Product Details

• Actors: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy, Guy Decomble, Patrick Auffay
• Directors: François Truffaut
• Format: Black & White, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: French
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: The Criterion Collection
• DVD Release Date: March 24, 2009
• Run Time: 99 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001O549FC
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,665 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #7 in	Movies & TV > Art House & International > By Original Language > French
  #19 in	Movies & TV > Art House & International > By Genre > Drama
  #30 in	Movies & TV > Drama > Coming of Age

• For more information about "The 400 Blows [Blu-ray]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

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

François Truffaut s first feature is also his most personal. Told through the eyes of Truffaut s 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, and petty crime. The film marked Truffaut s passage from leading critic to trailblazing auteur of the French New Wave.

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
New, restored high-definition digital transfer, with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack
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 Léaud in Cannes for the showing of The 400 Blows
Excerpt from a TV program in which Truffaut discusses his youth, his critical writings, and the origins of Antoine
TV interview with Truffaut about the global reception of The 400 Blows and his own critical impression of the film
Theatrical trailer
PLUS: An essay by film scholar Annette Insdorf

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 67 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (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.

20 of 20 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	M. Tsang "Chinese U2 Fan" (NYC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!)

24 of 27 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 (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The 400 Blows - 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.