The last shot shows the uncertainty and apprehension about his young life's future. But then, the film is followed by four sequels that show that Antoine actually ends up having quite a good life. The sequels are all comedies that, though pleasant, don't have the profundity and artistry of the first film.
@@salmayousry3976agreed that no sequels should have been made. There's a short film, Antoine and Colette, which is ok. Then I watched the first of the feature-length sequels - worst Truffaut film imo, didn't bother watching the rest. People like them but I got nothing out of it. Really bad, French (in all the worst possible ways) comedy - his owrst films are comedies, I think (though he made two great comedies: American Night and Pocket Money). Leaud is great however in Two English Girls and in American Night where he's doing what I guess is supposed to be some kind of self-parody (that was no doubt more effective for a contemporary French audience for whom he was quite famous)
400 Blows is a difficult film to analyze without lots of context. It is hard for us now to see this film as revolutionary let alone WHY. Prior to 400 Blows the most well known coming of age films were "Wizard of Oz" (1939) and, more relevant, "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955). Truffuant lifts techniques from Elia Kazan and Brando and boldly risks his budding career on this small depressing story about an unwanted child in post-war Paris. He fuses handheld camera, grabbed shots and ad libbed dialog (the therapist scene) to get the feel of documentaries. He explores the paternalism of the film industry and, more generally, of post War socialist France by concentrating on a boy whose life is ordered and scheduled by adults that have little understanding or concern for his needs. It is the paternalism that blocks his freedom and yet what he lacks is a father or caring adult who would guide him toward a better future. Truffuant lost his mentor at the very beginning of the production of this film. 400 Blows comes at time in post war history when a huge wave of kids were becoming teenagers and when affluence was peaking. Among the affluent teenagers who saw this film in 1960 were Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola, and DePalma. For all of its flaws, 400 Blows connected with them in a way that few other films did. Its flaws are like a tease for these young directors -- like saying "hey imagine using some of these techniques in a film this was a notch better?" Speilberg gave Truffuant a cameo in Close Encounters. 5:17 The actors in 400 Blows are not "non-actors" or "non-professionals" (?) Both of the parents were established pros and the kid was the son of a professional actress so I have to think the reviewer read some general stuff on "French New Wave" and repeated it here. It isn't true for this film. Yes the kids in the classroom and the puppet show are "non actors" but that is not unique to this film. The weakest scenes are the jogging teacher scene, which violates the tone of the film by being goofy and comedic, and the scenes when the teacher's back is turned and EVERY single boy in the classroom gets up and hugs or mimes some kind of romantic bit. I have yet to find a review or analysis which talks about the 3 cross dressed men brought into the jail and transported with Antoine. It is a short bit but Truffuant clearly wanted it in there as he keeps visually and plotwise commenting on the dishonesty of adults and how that dishonesty is seen by Antoine. 9:10 There is no freeze frame in the mugshot sequence. Perhaps the greatest significance of this film is that it fused director and writer into "Auteur". In contrast to big studio dramas and musicals of the 1950s, Truffuant creates a very focused film that feels confessional because it is. When Antoine looks at the camera and us in the final scene, it is Truffuant looking at us, introducing himself and his future, his backstory fully laid out.
Truffaut was to make a sort of female version of The 400 Blows, but he died before finishing it. His script was made into a 1988 film called The Little Thief, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg as a troubled teenager.
An important precursor to the French New Wave was the 1953 American film The Little Fugitive, which was also a low-budget film shot largely on-location, about a young boy who gets into trouble.
Been loving your work for a while. Sorry it so long to Subscribe. Great stuff as usual. This movie is true cinema. Completely rocked me when I saw it the first time. I recall going down a huge Truffaut rabbit hole - Breathless, Day for Night, Jules and Jim, and Shoot the Piano Player. Keep up the great work!
This movies changes meaning over time. I saw this when I was 15 and multiple times over the years. It has a whole different, and very personal, meaning to me now.
Oh! I love this film. Not only because of the way it is shot and it's beautiful music. But the story was so relatable for me. Have you watched " the bicycle thieves" and "The ballad of the soldiers"? I remember liking them, ages ago
For a feminine equivalent (or response maybe) to Les 400 Coups, I suggest Sans Toit ni Loi by Agnès Varda, the story of a young homeless woman whose final fate is revealed in the beginning of the film.
Wonderful review, I just saw this film, thankfully, on the big screen with no knowledge of its existence and was truly blown away. You articulated my feelings toward it wonderfully, thanks.
Some of the French New Wave directors were upset when my favorite film of all time Sundays and Cybele (1962) directed by Serge Bourguignon won the academy award for best foreign language film in 1963. Serge Bourguignon was not part of their clique. Sundays and Cybele is such a haunting and beautiful film which I wish you could watch and review. I would be very interested to hear your opinion of the film. Patricia Gozzi's performance in the film must be the best performance by a juvenile in the history of cinema.
This is a movie that we can say what happens to the kid character when he grows up. It's a umparalleled series of sequels that Truffaut made with the same actor, over a extended period of time. From Wikipedia: «Truffaut made four other films with Léaud depicting Antoine at later stages of his life: Antoine and Colette (which was Truffaut's contribution to the 1962 anthology Love at Twenty), Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board, and Love on the Run.» If you can, see them all, because Truffaut is a master of cinema, as you know. Speaking of Truffaut, he was so great in Close Encounters...and it's a great film, one of Spielberg's best.. ;) ....
Loved this movie, and as usual, phenomenal analysis. The 400 Blows was one of my forays to the criterion collection and international cinema in general. And I am really thankful for it.
I've seen most of his films and the ones you mention (along with the 400 Blows) are the ones I liked too, I would add Two English Girls and the Story of Adele H. Green Room might be my favourite b/c I admire Bresson (far more than the Truffaut/Godard 'New Wave' film-makers) and it's self-consciously Bressonian, like Truffaut's tribute to Bresson (he acc denied this in an interview when it was pointed out; but imo it's completely obvious). Oh and American Night - a superb comedy along with Small Change. I acc didn't like Jules and Jim much; often ranked as his best
I don’t know how this happens but every time I watch something for the first time or rewatch something I pull up TH-cam the next day and you’re reviewing itit happened with Death Proof, Videodrome and now this lol
you mentioning all these powerful, wordless sequences that were the most moving moments for me makes it baffling to me that Truffaut would so often make use (or misuse imho) of the voiceover in his ouevre from here on out. One of the reasons I didn't like Jules and Jim (often ranked as his best) nearly as much as the 400 Blows. Also I loved the character of his weird, smug little rich friend - no one ever mentions him
That was the movie that got Harvey w interested in film. He thought it was going to be a porno, but it blew him away artistically. Source: “Down and dirty pictures” Peter Biskind (pretty sure that’s the author’s name).
I'm curious if you've seen the film Immortal Beloved and if you think the last scene (where Beethoven runs away from his abusive father to the sound of the 9th Symphony) is a conscious echo of the final scene of 400 Blows.
I didn't like Jules and Jim much. My favourite Truffaut is between the obvious choice of the 400 Blows or what must be his tribute to Bresson, Green Room
Will eventually get to this film, and if it doesn't hook me on FNW, it's unlikely anything will. My main exposure to FNW is Jean-Luc Godard, whose name overshadows the movement's other members. I find irony in "Breathless" and "Contempt" as supposed examples of these guys trying to depart from the gloss of the classical French cinema made before them. "Breathless" is supposed to pass as realism but plays up an auteur style (especially in the editing) and lacks enough patience to glean any substance. Because there's so much love for "The 400 Blows" outside of FNW diehards, I don't expect Truffaut to be quite as bad as Godard with the aforementioned flaws. I will, however, be surprised if it manages the same documentary-like immersion as two towering examples predating FNW (by which I mean Vittorio De Sica's "The Bicycle Thief" and Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali").
400 Blows far better than Breathless imo, simply b/c of its rawness and sincerity as opposed to being a self-conscious exercise in radical film-making. Find the 'New Wave' overrated compared to predecessors in French cinema, Renoir, Bresson etc. all far superior
I always considered the last shot in the film is one of the best ending shots ever. Just simple, natural, beautiful
The last shot shows the uncertainty and apprehension about his young life's future. But then, the film is followed by four sequels that show that Antoine actually ends up having quite a good life. The sequels are all comedies that, though pleasant, don't have the profundity and artistry of the first film.
@@classicvideogoodies haven't seen any of the sequels and the idea of a sequel to this film is just wrong
Indeed a sublime ending with no parallels in cinema history and it was shot in one continuous shot too I think.
The ending is Antoine's surprise because he's never seen the ocean. He turns around. The sequels are good; Stolen Kisses is one of Truffaut's best.
@@salmayousry3976agreed that no sequels should have been made. There's a short film, Antoine and Colette, which is ok. Then I watched the first of the feature-length sequels - worst Truffaut film imo, didn't bother watching the rest. People like them but I got nothing out of it. Really bad, French (in all the worst possible ways) comedy - his owrst films are comedies, I think (though he made two great comedies: American Night and Pocket Money). Leaud is great however in Two English Girls and in American Night where he's doing what I guess is supposed to be some kind of self-parody (that was no doubt more effective for a contemporary French audience for whom he was quite famous)
Jean-Pierre Léaud was only 14 in that film and he was brilliant. Good luck finding a 14 year old today with half his talent.
Haley Joel Osment comes to my mind.
I SEE DEAD PEOPLE
Haha i'm still finding
400 blows was my nickname in highschool
400 Blows is a difficult film to analyze without lots of context. It is hard for us now to see this film as revolutionary let alone WHY. Prior to 400 Blows the most well known coming of age films were "Wizard of Oz" (1939) and, more relevant, "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955). Truffuant lifts techniques from Elia Kazan and Brando and boldly risks his budding career on this small depressing story about an unwanted child in post-war Paris. He fuses handheld camera, grabbed shots and ad libbed dialog (the therapist scene) to get the feel of documentaries. He explores the paternalism of the film industry and, more generally, of post War socialist France by concentrating on a boy whose life is ordered and scheduled by adults that have little understanding or concern for his needs. It is the paternalism that blocks his freedom and yet what he lacks is a father or caring adult who would guide him toward a better future. Truffuant lost his mentor at the very beginning of the production of this film.
400 Blows comes at time in post war history when a huge wave of kids were becoming teenagers and when affluence was peaking. Among the affluent teenagers who saw this film in 1960 were Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola, and DePalma. For all of its flaws, 400 Blows connected with them in a way that few other films did. Its flaws are like a tease for these young directors -- like saying "hey imagine using some of these techniques in a film this was a notch better?" Speilberg gave Truffuant a cameo in Close Encounters.
5:17 The actors in 400 Blows are not "non-actors" or "non-professionals" (?) Both of the parents were established pros and the kid was the son of a professional actress so I have to think the reviewer read some general stuff on "French New Wave" and repeated it here. It isn't true for this film. Yes the kids in the classroom and the puppet show are "non actors" but that is not unique to this film. The weakest scenes are the jogging teacher scene, which violates the tone of the film by being goofy and comedic, and the scenes when the teacher's back is turned and EVERY single boy in the classroom gets up and hugs or mimes some kind of romantic bit.
I have yet to find a review or analysis which talks about the 3 cross dressed men brought into the jail and transported with Antoine. It is a short bit but Truffuant clearly wanted it in there as he keeps visually and plotwise commenting on the dishonesty of adults and how that dishonesty is seen by Antoine.
9:10 There is no freeze frame in the mugshot sequence. Perhaps the greatest significance of this film is that it fused director and writer into "Auteur". In contrast to big studio dramas and musicals of the 1950s, Truffuant creates a very focused film that feels confessional because it is. When Antoine looks at the camera and us in the final scene, it is Truffuant looking at us, introducing himself and his future, his backstory fully laid out.
Truffaut was to make a sort of female version of The 400 Blows, but he died before finishing it. His script was made into a 1988 film called The Little Thief, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg as a troubled teenager.
One of my favourite films, now and forever. So glad you got round to reviewing it.
An important precursor to the French New Wave was the 1953 American film The Little Fugitive, which was also a low-budget film shot largely on-location, about a young boy who gets into trouble.
Been loving your work for a while. Sorry it so long to Subscribe. Great stuff as usual. This movie is true cinema. Completely rocked me when I saw it the first time. I recall going down a huge Truffaut rabbit hole - Breathless, Day for Night, Jules and Jim, and Shoot the Piano Player. Keep up the great work!
This movies changes meaning over time. I saw this when I was 15 and multiple times over the years. It has a whole different, and very personal, meaning to me now.
One of my top 10 favorite films. The 400 Blows is a masterpiece.
Oh! I love this film. Not only because of the way it is shot and it's beautiful music. But the story was so relatable for me. Have you watched " the bicycle thieves" and "The ballad of the soldiers"? I remember liking them, ages ago
For a feminine equivalent (or response maybe) to Les 400 Coups, I suggest Sans Toit ni Loi by Agnès Varda, the story of a young homeless woman whose final fate is revealed in the beginning of the film.
Wonderful review, I just saw this film, thankfully, on the big screen with no knowledge of its existence and was truly blown away. You articulated my feelings toward it wonderfully, thanks.
Some of the French New Wave directors were upset when my favorite film of all time Sundays and Cybele (1962) directed by Serge Bourguignon won the academy award for best foreign language film in 1963. Serge Bourguignon was not part of their clique. Sundays and Cybele is such a haunting and beautiful film which I wish you could watch and review. I would be very interested to hear your opinion of the film. Patricia Gozzi's performance in the film must be the best performance by a juvenile in the history of cinema.
At last! I've been waiting for you to review this one. Thank youu! ♥️
This is a movie that we can say what happens to the kid character when he grows up. It's a umparalleled series of sequels that Truffaut made with the same actor, over a extended period of time. From Wikipedia: «Truffaut made four other films with Léaud depicting Antoine at later stages of his life: Antoine and Colette (which was Truffaut's contribution to the 1962 anthology Love at Twenty), Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board, and Love on the Run.» If you can, see them all, because Truffaut is a master of cinema, as you know. Speaking of Truffaut, he was so great in Close Encounters...and it's a great film, one of Spielberg's best.. ;)
....
When you've received too much negativity from a person, you tune out and even any positivity from that person is tuned out.
Loved this movie, and as usual, phenomenal analysis. The 400 Blows was one of my forays to the criterion collection and international cinema in general. And I am really thankful for it.
In general I like Truffaut's works. The Green Room, Small Change, The Wild Child are less known but good ones as well.
I've seen most of his films and the ones you mention (along with the 400 Blows) are the ones I liked too, I would add Two English Girls and the Story of Adele H. Green Room might be my favourite b/c I admire Bresson (far more than the Truffaut/Godard 'New Wave' film-makers) and it's self-consciously Bressonian, like Truffaut's tribute to Bresson (he acc denied this in an interview when it was pointed out; but imo it's completely obvious). Oh and American Night - a superb comedy along with Small Change. I acc didn't like Jules and Jim much; often ranked as his best
YES! We need more Truffauts and Godards!
One of my 5 favorites, great review!
From where can I watch this movie?
Don't forget there are wonderful films that followed this kid's journey into adulhood from Truffaut.
I don’t know how this happens but every time I watch something for the first time or rewatch something I pull up TH-cam the next day and you’re reviewing itit happened with Death Proof, Videodrome and now this lol
you mentioning all these powerful, wordless sequences that were the most moving moments for me makes it baffling to me that Truffaut would so often make use (or misuse imho) of the voiceover in his ouevre from here on out. One of the reasons I didn't like Jules and Jim (often ranked as his best) nearly as much as the 400 Blows. Also I loved the character of his weird, smug little rich friend - no one ever mentions him
Whoa, I didn't realize that Truffaut was in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Holy shit I haven't seen that movie since I was a kid didn't even realise that
@Catharsis So? Who gives a shit?
One of my favourite movies can't wait to hear your thoughts!
That was the movie that got Harvey w interested in film. He thought it was going to be a porno, but it blew him away artistically. Source: “Down and dirty pictures” Peter Biskind (pretty sure that’s the author’s name).
Source?
"Le quatre cents coups" is apparently the French equivalent of "sowing the wild oats."
more like 'school of hard knocks'
I'm curious if you've seen the film Immortal Beloved and if you think the last scene (where Beethoven runs away from his abusive father to the sound of the 9th Symphony) is a conscious echo of the final scene of 400 Blows.
Wonderfully said. I'm imagining you talking about my film on your channel, one day :)
Have a look at Truffaut’s ‘Day For Night’, one of the great movies about film making
SPEAKING OF ORSON WELLES, COULD YOU REVIEW F FOR FAKE? MY FAV ORSON WELLES BY FAR. I THINK YOU WOULD DIG IT AND I WOULD LIKE YOUR TAKE ON IT.
I just watched ST Elmos Fire omg what a film - complimented generational film, irresponsibly honest - must watch
Love Truffaut films. While this is an amazing work, Jules and Jim to me is his magnum opis.
For sure
I'm particularly fond of Small Change.
Elem Klimov's 1985 "Come and See" (Иди и смотри) is the most traumatizing movie I've ever seen!
I didn't like Jules and Jim much. My favourite Truffaut is between the obvious choice of the 400 Blows or what must be his tribute to Bresson, Green Room
Can you review Waves directed by Trey Edward Shultz? I’m curious what your thoughts would be on it.
Man, was that second half disappointing.
Will eventually get to this film, and if it doesn't hook me on FNW, it's unlikely anything will. My main exposure to FNW is Jean-Luc Godard, whose name overshadows the movement's other members. I find irony in "Breathless" and "Contempt" as supposed examples of these guys trying to depart from the gloss of the classical French cinema made before them. "Breathless" is supposed to pass as realism but plays up an auteur style (especially in the editing) and lacks enough patience to glean any substance.
Because there's so much love for "The 400 Blows" outside of FNW diehards, I don't expect Truffaut to be quite as bad as Godard with the aforementioned flaws. I will, however, be surprised if it manages the same documentary-like immersion as two towering examples predating FNW (by which I mean Vittorio De Sica's "The Bicycle Thief" and Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali").
400 Blows far better than Breathless imo, simply b/c of its rawness and sincerity as opposed to being a self-conscious exercise in radical film-making. Find the 'New Wave' overrated compared to predecessors in French cinema, Renoir, Bresson etc. all far superior
If your going to do more French new wave reviews can you please review Breathless
this is my absolute favorite film-i adore it.
thoughts on godard? favorite work of his?
@Petja Labovic Jefferson Airplane performing on NYC rooftop. On YT.
My favorite movie since I was 16
I just ordered it last night and this what I see😅
Good review 🤯
Night Moves
400 Blows...The Kamala Harris story.
😂
The 400 Blows is one of my all time favorite films. I absolutely adore it.
I loved this movie