Godard said the success of Breathless was a mistake. He added "there used to be just one way. There was one way you could do things. There were people who protected it like a copyright, a secret cult only for the initiated. That's why I don't regret making Breathless and blowing that all apart."[29] In 1964, Godard described his and his colleagues' impact: "We barged into the cinema like cavemen into the Versailles of Louis XV."[30]
Breathless ranked as the No. 22 best film of all time in the decennial British Film Institute's 1992 Sight and Sound Critics' Poll. In the 2002 poll, it ranked 15th.[31] Ten years later, in 2012, Breathless was the No. 13 greatest film of all time in the overall Sight and Sound poll,[32] and the 11th greatest film in the concurrent Directors' Poll.[33] In 2018, the film ranked 11th on the BBC's list of the 100 greatest foreign-language films, as voted on by 209 film critics from 43 countries.[34] In the 2022 Sight and Sound Critic's Poll, Breathless ranked as No. 38 greatest film of all time,[35] and No. 14 greatest in the Director's Poll.[36]
Closing dialogue
The film's final lines of dialogue cause some confusion for English-speaking audiences. The original French is ambiguous; it is unclear whether Michel is condemning Patricia or condemning the world in general; it is unclear if the Police Inspector Vital is intentionally twisting Michel's meaning. It is also unclear whether Patricia is questioning Michel's scorn, questioning the meaning of a French word as elsewhere in the film, or unable to understand the concept of what Michel is saying as it is told to her by Vital when the two catch up with the dying Michel.
MICHEL: C'est vraiment dégueulasse. PATRICIA: Qu'est-ce qu'il a dit? VITAL: Il a dit que vous êtes vraiment "une dégueulasse". PATRICIA: Qu'est-ce que c'est "dégueulasse"?[37][38]
This translates as:
MICHEL: It's really disgusting. PATRICIA: What did he say? VITAL: He said you are really disgusting. PATRICIA: What is "disgusting"?
In French, "dégueulasse" also has the connotation of "nauseating", or making one want to throw up; in reference to a person, it can be loosely translated as a "disgusting person", i.e. a "louse" or "scumbag".
In the English captioning of the 2001 Fox-Lorber Region One DVD, "dégueulasse" is translated as "scumbag", producing the following dialogue:
MICHEL: It's disgusting, really. PATRICIA: What did he say? VITAL: He said "You're a real scumbag". PATRICIA: What's a scumbag?
The 2007 Criterion Collection Region One DVD uses a less literal translation:
MICHEL: Makes me want to puke. PATRICIA: What did he say? VITAL: He said you make him want to puke. PATRICIA: What's that mean, "puke"?
This translation was used in the 2010 restoration.
