CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 11/30/2019

New from Reel Art Press! The definitive book on French New Wave international poster design

Clément Hurel's 1960 poster for Jean-Luc Godard's A bout de soufflé, aka Breathless, is reproduced from French New Wave: A Revolution in Design, a staff pick Holiday Gift Book for the cinephile in your life. One of two very different posters produced by Hurel for this singular film, it is an exquisite example of photomontage in poster design, according to Alison Elangasinghe's text on the work. Hurel uses a seemingly simple stylistic device—rotating the original photo of Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg kissing, as well as the film's title, by ninety degrees counterclockwise—to great effect. "This twist is jarring and intended: is the couple fighting or loving each other?"