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400 Blows - Les Quatre Cents Coup [DVD] [1960]
 
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400 Blows - Les Quatre Cents Coup [DVD] [1960]

DVD ~ Jean-Pierre Léaud
4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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400 Blows - Les Quatre Cents Coup [DVD] [1960]
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Product details

  • Actors: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier, Guy Decomble, Georges Flamant
  • Directors: François Truffaut
  • Writers: François Truffaut, Marcel Moussy
  • Producers: François Truffaut
  • Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language English, French
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 12
  • Studio: Palisades Tartan
  • DVD Release Date: 16 Dec 2002
  • Run Time: 97 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00006SKWS
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 35,745 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Special Features
Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
French
Region 2
Dolby Digital French
Dolby Digital
Original Theatrical Trailer
Francois Truffaut Collection Trailers
Chapter Selection
Les Mistons Francois Truffauts Short Film From 1957
English


Synopsis
Director Francois Truffaut's first feature film, THE 400 BLOWS, is a landmark in French cinema. Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Leaud) is a 13-year-old boy who can't seem to do anything right. His parents yell at him and then bribe him for his love and his promises to work harder in school. Meanwhile, his schoolteacher is out to get him and blames Antoine for everything--turning him into the class clown. As a result, Antoine runs away from school and his difficult family, living on the streets of Paris and committing petty crimes. While his life on the street is tough, it's much better than dealing with his preoccupied parents and his accusatory teacher. Nonetheless, things only go downhill for Antoine, descending to a simultaneously painful and beautiful conclusion.
A truly impressive film, THE 400 BLOWS is raw, honest, and intensely emotional. Imbued with a strong and complex personality, Antoine maintains his poise and self-confidence, even as he endures abusive treatment from every adult he encounters. Rene Simonet (Patrick Auffray) is Antoine's one pal, and the unspoken dialogues between the boys, depicted by Truffaut through the boys' facial expressions and with masterful roving photography, allow the viewer to see through Antoine's eyes and understand his unflinching tenacity. Few films have captured the difficulties of childhood as well as this acclaimed French masterpiece. Essentially the start of the French New Wave movement, THE 400 BLOWS is also the beginning of Truffaut's Antoine Doinel cycle, which follows Leaud as Antoine in four additional films over the course of 20 years.

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
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4 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant, beautiful, important - children and childhood, 1 Mar 2006
By H. Feddern "demideniro" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Tears streamed down my face at the end of this film. It is just one of the most moving scenes in film history - often copied and imitated. The story of a neglected child and an unfair and judgemental society is simple, yet so brilliant.

Leaud plays a mischievous, yet normal boy whose mother and father hold an ambivalent relationship towards him. They are not necessarily malevolent people, but they have a misunderstanding towards their son - they represent the majority of parents who fail to nurture their children through society's attitudes and misgivings.

The elegance of the music and direction is so smooth and heightens the profound nature of the story. Truffaut's style has been plagiarised by so many great directors from Scorsese to Altman to Paul Thomas Anderson, its flowing and oozing sentiment.

If you don't like crying or being touched then definitely don't watch this film. Its sensitive, stirring and sincere. It pulls slowly yet cleverely at your heartstrings without brusque devices. Also, this film is proof that you can find very talented children that can act - unlike the awful child fodder poured out today.

Don't hesitate to buy this film, whatever the price!

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A true classic., 16 April 2006
By David Welsh (Oslo, Norway) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This was the film that launched the French New Wave, which was one of the most important things to happen to cinema in its history. The film centres on a Parisian schoolboy, Antoine Doinel (a semi-autobiographical invention on Truffaut's part who would turn up in a number of Truffaut's films) and his gradual estrangement from school and his parents through various, rather minor, acts of rebellion which end up having serious consequences for him. The film is wonderfully shot, beautifully and evocatively depicting contemporary Paris, and stylishly directed. The performance of Jean-Pierre Léaud as Doinel is outstanding, and has to be one of the best pieces of child acting ever.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A raw look at the life of a troubled boy, 11 Sep 2005
By Kona (Emerald City) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: The 400 Blows [DVD] [1960] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
"The 400 Blows" is the famous 1959 film by French New Wave director, Francois Truffaut. (The title is a French expression meaning "to raise 'heck'.") Filmed in black and white, with very simple music and the raw look of a low-budget documentary, it is a glimpse into the life of troubled adolescent. Antoine Doinel is poor, has cold and indifferent parents and teachers, and spends his days cutting school and getting into trouble. When his parents give up on him, he is sent to a juvenile detention facility that resembles a jail.

The cinema verite style of unsentimental photography and gritty locales manages to make even Paris look tawdry, almost ugly, because that's how Antoine views his life. Growing up neglected and misunderstood has made him a streetwise child who dreams of escape. The stark and sudden ending allows the viewer to decide what might happen to Antoine next (although Truffaut found the character so intriguing, he made three more movies about Antoine as he grows older).

Jean-Pierre Leaud (Antoine) heads an excellent cast of actors who manage to look like they're not acting at all; rather that a camera just happened to intrude on their lives. The movie is in French with English subtitles. If you are a fan of New Wave films or just like classic character studies, you'll enjoy "The 400 Blows."

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

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