Truffaut. No French in the top 10? Blasphemy, right to a country with such a rich tradition in cinema? I know. I’m actually more bullish on Truffaut than most cinephiles. Playful and largely accessible- he’s very different from like Kubrick, Bergman and Tarkovsky. He arrived on the scene with three big masterpieces, gave us the first masterpiece of the French New Wave (as an important a movement as any in film history), basically invented the freeze frame (from his mentor and hero Hitchcock but it was not alive in 1959), gave us the closest thing to “catcher in the rye” there is on film (and it isn’t even his best film). Sadly, Truffaut never made another masterpiece after his first three films and that’s the blemish—his next highest rated film is Day for Night at #415 but he was very prolific and he did make another 16 archiveable films before his early death at age 52. Over 25 years from The 400 Blows to his death he made 19 archivable films). He will, of course, always be linked to Godard and the way it looks now, historically, he will be second fiddle to most cinema devotees- but not in my book. He’s also a little overshadowed because of the overt influences of Hitchcock and Renoir on his own work (Truffaut was a massive film buff and critic himself).
Best film: Jules and Jim. Although The 400 Blows has grown on me over the years I still think this is clearly his best film and I have it right there with Breathless as the best of the new wave.
total archiveable films: 19
top 100 films: 3 (The 400 Blows, Jules and Jim, Shoot the Piano Player)
top 500 films: 6 (The 400 Blows, Jules and Jim, Shoot the Piano Player, Day for Night, The Wild Child, Two English Girls)
top 100 films of the decade: 6 (The 400 Blows, Shoot the Piano Player, Jules and Jim, Day For Night, The Wild Child, Two English Girls
most overrated: The Woman Next Door. Truffaut doesn’t have any really overrated work but TSPDT has this as his 6th best film and I wouldn’t start here. Not in my top 10.
most underrated : Shoot the Piano Player is #73 for me and #378 all-time on TSPDT. This is woefully underrated. It’s an homage to American film noirs and it’s packed with flair and panache. It is gloriously and unapologetically style-over-substance and I adore it for that.
gem I want to spotlight: Day for Night and The Wild Child are two of the more entertaining movies in foreign film history. They are slyly simplistic and straightforward but are quite brilliant and they grow on you days and weeks after watching and upon revisiting. The Wild Child is for everyone and Day for Night is for cinema lovers.
stylistic innovations/traits:
It’s editing with Truffaut so the still-frames are harder to find. He’s a master with freeze frames (2 of the 4-5 best uses of it all-time are by Truffaut) but he’s much more than that. Again, I wish he had continued to be as experimental through the rest of his career but check out Piano Player or Jules and Jim for the full display. He uses cutaways (the mother dropping dead when the gangster swears on her grave in Shoot the Piano Player) and creative transitions for almost every edit.
top 10
- Jules and Jim
- The 400 Blows
- Shoot the Piano Player
- Day For Night
- The Wild Child
- Two English Girls
- The Story of Adele H.
- The Last Metro
- Mississippi Mermaid
- Stolen Kisses
By year and grades
| 1959- The 400 Blows | MP |
| 1960- Shoot the Piano Player | MP |
| 1962- Jules and Jim | MP |
| 1967- Fahrenheit 451 | R |
| 1968- Stolen Kisses | R |
| 1968- The Bride Who Wore Black | R |
| 1969- Mississippi Mermaid | R |
| 1970- Bed and Board | R |
| 1970- Wild Child | MS |
| 1971- Two English Girls | MS |
| 1972- Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me | R |
| 1973- Day for Night | MS |
| 1975- The Story of Adele H | HR |
| 1976- Small Change | |
| 1977- The Man Who Loved Women | R |
| 1978- The Green Room | |
| 1979- Love on the Run | R |
| 1980- The Last Metro | R |
| 1981- The Woman Next Door | R |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
@Drake- I watch films when they are leaving the streaming service. Haha. Wish it was better but yeah. Watched a few Bela Tarr films recently. The quality was not great but i was very impressed.
Hoping to watch some Greenaway and Roy Andersson in the summer. And all things James Bond.
@AP- I’m loving that summer lineup. Please report back!
@Drake- Have you had a chance to revisit Truffaut since making this page? If you don’t mind sharing, are you doing any director study right now?
Too many questions but any recent work that has caught your eye or taken you by surprise.
@AP- just 3 Truffaut film watches so far this decade: Love on the Run, Day for Night, and The Last Metro–
I’ve taken a pause from the director studies for a minute – most of what I’m watching fits into 3 categories: just new films overall, films that have slipped by me for years somehow, and about once a week I try to make sure I sit down and see something truly special (typically a must-see or masterpiece category film)
How about you?
Is it crazy to say that Truffaut is cinema’s greatest editor, or at least the greatest post-Eisenstein?
My ranking of Truffaut`s films that I`ve seen:
1. Jules and Jim MP
2. The 400 Blows MP
3. Shoot the Piano Player MP
4. Day for Night MS
5. Two English Girls MS
6. The Story of Adele H. HR/MS
7. The Wild Child HR/MS
8. The Last Metro HR
9. Mississippi Mermaid R
10 Best Performances
1. Moreau- Jules and Jim
2. Leaud- The 400 Blows
3. Adjani- The Story of Adele H.
4. Werner- Jules and Jim
5. Aznavour- Shoot the Piano Player
6. Deneuve- The Last Metro
7. Leaud- Two English Girls
8. Deneuve- Mississippi Mermaid
9. Depardieu- The Last Metro
10. Belmondo- Mississippi Mermaid
Would recommend The Soft Skin and Stolen Kisses if you have not seen them yet.
And the Woman Next Door
@ RujK – thank you for the clean up help on the freeze frame. I think you are right.
“I feel about Truffaut like I feel about Ed Wood. I think he’s a very passionate, bumbling amateur.”
— Tarantino
@Alt Mash- haha I saw this. Harsh. Clearly QT is team Godard (actually I think he’s praising Claude Chabrol as the context here).
The 400 Blows MP
Shoot the Piano Player MS
Jules and Jim MP
Fahrenheit 451 —
Stolen Kisses R
The Bride Who Wore Black R
Mississippi Mermaid R
Bed and Board R
Wild Child MS
Two English Girls HR
Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me —
Day for Night MS
The Story of Adele H R
Small Change —
The Man Who Loved Women R
The Green Room R
Love on the Run R
The Last Metro R
The Woman Next Door MS
I know ur not asking me, but ima state my opinion anyways
I dont really think you should factor how influential a film is into its overall quality at all. Sure its worth noting, and is important to the artists identity, but being influential in itself doesnt reflect quality at all. Hell, The Avengers has proven to be pretty influential to cinema in the last decade but that doesnt mean its good. Even in terms developing new techniques, just developing them doesnt really reflect quality, but if you can master said technique at the same time as creating it, thats another story. The 400 blows isnt good BECAUSE of what it pioneered, it is good AND it pioneered. That being said, when films are influential, they do end up ranking higher on many lists. I think drake mentioned at one point that Germany Year Zero would probably be considered better if it came out before Rome Open City, same goes for the 400 blows if it came out after Jules and Jim id bet (it seems the general consensus on most other sites is the 400 blows is better)
This was a reply to pedro, idk if it worked
@Big chungus – Thank you for your reply. I agree completely, it shouldn’t matter. I’m just curious as to what Drake thinks, and, on top of that, I’m having trouble seeing how The 400 Blows is a top 60 film without this little push (having basically started the French New Wave).
@Pedro @Big chungus and @James Trapp- great work here all the way around from all three of you. The 400 Blows has been moving up my last for the last 20 years. I remember sort of shrugging when I first caught it. I have it sitting just outside of my top 50 right now. I do not have a page for it yet- and James Trapp makes a very good case for it here. I’ll just echo the brilliance of that final shot– it lingers– it is just a wallop of an ending.
Ive actually only seen it once, as with most films to be completely honest, and at first i didnt really understand the hype, but in the last year it has just shot up my list. Its just so good
I used to have jules and jim solidly better, but now… im not so sure. I havent actually ranked it out, but im almost certain its top 40-50
I see the influence (especially on wes anderson), but thats never really factored into my opinion of it. Id say breathless has alot more tangible impact on film as a medium
Drake, how much weight do you put on a film’s pioneer-ness? How much better, for example, is The 400 Blows because it started (debatable, but still) the French New Wave?
Pedro i wrote a reply to this, but idk if it posted properly
Final Ranking and Grades:
# 1 Jules and Jim, MP
# 2 The 400 Blows, MP
# 3 Shoot the Piano Player, MP
# 4 Day for Night, MP
# 5 The Story of Adele H, MS
# 6 Two English Girls, MS
# 7 The Last Metro, MS/HR
# 8 Wild Child, MS/HR
# 9 Stolen Kisses, HR
# 10 Bed and Board, HR
# 11 Fahrenheit 451, HR
# 12 Mississippi Mermaid, HR
# 13 The Soft Skin, HR
# 14 Love on the Run, R/HR
# 15 The Woman Next Door, R
# 16 Antoine and Colette, R
Study Summary:
This was a really enjoyable study, they all are, but this especially. Truffaut finds the perfect combination of drama, comedy, suspense, and romance. You wouldn’t exactly call him a genre film director, although he dabbles in noir with Shoot the Piano Player (which is an overlooked gem). His films are largely blends with some experimentation such as The Wild Child which has a documentary level of precision to it. There are historical dramas such as The Last Metro with political infused into the plot (probably not his greatest strength but I admire the efforts none the less). Truffaut is a tremendous editor as noted on this page. He uses dissolve edits as well as anyone other than Coppola. He also uses iris shots more frequently than other directors I’ve noticed. He also can make beautiful films such as Two English Girls, The Story of Adele H, and to a slightly lesser degree The Last Metro.
He certainly is a true cinephile always throwing in references to cinema in his films as well as artists in general. Many of his characters are writers, painters, singers, actors/actresses, etc. Day for Night is the ultimate example of this of course and his final MP in my opinion. Romance including love triangles are a specialty of his. The Antoine Doinel series gives Truffaut something that really none of the other auteurs have (at least the ones I’ve covered so far) and even though only The 400 Blows is the only MP, the series as a whole is a phenomenal character study. It also becomes more comedic as the series progresses.
As much as I love Godard’s Breathless (1960), undoubtably, one of the greatest films ever, in my book Truffaut has the 2 best films of The French New Wave. The only question is which is better between The 400 Blows and Jules and Jim and to be honest the second I post this I will probably instantly regret my ranking. They are so close I want to rule a tie if only for the fact that I consider that a bit of a cop out. For now I will still go with Jules and Jim, but I came very close to putting The 400 Blows at # 1
@James Trapp- great work putting this together- I’m be excited to revisit them all but Day for Night especially given the lofty spot here.
@James Trapp. Would personally place both The Soft Skin and Stolen Kisses as MS, but great summary.
The Woman Next Door (1981)
Notes:
Truffaut starts off with great helicopter shot
1:10 dissolve edit leading to woman who runs tennis club narrates and appears to break 4th wall, I cannot remember if he does this in any of the prior films
Married couple; Philippe and Mathilde move into new house and by chance their new neighbors are Bernard and Arlette; Bernard and Mathilde had affair years earlier
7:53 Truffaut demonstrating his inner Hitchcock with high camera angle resembling surveillance as Mathilde looks out window and camera pulls back
21:15 chance meeting between the Bernard and Mathilde at supermarket
26:44 the most suburban setting of any Truffaut film; tennis clubs, perfectly mowed green grass, upper middle-class house
33 min drama increasing with phone messages, secret meetings, etc.
52:12 Bernard looking out the window, again high camera angle resembling surveillance
55:40 Bernard acknowledges he has been surveilling Mathilde’s house, noting exact times
59:32 what would a Truffaut film be without at least one scene at a Cinema
67 min the rising tension finally boils over
1:23:48 Mathilde has borderline panic attack and retreats to grass to try to hide
Thoughts:
Last film on the study, this has gone fast
This has the atmosphere of a Claude Chabrol film
I suppose you could even label this a character study of sorts along with obviously being a thriller although the thriller trajectory is altered once the truth comes out approximately 2/3 into the movie
It’s interesting how much more casual French characters seem to be regarding finding out about a spouse having an affair in comparison to American characters, this is just an observation from French films I’ve seen I am not making any type of moral statement about French people to be clear (or Americans for that matter)
Ends how you would expect many similarities to The Soft Skin although this is more of a thriller
The thriller elements do become deflated once the affair becomes known
I don’t think it’s one of his stronger films but would definitely still recommend
Verdict: R
The Last Metro (1980)
Notes:
Truffaut into the 80s, set in the world of theatre
Starts off with historical images and narrator explaining the Nazi occupation of France in September of 1942
6 min dull green and gray in mise-en-scene in the streets
Inside the theater frequent use of lighter shades of red
9:30 nice silhouette through the door
15:30 first use of close-up shots of faces (I think)
17 min darker red used
21:12 brief use of shallow focus
25:20 best shot of film so far, museum quality of Bernard smoking in a bar with
26:28 great frame within frame of Marion (played by the always great Catherine Deneuve)
36:45 great frame within frame at same bar
56 min Lucas finds way to direct while remaining anonymous
57 min great camera movement following the sound from theatre to the basement where Lucas listens on
58 min effective low angle shots of performance
The theater as a haven from politics becomes threatened
1:10:07 nice composition with Lucas in foreground next to green lantern and Marion in background coming down staircase
1:11:20 high angle shot of theater, nice use of lighting
1:15:20 magnificent shot of stage with singer and with multiple layers of depth of field of violinists, there is a shot that reminded me of the famous shot from Blue Velvet of Isabella Rossellini singer the theme song (maybe not THAT level of beauty but still)
1:36:52 newspapers in the mise-en-scene
1:41:48 great window shot during rainstorm following fight started by Bernard who shoves Daxiat
1:47:50 Marion
Thoughts:
Another period drama from Truffaut, this one set in France in 1942 during Nazi occupation
The theater serves as a sort of self-contained world shielding them from the outside world, even if this is an illusion
Strong use of color particularly the various shades of red
From Roger Ebert:
“Francois Truffaut says he wanted to satisfy, three “longtime dreams” by making “The Last Metro.” He wanted to take the camera backstage in a theater, to evoke the climate of the Nazi occupation of France, and, to give Catherine Deneuve the role of a responsible woman. He has achieved the first and third dreams, but he has not evoked the Occupation well enough to make “The Last Metro” more than a sentimental fantasy.”
I think I liked this better than Ebert, but I somewhat agree with him regarding the portrayal of the occupation. Part of this is due to the way the theater effectively serves as a sort of haven from the problems of the outside world. Truffaut does try to create an atmosphere of paranoia a la Polanski but this this not really his strength
Still he creates the world of the theater effectively and there are some absolutely gorgeous shots along with terrific performances and an engaging story
Verdict: HR/MS
Love on the Run (1979)
Notes:
Final film in the Antoine Doinel series, 20 years since The 400 Blows and 9 years since
Starts off with Antoine waking up with a woman, Sabine Barnerias (played by Dorothée), and trying to take off before the woman tackles him from behind leading to a sexual encounter while the credits roll, an appropriate beginning to the final film in the series
Even at 35 Jean-Pierre Léaud since has his youthful looks
7:12 window shot
Frequent flashbacks to prior films
Colette returns after seeing Antoine by chance
22 min Colette buys a book written by Antoine
I love this exchange at 25:37 Antoine to kid with instrument
Antoine: “If you practice hard, you’ll be a great musician”
Kid: “What if I don’t
Antoine: “If you don’t, you’ll wind up a music critic”
Great dissolve edits around starting at 32:12 as Colette reads Antoine’s book, which appears to be an autobiography, interesting given that the entire series is a sort of semi-autobiographical
52 min Colette fed up with Antoine’s selfishness
58 min love letters, a frequent Truffaut trope
1:02:42 Antoine meets up with the man he witnessed his mother kissing on the streets in The 400 Blows
1:07:37 nice dissolve edit of Antoine’s mother at cemetery
1:15:50 Truffaut sure likes including cinemas in his films
Thoughts:
Obviously, this film was made as a way to provide closure for the Antoine Doinel character but also to wrap up the various narrative threads throughout the series
Truffaut’s Antoine Doinel series gives him something that none of the other top auteurs really have, it is such a personal series and provides a unique level of introspection through his favorite actor/doppelganger/Jean-Pierre Léaud
Verdict: R/HR
The Story of Adele H (1975)
Notes:
Starts off with paintings in background of opening credits
3:40 beautiful shot of Adele H in Halifax, Nova Scotia during misty night along port
11:50 Adele writing love letter to Albert Pinson, Truffaut sure has a fondness for love letters in his films
16 min fascinating edits during dream/nightmare that Adele has of her drowning after her love letters are ignored
19:14 Adele talking to herself in mirror, another common Truffaut trait
27 min Adele does not take rejection well as Albert is not interested anymore
31 min Adele spying on Albert, some great window shots
40:20 great frame
50:48 gorgeous dissolve edit of Adele’s face moving across the water as Adele narrates the letter to her parents
54 min amazing shot of Albert Pinson with screen split using doorway frame
Adele gets increasingly desperate to the point of stalking Albert and even consulting with a hypnotis
1:19:47 another amazing dissolve edit
1:21:44 great close up shot of Adele’s face surrounded by darkness, isolation
1:28:34 gorgeous shot using flowers in mise-en-scene in Barbados
1:30:46 great shot of Adele silhouette walking through door during daytime
1:31:55 Adele walking though streets, isolation
Film ends with epilogue and black and white photos
Thoughts:
Another period drama from Truffaut that similar to Jules and Jim and Two English Girls, this focuses on love stories involving either love triangles or unrequited love
Truffaut’s characters are often artists whether writers, painters, poets, or even actors/actresses
Apparently, Truffaut wanted to retire from directing and write novels but sadly passed away before he had the chance to
Truffaut does dissolve edits as well as any other director I’ve seen aside from Coppola
This works as a sort of hybrid character study and historical drama
This may be the bleakest Truffaut film; it is quite fascinating in showing the mental deterioration of Adele
At 96 min this film is lean
Verdict: MS
@James will you be getting to The Last Metro when you hit the 80s?
@Harry – It is next on my list, I just finished The Antoine Doinel series. I have 2 films left for this study, The Last Metro and The Woman Next Door. I could not find The Bride Who Wore Black (1968) or Pocket Money (1976) so perhaps I will seek those out later but for now I am near the end.
What do you think of The Last Metro?
Day for Night (1973)
Notes:
Truffaut starts with tracking shot of the movie set
While this film has his favorite actor/doppelganger/Jean-Pierre Léaud it is overall more of a ensemble cast
Truffaut himself plays the fictional directing who is directing the movie within the movie
10:30 tracking shot through the hallway
14:56 already more close up shots than prior Truffaut films
17:20 the cast watches their progress in a filming room on a projector
25:30 director bombarded with requests, reminds me of 8 ½
28:40 camera gliding across room
30 min multiple takes in a row with actress messing up each time, dedication to showing the film making process
36 min zoom out to shot overlooking the crew shooting a scene near a pool and zoom in on director
39 min Julie Baker (played by Jacqueline Bisset) makes superstar entrance
Truffaut’s character purchases a set of books on the films of Bresson, Hitchcock, Hawks, and Godard, later he has a conversation where he mentions the Godfather is playing at a local cinema
Great editing starting a 1:02:20 as we see a series of shots of characters preparing
1:03:45 great window shot during rainfall, great use of frame
1:05:00 dream sequence of Truffaut’s character
1:11:20 series of overhead shots
1:19:12 great dissolve edits between Truffaut’s character sleeping and his dream which includes a kid stealing a Citizen Kane poster
1:46:00 “what I feared a production halted by an actor’s death” sounds so insensitive but it stays true to the film which really aims to show the numerous issues that need to be dealt with
1:46:50 great doorway frame
1:49:15 the creation of fake snow
Thoughts:
What could be a better subject for a cinephile like Truffaut than a movie about making a movie
I love this Truffaut quote:
“Today, I demand that a film express either the joy of making cinema or the agony of making cinema. I am not at all interested in anything in between; I am not interested in all those films that do not pulse.”
This film achieves something unusual; it demystifies filmmaking by showing the process in high levels of detail including all the things an average fan wouldn’t think about such as dealing with insurance companies when an actor/actress is hurt or killed, how to deal with an actor/actress who refuses to do something not in their contract, and other business-related issues as well as all the psychological aspects of directing actors/actresses and the creation of sets and much more. Despite all the tedious details the film still manages to make the world of movies feel magical and enticing
Heavy use of tracking shots and close ups on the actors, this is a very intimate film as it gives you the feeling you are there experiencing everything, documentary level of precision
The energy of this film is contagious, rarely a moment to rest as the narrative pushes along
Camera movement and ensemble cast feels like an Altman film such as Nashville (1975)
While I don’t think it’s the same level of MP as his The 400 Blows, Shoot the Piano Player, and Jules and Jim, I still think it is a MP
Verdict: MP
Two English Girls (1971) *directors cut
Notes:
Truffaut returns to an adaptation of a Henri-Pierre Roché novel, the same author who wrote Jules and Jim, opens with shots of the book covered with notes
For the lead role Truffaut returns his favorite actor/doppelganger/Jean-Pierre Léaud, here he is playing Claude
Truffaut serves as the narrator here
5:36 a gorgeous dissolve edit
5:56 beautiful shot of Claude riding bike along coast
9:02 museum quality shot
15:08 gorgeous composition followed by iris shot
25 min love triangle is forming
28:18 strong use of color with blue wall and blue lighting
31:15 Claude literally in the middle of the sisters while they talk along coastline
50:40 gorgeous shot of Claude and his mother having lunch along a lake
1:01:20 nice shot through the window
Multi narrators, much of it internal during the middle of the film while Claude is separated from sisters and their main communication is through letter writing
78 min sex scene between Claude and Anne is much different from sex scenes in American films, much less exploitative
84 min great camera movement across the room from Claude waking up in bed to Anne playing piano
93 min Muriel sends Claude a letter with erotic confessions
1:38:28 shallow focus shot of Claude following death of his mother
101 min Claude and Muriel are reunited after 4 years
1:48:50 long dissolve edit during letter
Thoughts:
This is easily the most beautiful Truffaut film so far, reminds me of Tess (1980) in terms of visuals
From Roger Ebert “It’s wonderful how offhand Francois Truffaut’s best films feel. There doesn’t seem to be any great effort being made; he doesn’t push for his effects but lets them flower naturally from the simplicities of his stories. His film, TWO ENGLISH GIRLS, is very much like that. Because he doesn’t strain for an emotional tone, he can cover a larger range than the one-note movies”
I could not agree more with Ebert in the effortless nature of Truffaut’s films
Jean-Pierre Léaud is such an effortless actor
The narrative definitely moves slowly, very different from Jules and Jim
Verdict: MS
@James Trapp- Truly great work here. You’re moving quickly through these.
@Drake – appreciate the kind words. Truffaut films go down easy, like you say on this pagae “Playful and largely accessible”
I really do love the Antoine Doinel series which is probably a big reason why I’ve gone through these films so quickly