Product Details

• Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Criterion Collection
• DVD Release Date: March 31, 1998
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0780020731
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,576 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The 400 Blows (The Criterion Collection)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Francois Truffaut's first feature was this 1959 portrait of Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a boy who turns to petty crime in the face of neglect at home and hard times at a reform school. Somewhat autobiographical for its director, the film helped usher in the heady spirit of the French New Wave, and introduced the Doinel character, who became a fixture in Truffaut's movies over the years. Poignant, exhilarating, and fun (there's a parade of cameo appearances from some of the essential icons and directors from the movement), this film is an important classic. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Released in 1959, François Truffaut's first feature, The 400 Blows (Les Quatre cents coups), is also his most personal. Based on his own stormy childhood, The 400 Blows unsentimentally portrays 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 400 Blows, May 11, 2004

By 

Steven Hellerstedt "SH" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 400 Blows (DVD)

I've spent decades avoiding THE 400 BLOWS, afraid it was either dark and brooding, or a documentation of child abuse (physical and/or emotional), or an angry and vindictive assault on the authors' of Francois Truffaut's traumatic childhood.
I shouldn't have worried. THE 400 BLOWS is a gentle and compassionate movie. It isn't overwhelmed by its anger, although a few characters, particularly the coming-of-age hero's mother and his school teacher, aren't terribly sympathetic. Being new to THE 400 BLOWS, I found the commentary by Premiere magazine film critic Glen Kenny especially helpful in understanding French New Wave cinema in general and Truffaut in particular. By the way, according to Kenny "400 blows" refers to a French colloquialism similar to the American "paint the town red." It means to give oneself over to every type of excess, and raise a little heck in the process.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True-to-the-Bones-and-Heart Modern Day Dickensian Fable, February 12, 2000

By 

Philip B "Fab Four Fan" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 400 Blows (DVD)

The most heart-felt movie I've ever seen is a powerful mix of sharp-eye, hardhitting autobiographical remembrance of a nearly bruised childhood and a celebration of the wide-open, spontaneous and lyrical qualities of cinema to capture pointed truths of family, school and street lives as seen through the curiously haunted eyes of one Antoine Doinel, a modern-day Dickensian hero in a decidedly unglamours Paris, searching, often wrongheadly, for love and acceptance while, almost against himself, challenging the authorial rules imposed on children growing up in conformist post-WWII France. The film's tone is one of anguished bittersweetness and quiet defiance, counterpointed by bursts of joyful freedom and naughty prank playings as shared by many in their pre-adolescenthood. Doniel's friendship with the well-off but neglected Rene is also among the most moving portraits of childhood friendship ever. An unforgettable portrait, a cutting social study, a New Wave classic and Truffaut's best, but most importantly a timeless and univsersal "true" story. And yes, the last freeze, when it comes, is a stunner. Gosh, I just love it! (P.S., this relatively small and quiet masterpiece also happens to be the all-time favorite film of John Woo, imagine!)

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get this one only if you are not interested in all the Doinel films., May 18, 2006

By 

Doctor Trance (MA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The 400 Blows (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

However, if you are a fan of this entire film series by Truffaut, then you should spring for the Adventures of Antoine Doinel boxed set. It comes with all the extras found on this disc, plus a bonus disc which features excerpts from a 1961 documentary on Truffaut, which touches on this film, and a promotional art gallery for this film. Neither of these bonus features are found on this disc, nor is the bonus short film, Antoine and Colette, which is on the 400 Blows' disc in the boxed set. Great if you only want this movie, but I'd pay the extra dough as it's well worth it to have the entire Criterion boxed set, which is loaded with extras covering all the other films.