400 Blows (1959) - Essential Art House
by Francois Truffaut
List Price:
Our Price: $12.77
You Save: $7.18 (36%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Jean-Pierre LeaudDirector: Francois Truffaut
Brand: IMG
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-02-10
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion Collection
DVD Reviews of 400 Blows (1959) - Essential Art House
DVD Review: Incredibly good movie
Summary: 5 Stars
THE 400 BLOWS was an international sensation when first released in 1959, and with good reason. This film has the objectivity and immediacy of a documentary but with the passion and social realism of OLIVER TWIST and the charm of Jean Constantin's vibrant music for jazz flute, which it incorporates brilliantly. Not to mention that the performances are top-notch and the direction, handled with masterly assurance, succeeds equally whether in kitchen-sink close up or in Truffaut's magnificent crane shots of workaday Paris. That this all fits together so well -- and for a rookie director, Francois Truffaut -- seems no less a miracle now than it was back then.
The story focuses on young Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Leaud), a kid from a working-class Paris neighborhood, who has to contend with bickering and aloof parents, schooling where regimentation seems an end to itself, a grind of a home life and a chronic lack of money. A plot precis doesn't do justice to Antoine's story, which would chart the boy's descent from disaffected pre-adolesent schoolboy to (in society's eyes, at any rate) budding criminal. Yet Truffaut handles Antoine -- a near-copy of his young self -- with a sympathy that communicates very well to us in the audience. He ends the film on a hopeful if ambiguous note.
I can unqualifiedly recommend this seminal film, which remains so fresh even to this day. I am a little reluctant to insist on the new ART HOUSE ESSENTIAL edition for sale here, because the CRITERION COLLECTION version, also available through Amazon, costs (as of this writing) only US$2.50 more, has multiple bells-and-whistles, and includes two commentary tracks, one by a film scholar and one by Truffaut's best friend from childhood. I am not favoring one competitor over another because JANUS - CRITERION and "Art House" are all the same company. In the absence of company specs to the contrary, the ART HOUSE version seems to lack those enlightening extras. But it does not alter my five-star rating.
One small semantic note -- it would be logical to assume that "400 blows" refers to corporal punishment, which would be a literal translation from the French. Instead, it's a French idiom that means more along the lines of "raise some hell" or "sow wild oats," a far less violent and sympathetic understanding of the phrase. This is quite in line with Truffaut's treatment of the story in this astonishing and wonderful film.
More 400 Blows (1959) - Essential Art House reviews:
1
1
Description of 400 Blows (1959) - Essential Art House
In 1959, François Truffaut burst upon the scene, heralding the French New Wave with his emotional, autobiographical tale of a boy named Antoine Doinel, neglected by family and school, who must ultimately fend for himself on the streets of Paris. A showcase for the talents of not only Truffaut but also the young Jean-Pierre Léaud (who would become an emblem of the coming decade of daring French cinema), The 400 Blows remains a stunner, from first frame to unforgettable last.Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Pierrot le Fou (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2008-02-19; DVD
Best price: $49.24
RashomonImage Entertainment; Release date: 2008-09-09; DVD
Best price: $8.75
Price in other shops:
The Night of the HunterRelease date: 2000-01-25; DVD
Best price: $10.71
Price in other shops:
The Seventh Seal (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2009-06-16; DVD
Best price: $20.74
Price in other shops:
Seven Samurai (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2006-09-05; DVD
Best price: $28.39
Price in other shops:
The Lives of OthersSONY PICTURES HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-08-21; Published: 2007-08-01; DVD
Best price: $7.00
Price in other shops:
La Strada (1954)IMG; Release date: 2009-02-10; DVD
Best price: $13.61
Price in other shops:
The Bicycle ThiefImage Entertainment; Release date: 1998-11-24; DVD
Best price: $14.65
Price in other shops:
Breathless (The Criterion Collection)IMG; Release date: 2007-10-23; DVD
Best price: $24.47
Price in other shops:
8 1/ 2 (The Criterion Collection)HVC; Release date: 2001-12-04; DVD
Best price: $19.49
Price in other shops: