Les Quatre Cent Coups
| The 400 Blows | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | François Truffaut |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Jean Constantin |
| Cinematography | Henri Decaë |
| Edited by | Marie-Josèphe Yoyotte |
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Production
company |
Les Films du Carrosse
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| Distributed by | Cocinor |
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Release date
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Running time
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99 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $30.7 million |
The 400 Blows (French: Les Quatre Cents Coups) is a 1959 French drama film, the debut by director François Truffaut; it stars Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, and Claire Maurier. One of the defining films of the French New Wave, it displays many of the characteristic traits of the movement. Written by Truffaut and Marcel Moussy, the film is about Antoine Doinel, a misunderstood adolescent in Paris who struggles with his parents and teachers due to his rebellious behavior. Filmed on location in Paris and Honfleur, it is the first in a series of five films in which Léaud plays the semi-autobiographical character.
The 400 Blows received numerous awards and nominations, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director, the OCIC Award, and a Palme d'Or nomination in 1959. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing in 1960. The 400 Blows had a total of 4,092,970 admissions in France, making it Truffaut's most successful film in his home country.
The 400 Blows is widely considered one of the best French films in the history of cinema; in the 2012 Sight & Sound critics' poll of the greatest films ever made, it was ranked 39th.
Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) is a young boy growing up in Paris during the 1950s. Misunderstood by his parents for playing truant from school and stealing, and tormented in school for discipline problems by his teacher (Guy Decomble), (Antoine falsely explains his being away from school was due to his mother's death), Antoine frequently runs away from both places. The boy finally quits school after being caught plagiarizing Balzac by his teacher. He steals a typewriter from his stepfather's (Albert Remy) work place to finance his plans to leave home, but is apprehended while trying to return it.
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Wikipedia