SYNOPSIS: Francois Truffaut's first feature is also his most personal.  Told through the eyes of Truffaut's cinematic counterpart, Antoine Doniel, 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 marks Truffaut's passage from leading critic of the French new wave to his emergence as one of Europe's most brilliant auteurs.

EDITORIAL REVIEW:  Voted to be one of the top 250 movies of all time by IMDB users, The 400 Blows makes our list as well.  This isn't just one of the best coming of age movies...but surely one of the best movies...period.  It's no Godfather, mind you, but a pretty darned good movie in general and your DVD shelf should have this one on it.  If you aren't really familiar with the movie it is about a boy (played by Jean-Pierre Léaud) who delves into the world of petty crime, but tries to make good one day...with disastrous consequences.  His parents essentially abandon him, so he turns to the streets of Paris for comfort and salvation.  Léaud's performance as Antoine Doinel in The 400 Blows is ranked #98 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time (well, duh).

And what can we say about Criterion Co?  As you may have noticed from their other releases available here, we have nothing but good things to say about Criterion Co.  They reproduce some of the most visually appealing (technically speaking) digital transfers to ever bless the cinematic world!  As in most Criterion releases, there are always tons of extras.  The 400 Blows features:  1) New restored digital transfer; 2) Two audio commentaries: one by cinema professor Brian Stonehill and another by Francois Truffaut's lifelong friend Robert Lachenay; 3) Rare audition footage of Jean-Pierre Léaud, Patrick Auffay, and Richard Kanayan; 4) Newsreel footage of Léaud in Cannes for the showing of The 400 Blows; 5) Excerpt from a French TV program with Truffaut discussing his youth, critical writings, and the origins on Antoine Doinel; 6) Television interview with Truffaut about the global financial reception of The 400 Blows and his own critical impression of the film; 7) Theatrical trailer; 8) New and improved English subtitle translation.  Whew, that's a lot of extras!

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* This DVD will play in North America only.  This DVD should play in most players outside of North America as well, but it's not guaranteed. This DVD will play in any computer DVD-Rom.  This is NOT a DVD-R.

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STARRING: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy.
AVAILABILITY: In stock! Ships within one business day.
LENGTH: 99 minutes.
LANGUAGE: French, with OPTIONAL ENGLISH SUBTITLES.
SPECIAL FEATURES: 2.35:1 (16:9 Widescreen); Mono; 1 disc; Many extras (see above); Chapter selection; Uncut.
VIEWER DISCRETION: Brief nudity.
PICTURE QUALITY: Excellent picture quality. (what's this mean?)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: France (1959).
ALSO KNOWN AS: 400 coups, Les (France) (alternative spelling) / The Four Hundred Blows (Canada: English title) / The Four Hundred Blows (UK) / The Four Hundred Blows (USA).
DATE ADDED TO OUR LIBRARY:  April 18, 2008.
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