Rating: 
Summary: Truffaut brings out a brilliant cinematic experience...
Review: Antoine Doinel lives in a family where the parents are preoccupied with their own existence and therefore parental supervision is lacking. In school Antoine is frequently reprimanded as he does not see the importance of school and at home there is an absence of encouragement to perform well in school. As a consequence, Antoine skips school, steals, and attempts to find his niche in life outside the world where he does not fit in. 400 Blows is arguably one of the best films of the French New Wave Cinema as it tells a realistic story of a child's needs and wants in a social structure created by the children in the absence of adults. Under the direction of François Truffaut, the cast brings out the best in themselves as actors as Truffaut brings a heartbreaking narrative to the audience, which will continue to baffle people of the world for many years to come.
Rating: 
Summary: "Not everybody has a tongue like yours."
Review: Adolescence is a difficult time for any child. It does not matter where you grow up or in what era. The period between childhood and adulthood is fraught with awkwardness and insecurity. Francois Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" examines the life of one such child as he takes his first baby steps toward a new stage in his life. Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Leaud) is a young man who lives with his mother (Claire Maurier) and stepfather (Albert Remy) in Paris. He has his troubles but is not really a bad child - he is just a confused boy looking for adventure, attention, and guidance. However, a serious error in judgment leads Antoine to steal a typewriter and he is sent off to a juvenile detention home. He eventually escapes his confinement and heads for the beach. While staring out at the sea, Antoine tries to make some sense out of his life. "The 400 Blows" is a restrained version of "Rebel Without A Cause" (1955). It deals with the problem of juvenile delinquency and the confusion of adolescence from a stark and minimalist perspective. There are no drag races or switchblade fights to sensationalize the proceedings. This is a film more concerned with personal introspection and the harsh realities of the real world. Yet, while there is a richness to the film's texture, "The 400 Blows" is a trying film to watch. It is a technically-sound film that will appeal to the film student but will not appeal to the casual viewer. Truffaut captures the nuances of everyday life so well that the film mimics life's routine nature to perfection. The end result is a viewing experience that becomes too monotonous to be enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: "She appeared like the angel of destiny" (4.5 stars)
Review: Truffaut's childhood retrospective remains a powerful film today. While some of the parts describing standard childhood defiance are a bit drawn out, they are presented with a winning tone and with the details necessary to make them convincing. Additionally, by focusing so much on standard defiance, we are somewhat unprepared as the darker aspects are gradually revealed. We see how precarious our paths can be. Truffaut has by then duped us into being emotionally concerned about the lead character, who's alienation and detachment are captured with (of all things) tenderness and innocence by Jean Pierre Liaud. Truffaut's brilliance is that he makes us feel for this character without having to resort to any sentimentality beyond that of his own memory. Our need for love, and the benefits of a stable home are shown here to be as irrefutable as gravity or the tides. I did feel that the last parts of the film could have been shortened or eliminated (such as the police station and the correctional facility), but the final scene was very powerful. Having reached the end, there is nowhere else to run. The protagonist must decide whether to act, i.e. to try to 'grow up' and face his demons. The fatalistic alternative is to continue down his current path, which while perhaps justifiable given his background, can nevertheless only lead to despair. But if one truly encorporates the idea of free-will into their life, perhaps the future is not so precarious after all. Other pluses here are perhaps the most beautiful depiction of Paris in all of film history (quite a statement, I know), as well as some incredible shots. My favorite is definitely how he captures the universality and otherness of childhood innocence during the puppet show. Another justifiably famous shot is the overhead of the children choosing their paths as they jog through the streets of Paris. While these decisions cannot be called final, I see now (sometime after my 10 year high school reunion) that they close far more doors than they open. This is not necessarily a problem, provided you pick your doors wisely. The wonderful and cutting edge jazz soundtrack is also more than an afterthought.
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Film That Supassed My High Expectations
Review: I just saw this recently, and it is one of the best films I've seen in a very long time. Beautifully photographed, written, and directed. This compulsively watchable movie also has possibly the best child performance I've ever seen. The 400 Blows is much better experienced than described. The Fox DVD transfer is good, but suffers from distorted sound and print scratches. See this movie!! You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Very Personal and Touching Film
Review: Much has been said by many brilliant critics about this now-legendary film. It typically makes every reviewer's favorite movies of all-time list.
I'm not certain that I would go that far myself, but this is a very touching and elegantly done film. Jean Pierre Leaud is briliantly cast in the role of the main character. He's one of the big screen's best and unlikeliest heroes. You can't help but adore him and relate to him as you watch this movie. You also feel sorry for the young lad - he's trying hard to fit in and grow up normal, with his strange step-father who's more concerned with his Michelen guide and his MILF of a mother, with her tight sweaters and affairs, it's no wonder this boy turned out as he does.
The DVD is a fine transfer, with a wonderful commentary soundtrack as well.
I highly recommend this lovable film to viewers of all ages. It will be considered a classic for ages to come.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent.
Review: Nobody could capture childhood like Truffaut. Through a series of measured vingettes--unsentimental and unsensationalized--The 400 Blows chronicles the life of its young protagonist with unflinching honesty and pitch-perfect emotional tone. This film is in many ways the mirror opposite of Small Change: while that (also excellent) film was about the joys of childhood, this is primarily concerned with its pains. Its a bleak world, one in which adults are at best emotionally stunted, and more often simply vicious. However, it ultimately inspires rather than depresses: in spite of mangling him mercilessly in its machinery (yes, I hate that alliteration as much as you do), the world is unable to crush Antoine. The ending shot is destined to haunt you for years to come. The acting is uniformly good. Léaud, in the lead role, isn't quite virtuosic, but he doesn't need to be for his character to be effective, given the film's naturalistic manner. It's difficult to imagine anyone else doing better. Also--and maybe noting this is missing the point of the film, but it's undeniable--the cinematography is beautiful; Antoine's world is brilliantly realized. I really can't recommend The 400 Blows any more highly. It's dark, but it's also one of the most compassionate films you're likely to see. Hollywood couldn't have made anything like this.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Truffaut
Review: This film is a masterpiece, in that the images last a lifetime. The story develops at a steady pace about a boy growing up in Paris, and tracks the stages downward as he falls into trouble along the way. The black and white scenes in the streets slowly cast a pall as we watch this basically good little fellow being buffeted about by the less than admirable adults in his world. We are left with a feeling that it shouldn't be this way. The last freeze frame on the beach leaves the audience alone with the boy, and haunts us. The film is a realistic glimpse into a little boy's life as it is beginning.
Rating:
Summary: one of the best films ever!
Review: I saw this a long time ago, not really knowing what is was all about. Man was i surprised. This has got to be the pinnacle of all boy (man) against world films. Not to mention one of the best films ever made. I love this movie. From a movie lover: Check it out with no expectations just to see waht i mean.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Storytelling
Review: The 400 Blows is a deceptive movie. At first the viewer is led to believe that the main character Antoine, is just a misled boy who enjoys misbehaving. But Truffaut slowly begins to reveal the truth behind Antoine's actions. His mother's real story, his own upbringing and so on. This is a landmark film that is more than a "coming of age" story of a young boy. It's a tragedy and a deeply touching account of his world. Well written and well acted, The 400 Blows is a study of a boy's world and the tragic consequences on one life of the dysfunctional actions of adults.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: I rented this movie on VHS a few months ago, and I really loved it. I started getting into French films, and I read this one was really good. Anyway, after I watched it, it really stuck with me and I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I rented the Criterion Collection on DVD and I think I loved it even more the second time. I'm sure none of my friends would like it, first of all because it's subtitled, and because there's no pop music or Freddie Prinze Jr.
It's such a great movie that really stays with you, I suggest you rent it or buy it, you'll be glad you did!
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