Jean Paul Belmondo has just turned 75 this week. One of the great stars of France's post war "New Wave" cinema, he is perhaps France's most famous film star. He's even the favorite action star of both Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat, no strangers to the genre themselves. Virtually all of his movies were made in France, so his stardom here is considerably less. But the dangling cigarette, the cool look of a character steeped in thoughts, the heartbreaker aura which won him millions of female fans all over the French speaking world have made him an international cinema icon.

Throw in a bit of James Dean, and you have his screen persona. Belmondo also evokes, in part, the stoic strength of Bogart for good measure. He starred opposite Sofia Loren in "Two Women," which won her the Best Actress Oscar. American audiences saw him in "Is Paris Burning?" not a great film by any means, but one which opened up new fans to his craft. He was also in the underrated if bizarre original "Casino Royale" which featured several actors portraying James Bond. He worked with Truffault, Goddard, de Broca, Chabrol, Varda; virtually all the new wave directors. He is a living movie icon, even if he's not a household word here. And now he's 75!