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The 400 Blows
Sign in to saveAlso known as 400 Blows, Les Quatre Cents Coups
1959 film by François Truffaut
"The 400 Blows" is a 1959 film by French director François Truffaut that follows a troubled young Parisian boy navigating school, family conflict, and delinquency. The film is considered a landmark of French New Wave cinema for its innovative storytelling style and its compassionate portrayal of adolescent struggle.
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Film · TMDB
8.0For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.
Cast
- Jean-Pierre Léaud as Antoine Doinel
- Claire Maurier as Gilberte Doinel
- Albert Rémy as Julien Doinel
- Georges Flamant as Mr. Bigey
- Patrick Auffay as René
- Robert Beauvais as Directeur de l'école
Themes
- adolescence
- paris, france
- balzac
- delinquent
- coming of age
- black and white
- fingerprint
- semi autobiographical
- skipping school
- mugshot
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Ratings
IMDb
8/10
134,367 votes
Rotten Tomatoes
99%
- Year
- 1959
- Runtime
- 99 min
- Genres
- Crime, Drama
- Rated
- Not Rated
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 8 wins & 5 nominations total
via OMDb · IMDb
Key facts
- Directed by
- François Truffaut
- Written by
- François Truffaut Marcel Moussy
- Produced by
- François Truffaut Georges Charlot
- Starring
- Jean-Pierre Léaud Claire Maurier Albert Rémy Guy Decomble Georges Flamant Patrick Auffay [ fr ]
- Cinematography
- Henri Decaë
- Edited by
- Marie-Josèphe Yoyotte Cécile Decugis Michèle de Possel
- Music by
- Jean Constantin
- Production company
- Les Films du Carrosse
- Distributed by
- Cocinor
- Release date
- 4 May 1959 ( 1959-05-04 ) (France)
- Running time
- 99 minutes
- Country
- France
- Language
- French
- Box office
- $30.7 million
via Wikipedia infobox
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The 400 Blows (French: Les quatre cents coups) is a 1959 French coming-of-age drama film, and the directorial debut of François Truffaut, who also co-wrote the film. Shot in the anamorphic format DyaliScope, the film stars Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, and Claire Maurier. One of the defining films of the French New Wave, it displays many of the characteristic traits of the movement. Written by Truffaut and Marcel Moussy, the film is about Antoine Doinel (a semi-autobiographical character), a misunderstood adolescent in Paris, who struggles with his parents and teachers due to his rebellious behavior. It was filmed on location, in Paris and Honfleur.
The 400 Blows received numerous awards and nominations, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director, the OCIC Award, and a Palme d'Or nomination in 1959, and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1960. The film had 4.1 million admissions in France, making it Truffaut's most successful film in his home country.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “The 400 Blows” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.