The 400 Blows (1959)
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Synopsis: Director François Truffaut's first feature film, THE 400 BLOWS, is a landmark in French cinema. Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) is a 13-year-old boy who can't seem to do anything right. His parents yell at him and then bribe him for his love and his promises to work harder in school.... Director François Truffaut's first feature film, THE 400 BLOWS, is a landmark in French cinema. Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) is a 13-year-old boy who can't seem to do anything right. His parents yell at him and then bribe him for his love and his promises to work harder in school. Meanwhile, his schoolteacher is out to get him and blames Antoine for everything--turning him into the class clown. As a result, Antoine runs away from school and his difficult family, living on the streets of Paris and committing petty crimes. While his life on the street is tough, it's much better than dealing with his preoccupied parents and his accusatory teacher. Nonetheless, things only go downhill for Antoine, descending to a simultaneously painful and beautiful conclusion. A truly impressive film, THE 400 BLOWS is raw, honest, and intensely emotional. Imbued with a strong and complex personality, Antoine maintains his poise and self-confidence, even as he endures abusive treatment from every adult he encounters. René Simonet (Patrick Auffray) is Antoine's one pal, and the unspoken dialogues between the boys, depicted by Truffaut through the boys' facial expressions and with masterful roving photography, allow the viewer to see through Antoine's eyes and understand his unflinching tenacity. Few films have captured the difficulties of childhood as well as this acclaimed French masterpiece. Essentially the start of the French New Wave movement, THE 400 BLOWS is also the beginning of Truffaut's Antoine Doinel cycle, which follows Léaud as Antoine in five additional films over the course of 20 years. [More]
Genre: Foreign Films
Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy, Guy Decomble, Patrick Auffray
DVD Info
Release:
Apr 11, 2006
DVD Features:
- Keep Case
- Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
- Dolby Digital Mono - French
- Subtitles - English
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
Forget my curmudgeonly attitude and see it -- again, or for the first time -- for yourself.
Distinguished by its intensity of feeling and freewheeling use of the wide-screen frame, the film ranks among Truffaut's best.
Un film partiellement autobiographique qui fait part d'une sincérité et d'une richesse ahurissantes.
Truffaut's brilliant debut, one of the seminal works of the New Wave, is a captivating autobiographical chronicle of a troubled youth, played by Jean-Pierre Leaud, Truffaut's alter-ego who will star in four more segments of the Antoine Doinel's saga.
One of the best movies about childhood ever made because it's really a movie for adults. Without sentiment, it looks at the fears, doubts, and anxieties of childhood.
A movingly sympathetic and perceptive portrayal about an unwanted rebellious adolescent.
Related Forums

by: rakastaa 1/4


Top Critic

