The 400 Blows Blu-ray

The 400 Blows

 (1959)

The 400 Blows Blu-ray comes close to perfection with top scores all around making it one of the best Blu-ray's ever
François Truffaut’s first feature, The 400 Blows (Les quatre cents coups), is also his most personal. Told through the eyes of Truffaut’s life-long cinematic counterpart, Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), The 400 Blows sensitively re-creates the trials of Truffaut’s own difficult childhood, unsentimentally portraying aloof parents, oppressive teachers, petty crime, and a friendship that would last a lifetime. 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.

For more about The 400 Blows and The 400 Blows Blu-ray release, see The 400 Blows Blu-ray Review

Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Robert Beauvais, Claire Maurier, Albert Remy, Guy Decomble, Patrick Auffay
Director: François Truffaut

» See full cast & crew

The 400 Blows Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov, March 1, 2009

Nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or and winner of the Best Director and OCIC Awards at the Cannes Film Festival, François Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" (1959) is a true treasure of World Cinema. The film is inspired by the French director's own childhood story. Courtesy of the Criterion Collection.

Reading Balzac...while having a smoke!

12-year old Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud, Masculin féminin:15 faits précis) is a troublemaker. He skips school and goes to the movies, steals, lies and runs away from home. But he wants to be good; he takes care of the garbage and helps his stepfather cook. Occasionally, he even tries to get his homework done.

At school, Antoine isn't liked. His teacher (Guy Decombie, Thérèse Étienne) is convinced that the youngster is always up to no good and routinely reminds him of it. Antoine doesn't like his teacher either. The two argue a lot and the boy often ends up standing alone in front of the classroom board.

Antoine's mother (Claire Maurier, Une gueule comme la mienne) isn't too fond of her son. She is also having an affair with another man who treats her in a way her husband doesn't. Because she has grown tired of the tiny apartment the Doinel family shares, she spends as much time away from it as possible. Antoine's stepfather does not know about his wife's affair; he believes that she works a lot to provide for the family.

While away from school, Antoine sees his mother with her lover. He does not reveal to his stepfather what he has seen, but makes it clear to his mother that he knows about her affair. Things change for the better and the Doinel family become closer.

Very soon, however, Antoine is again in trouble. He is caught stealing and quickly sent to a correctional facility. The boy is angry and so are his parents. As time goes by, Antoine learns about life, responsibility and dignity. Eventually, he earns his freedom but not the forgiveness of his family.

François Truffaut's The 400 Blows chronicles a young boy's struggle to become independent in a world ruled by adults. We begin to feel about Antoine the moment we see him, we understand what his heart desires, but we also realize that he cannot outsmart those he disagrees with; as the story progresses, we see that he is always punished when he attempts to see the world around him without the usual stop signs.

Like all great coming-of-age films, The 400 Blows boasts memorable images that linger with you long after the end credits roll. There are scenes here that are so beautiful we don't want the main characters to utter their lines and disrupt the magic. It is almost as if we have discovered a painting that has suddenly become alive; Truffaut's The 400 Blows is that mesmerizingly beautiful and real.

Dedicated to the great André Bazin – a close friend of Truffaut and founder of Cahiers du cinema, the influential French film magazine - The 400 Blows is also an incredibly tender film. Even though Antoine experiences so many disappointments, we rarely see him angry. On the contrary, he finds humor in his failures and smiles at those who punish him; we do not detect a sense of guilt through his actions either.

I saw The 400 Blows relatively late (after I had already seen Louis Malle's Le Souffle au Coeur a.k.a Murmur of the Heart [1971], another terrific coming-of-age film). For reasons I'd rather not talk about here, I ended up attending a screening where the film was shown to a selected few, dubbed in a foreign language. I doubt those who saw it with me understood what it was about; they most certainly acted like they didn't. Later on, I remember many openly dismissing it as a naive and childish story about a boy who couldn't stay away from trouble. For me, The 400 Blows was a revelation. The final scene where Antoine looks at the ocean and then runs into the water overjoyed by his newly found freedom stayed with me for years. For the first time in my life, I saw a rebel who did not resort to violence in order to break free of the world he couldn't tolerate. I remember being inspired.

The 400 Blows Blu-ray, Video Quality

 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, François Truffaut's 400 Blows arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

I could not wait to get my hands on this Blu-ray disc. Aside from The Third Man, this is the second B&W film to be released on Blu-ray by the US distributors, and I was very, very impatient to see what they have done. First of all, the color-scheme here is terrific; the blacks are lush and very rich, while the whites are crisp and natural-looking. Furthermore, contrast is fantastic. As soon as I received the disc, I took my DVD release of The 400 Blows (from The Adventures of Antoine Doinel boxset) and ran a quick comparison to see where and what the Blu-ray version improves. Aside from the stronger detail and contrast, this new 1080p presentation holds together substantially better on a large-size screen. Second, I must note that there are absolutely no traces of DNR-manipulation whatsoever. The grain structure of the film is very much intact, and I am convinced that film buffs will be exceptionally pleased with the film-like qualities of the Blu-ray transfer. Third, there aren't any disturbing scratches, debris, or stains that would detract from your viewing experience (obviously, if you have already seen how good the DVD version of The 400 Blows looked, then you should have a pretty good idea what to expect from the Blu-ray transfer). This being said, I have to also note that there are a few minor fluctuations with the sharpness of this presentation that were also present on the French MK2 Blu-ray release of The 400 Blows. Truth be told, however, this is something that is more than likely ingrained in the actual master print and the Blu-ray transfer simply replicates it. To sum it all up, François Truffaut's masterpiece undoubtedly looks the best I have ever seen it look in my lifetime. Outstanding! (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" release which you will not be able to play on Region-B PS3s or SA. In order to view the content on this disc, you have to use a native Region-A or Region-Free player).

The 400 Blows Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 

Criterion have supplied French LPCM audio track for the Blu-ray release of François Truffaut's The 400 Blows. As expected, the audio treatment is as solid as the video presentation discussed above. The dialog is crisp, very clear and without any distortions that I could detect. Furthermore, Jean Constantin's music sounds quite lovely. As far as I am concerned, the soundtrack is also notably well balanced (indeed, it is fairly easy to tell that the audio has undergone a full-blown restoration). You won't hear any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings either. This is a solid and well cleaned up audio track that most definitely does not reveal any technical deficiencies. Finally, Criterion have also provided optional white English subtitles for the main feature. For the record, the subtitles appear inside the film frame.

The 400 Blows Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras

 

All of the supplemental materials found on the SDVD release of François Truffaut's 400 Blows have been ported to the Blu-ray disc. First, there are two audio commentaries, one by cinema Professor Brian Stonehill and another by François Truffaut's lifelong friend Robert Lachenay. Both commentaries are very informative, but I personally prefer the one by Mr. Lachenay as it offers a very personal look at The 400 Blows and its director (the French-language commentary features optional italicized English subtitles). Interviews - here you will see rare 16mm screen tests featuring an interview with Jean-Pierre Léaud, an improvised dialogue between Léaud and Patrick Auffay (René in the film), and an audition by Richard Kanayan (who plays one of the children, and went on to appear in Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Players [1960]). Cannes 1959 - this newsreel excerpt from Francois Chalais and Jacques Planche's Reflets de Cannes 1959 presents the excitement of the film's screening and award winning at the festival (Truffaut won Best Actor), along with Jean-Pierre Léaud's thoughts about being in the acclaimed film. Cineaste de notre temps - this excerpt from the "Francois Truffaut ou l'espirit critique" episode of the French TV show Cineaste de notre temps (December 2, 1965) features Truffaut discussing his youth, his critical writings for Cahiers du cinema, and the beginnings of Antoine Doinel in The 400 Blows and Antoine and Colette. Other interviewees include Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Remy (Antoine's stepfather), and collaborator Claude de Givray. Cinepanorama - in this excerpt from the TV show Cinepanorama (Jean Bescout, February 20th, 1960), host France Roche interviews Francois Truffaut after his return from New York, where The 400 Blows was named Best Foreign Film by the New York Film Critics Circle. He discusses the global reception of The 400 Blows and performs some self-critical evaluation of his work. Finally, there is also a theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray disc also arrives with a lovely booklet where you would find "Close to Home", a very informative essay by film scholar Annette Insdorf.

The 400 Blows Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

 

Criterion deliver again! Truffaut's timeless The 400 Blows looks and sounds spectacular! I am unsure what to say here that hasn't already been said better by other film critics. So, I would simply like to encourage you to do whatever it takes to add The 400 Blows to your film collections. Simply put, they will be incomplete without it. Very Highly Recommended.

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