The 400 Blows by François Truffaut at BFI

Hailed as the greatest debut film in the history of cinema, The 400 Blows (1959) will be on an extended run at BFI Southbank for two months across January - February 2022 as part of the François Truffaut: For the Love of Films season. 

The beautiful and heartfelt film follows a few months in the life of Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) who seeks refuse in truancy, petty crime and the cinema from his misunderstood and neglectful parents as well as repressive schoolteachers. One of the great films about childhood, it is back on the big screen in cinemas UK-wide in a new 4K restoration on 7 January 2022. The release is the first of two BFI Distribution releases of key films by François Truffaut as part of the BFI’s UK-wide celebration of the director during January and February. Jules et Jim (1962) will be released in cinemas UK-wide on 4 February.

The French title of “going for broke” which has been over translated into English, perfectly sets out Antoine’s rebellion against rigid social norms, breaking out from the confinement of stifling classrooms or his parents’ cramped flat, and is exhilaratingly captured in Henri Decaë’s lyrical location shooting on the streets of Paris, mostly around the Montmartre area where the director himself grew up. 

Opens at BFI Southbank, HOME Manchester, Ciné Lumière, Broadway Nottingham and selected cinemas UK-wide from 7 January 2022. The 400 Blows will also be released on Blu-Ray in the spring, presented with contextualising extras and an illustrated booklet in their first pressings.

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