Shoot the Piano Player Film Still

Shoot the Piano Player

François Truffaut

 
Shoot the Piano Player Criterion DVD

DVD

2 Discs

SRP: $39.95

Criterion Store price:$31.96

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  • France
  • 1960
  • 81 minutes
  • Black and White
  • 2.35:1
  • French

SYNOPSIS: François Truffaut is drunk on the possibilities of cinema in this, his most playful film. Part thriller, part comedy, part tragedy, Shoot the Piano Player relates the adventures of mild-mannered piano player Charlie (Charles Aznavour, in a triumph of hangdog deadpan) as he stumbles into the criminal underworld and a whirlwind love affair. Loaded with gags, guns, clowns, and thugs, this razor-sharp homage to the American gangster film is pure nouvelle vague.

Cast & CreditsOpen

Cast

Charlie Koller/Edouard SaroyanCharles Aznavour
LénaMarie Dubois
Thérésa SaroyanNicole Berger
ClarisseMichèle Mercier
PlyneSerge Davri
MomoClaude Mansard
ErnestDaniel Boulanger
Richard SaroyanJean-Jacques Aslanian
Fido SaroyanRichard Kanayan
Lars SchmeelClaude Heymann
Chico SaroyanAlbert Remy

Credits

DirectorFrançois Truffaut
CinematographyRaoul Coutard
EditingClaudine Bouché and Cécile Decugis
From the novel “Down There” byDavid Goodis
Adaptation byFrançois Truffaut and Marcel Moussy
ProducerPierre Braunberger
MusicGeorges Delerue
SoundJacques Gallois
Production supervisorSerge Komor
Production managerRoger Fleytoux
Script girlSuzanne Schiffman

Disc Features

SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET:

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Raoul Coutard
  • Audio commentary by film scholars Annette Insdorf and Peter Brunette
  • Exclusive new video interviews with actors Charles Aznavour and Marie Dubois and director of photography Raoul Coutard
  • Rare interview with François Truffaut collaborator Suzanne Schiffman
  • Two documentary excerpts featuring Truffaut on the film and the source novel
  • The Music of George Delerue, an illustrated audioessay
  • Dubois’ screen test
  • Theatrical trailer
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • Plus: a 28-page booklet featuring film critic Kent Jones, an interview with Truffaut, and the director on Aznavour and Dubois

From the CurrentView the Current »

Film Essays

Shoot the Piano Player:
You’ll Laugh, You’ll Cry

By Kent Jones December 05, 2005

Recently, I was talking with a group of friends, and somehow the subject turned to great directors we found overrated. At a certain point, someone Read more »

Shoot the Piano Player

By David EhrensteinSeptember 05, 1988

When Francois Truffaut’s first feature The 400 Blows made its debut in 1959, critics the world over hailed its low-key semidocumentary style in telling its tale of a troubled Read more »