Francois Truffaut’s debut film The 400 Blows (1959) is credited with putting the French New Wave movement on the map. The founding members of the genre (Jacques Rivette, Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rohmer) began as critics for the film magazine Cahier du cinema along with Truffaut and set out to create cinema that made a break with classic filmmaking methods that they felt could not serve their needs of expression. They experimented with styles of editing and narration to create visual compositions that were more immediate and visceral than the old “regime” of film they wished to overthrow.
Following from their literary background, the New Wave held that the director is the “author” of his film and embraces the distinctive flavor each “writes” into his cinema. With his own childhood in Paris as inspiration, The 400 Blows utilizes many of the events and details lifted directly from Truffaut’s life. Often called a coming of age story, the film follows 14 year old Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Leaud) as he struggles to make his way in a world that almost seems to conspire against him. Labeled as a troublemaker by his teacher (though most of the trouble he causes is the byproduct of his creative expressions that do not fit into the roles that society has offered him) and by no means nurtured by his mother and step-father, he falls into a life of petty crime which turns him into a run away a few times over.
I have always had qualms with the “coming of age” distinction bestowed upon the film. The basic elements of the main character traversing his growing pains and trying to find his place in the world are present, but the film does not distinctly show Antoine really grow up. I do not mean physically obviously as the film only covers a short period of his life but rather psychologically and emotionally. This is not meant as a criticism of the film but rather against the way many reviewers view it. Even in the final shot when Antoine has escaped from reform school and made his way to the ocean that symbolizes the life he has yet to live, we are shown someone striking out against authority and tradition, not someone who has grown up and found their place yet.
Trauffaut revisited Antoine four more times over the following 20 years with Jean-Pierre Leaud reprising the character in each instance. The promise that 400 Blows holds out is fulfilled in these later films with the main character still going through his growing pains later in life. Even though the events of the movie may sound a bit downtrodden, there is so much subtle energy and humor instilled in Truffaut’s direction, it is breathtaking to watch. From what I know of the director’s early life, it is beautifully mirrored with a troubled upbringing, a creative drive that is not nurtured early on and a love of cinema (which is shown several times throughout). The 400 Blows delivers a sense of immediacy and personal involvement that is intertwined in its narration of Antoine’s story justifying why it lands in the upper echelon of multiple “best of all time” lists of cinema.
For video on Blu-ray Disc we get a 1080p AVC encoded transfer framed at the original ratio of 2.35:1. I originally saw this movie at a university theater in college before I had any idea of the joys high-def would bring. I have since watched it on VHS and DVD and can easily say this Blu-ray is the best this has ever looked (and most likely ever to look on home video). Criterion has done a commendable job with this transfer removing virtually all print damage though there are a few shots later in the film that have a scratch or something equivalent at the bottom of the screen. Still this is a minor complaint, and I am amazed at how the film looks in high-def.
Criterion is proving to be consistent in avoiding any unnecessary processing of a film’s image striving to provide an experience as close to how it originally looked with the benefits Blu-ray can bring. No noise reduction or other forms of tampering are evident with an appropriate natural sheen of grain present. The black and white image has a beautiful contrast with solid blacks and whites that do not become overblown and a great level of detail throughout. If you are a fan of this film, I will wager you have never seen it look this good.
Audio is supplied in an uncompressed LPCM track that replicates the French language monaural source through two channels with English subtitles. This is by no means the most dynamic audio as it lacks in extreme high and low range reproduction, but the best the source material has to offer is brought out here. The mono track is exceedingly clean and warm with no pops or clicks. Dialogue is clear throughout and sound elements have distinct separation with this being as good as I can imagine the audio sounding. I wish other studios would follow this trend of providing the original audio in lossless/uncompressed quality even if they feel the need for an updated surround mix as well.
All the extras from the 2006 DVD edition are ported over with HD video in 1080i resolution. Before you get your hopes up, the footage is all archival with much print damage and only minimally benefits from the increased resolution though it definitely eliminates digital artifacting which plagues many standard-def quality extras. All the video based extras have French audio with English subtitles. Criterion follows their previous Blu-ray packaging standard with a cardboard case and booklet with essay by film scholar Annette Insdorf.
I have a minor complaint in that I wish the video-based extras were a bit more expansive. I am guessing that without commissioning new documentaries this was the best footage available, but it does not hold up to the thoroughness of many of the companies other editions. Still, the commentaries cover this gap well and what is offered is extremely engaging for fans.
Audio Commentaries – Two commentaries are included; one by cinema professor Brian Stonehill and the other by Robert Lachenay who was a lifelong friend of the director. The former gives an academic, if a bit dry, take on the film detailing its place in cinema history and the New Wave movement specifically. Fans will find much of interest in this track that gives excellent context to Traufaut’s work.
Lachenay’s track is in French with English subtitles and balances against the formality of the Stonehill commentary. It is more relaxed and really gives you a feel for how personal the film was to Traufaut with many anecdotes about his and the director’s childhood together and how it played into the narrative. Both of these commentaries are excellent in their own regard, and fans will benefit greatly from them.
Audition footage (6:24) – Rare footage of Jean-Pierre Leaud auditioning for the role of Antoine.
Cannes 1959 (5:51) – A newsreel from Cannes including interview with Jean-Pierre Leaud about being in the film.
Cineastes de Notre Temps (22:27) – A 1965 episode the French TV show interviewing Truffaut. The director talks about his youth and inspirations for his early films along with his critical writings. He also discusses his influences with scenes from several movies and snippets of interviews from Jean-Pierre Leaud and Albert Remy (Antoine’s father) are included.
Cinepanorama (6:52) – Footage from the 1960 episode of the French TV show that interviews Trauffaut after returning from New York where critics named The 400 Blows best film of the year. Most interesting is where he discusses which countries have taken to the film and which disliked it.
Trailer (3:47) – Theatrical trailer for the movie.
The 400 Blows is a film that I always find a joy to return to and can honestly say I have not enjoyed it as much since my initial viewing than watching Criterion’s Blu-ray edition. The company has gone to painstaking measure to draw the absolute best out of the picture and audio quality and it really shows. The two commentaries compliment each other well and while I enjoy the supplemental materials I am still hungry for more. Nitpicks aside this is an exemplary model of how to restore and present classic films that whets my appetite for much of Criterion’s back catalog.
– Robert Searle
