 years old in 2000.
*Source: https://www.paneraimagazine.com/
Even at this age, he wears a Panerai Submersible , the epitome of a big, thick watch, but his wrists, trained over many years as an action star, have no problems. I'd love to be like this when I'm 67.
summary
What did you think?
Jean-Paul Belmondo is particularly famous for his beloved Daytona Ref. 6263 , but upon further investigation, we find that he wore a number of watches to suit his roles.
Up until the 1960s, Belmondo often played the role of a "young man living for the moment," a man who was hardly suited to luxury watches, and in my favorite films, "The Man from Rio" and "The Man from Kathmandu," or in any of Godard's works, watches were never a topic of discussion.
*Source: https://www.askmen.com/
However, as she rose to stardom in the 1970s and grew older, Belmondo began to wear a variety of watches suited to her roles. This ideal way of wearing a watch that suits her status and age is something we can all emulate.
see you!