Sight & Sound Poll 2012: The 400 Blows
October 03, 2012
Film Info
- France
- 1959
- 99 minutes
- 2.35:1
- French
- Spine #5
François Truffaut’s first feature, The 400 Blows (Les quatre cents coups), is also his most personal. Told through the eyes of Truffaut’s life-long cinematic counterpart, Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), The 400 Blows sensitively re-creates the trials of Truffaut’s own difficult childhood, unsentimentally portraying aloof parents, oppressive teachers, petty crime, and a friendship that would last a lifetime. The film marks Truffaut’s passage from leading critic of the French New Wave to his emergence as one of Europe’s most brilliant auteurs.
Cast
| Antoine Doinel | Jean-Pierre Léaud |
| Madame Doinel | Claire Maurier |
| Monsieur Doinel | Albert Remy |
| Teacher (“Little Quiz”) | Guy Decomble |
| Monsieur Bigey | Georges Flamant |
| René Bigey | Patrick Auffay |
Credits
| Director | François Truffaut |
| Screenplay | Marcel Moussy and François Truffaut |
| Cinematography | Henri Decaë |
| Producer | François Truffaut and Georges Charlot |
| Music | Jean Constantine |
| Editing | Marie Josèphe Yoyotte, Cécile Decugis and Michèle de Possel |
Disc Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- New digital transfer of Antoine and Colette (The Adventures of Antoine Doinel box set only)
- Two audio commentaries, one by cinema professor Brian Stonehill and another by François Truffaut’s lifelong friend Robert Lachenay
- Rare audition footage of Jean-Pierre Léaud, Patrick Auffay, and Richard Kanayan
- Newsreel footage of Jean-Pierre Léaud in Cannes for the showing of The 400 Blows
- Excerpt from a French TV program with Truffaut discussing his youth, critical writings, and the origins of Antoine Doinel in The 400 Blows and Antoine and Colette
- Television interview with Truffaut about the global reception of The 400 Blows and his own critical impression of the film
- Theatrical trailer for The 400 Blows
- PLUS: A new essay by film scholar Annette Insdorf
New cover by Lucien S.Y. Yang
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