Melville was lionized by the critics-turned-filmmakers who invented the nouvelle vague but none more than Jean-Luc Godard, whose now legendary debut feature reads, in so many ways, as an affectionate homage to an artist who defined two paths to be followed by the next generation: toward both a wholly independent mode of film production and an inventive reinvention of historic film genres with deepest roots in the Hollywood B-picture. Indeed, Melville’s embrace of the language of Poverty Row crime films and his freedom from production interference clearly inspired Godard’s avant-garde gangster film which, tellingly, includes pointed mention of characters from Bob le flambeur as well as an indelible cameo by Melville himself as a novelist delivering deliciously insouciant replies to inquisitive journalists—including Jean Seberg’s Patricia—at an Orly press conference. Melville, in turn, was inspired by Godard and would cast Breathless star Jean-Pierre Belmondo in three decisive films. – Haden Guest