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The 400 Blows

Les Quatre Cents Coups (Les 400 Coups)

1959

François Truffaut

Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy, Guy Decomble ...

8.0

32,652

Drama 14-year-old Antoine Doinel has troubles at home and at school. Ignored and neglected by his parents, his relationship with his mother is further strained when he discovers that she has taken a secret lover. Added to this, his school teachers have written him off as a troublemaker and, with luck seemingly never on his side, it is Antoine who ends up getting the blame for bad behaviour. Finding refuge only in his love of cinema, Antoine ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"'The 400 Blows', with all its simplicity and feeling, is in a class by itself (...) Little is done in the film for pure effect (...) There are moments of fun and joy (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"The film looks superb and Antoine's heartbreakingly open face is like Truffaut's monochrome Paris: beautiful, tough, innocent and yet worldly (...) There are too many great moments (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Bosley Crowther The New York Times	"Brilliantly and strikingly reveals the explosion of a fresh creative talent in the directorial field (...) A small masterpiece."	POS
United States	Eric Henderson Slant	"Truffaut’s internal battle between nostalgia and anarchy is compelling (...) The vitality of '400 Blows' (...) comes from the symbiosis between real and reel life (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United Kingdom	Nick Dawson Empire	"Vibrant, visually exciting and emotionally resonant (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Jason Korsner BBC	"A landmark in modern cinema (...) Truffaut himself, in his first feature, displays the directorial flair that would make him such an influential auteur (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Sukhdev Sandhu Telegraph	"'The 400 Blows' seems as wonderful today as when it was first released (...) In the history of cinema no collaboration between a director and an actor (...) has been as intense or interesting (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Time Out	"One of the most joyous experience you could ever have in the cinema (...) No wonder this film never dates: he was writing about what we all know."	POS
United States	Dave Kehr Chicago Reader	"Distinguished by its intensity of feeling and freewheeling use of the wide-screen frame, the film ranks among Truffaut's best."	POS
United States	James Berardinelli ReelViews	"[After] more than forty years, its effect has neither faded nor been duplicated. By eschewing manipulation and sentimentality, Truffaut does not invite false emotions and insincere pity (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United Kingdom	Jason Korsner BBC	"This film is a landmark in modern cinema, launching the French New Wave and turning François Truffaut from a critic into one of the world's most distinguished film makers (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	David Parkinson Radio Times	"The story paints a grimly authentic portrait of troubled adolescence, with 13-year-old Jean-Pierre Léaud effortlessly conveying both mischief and vulnerability in the lead role (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS

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