The 400 Blows 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

The 400 Blows 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 21, 2025

François Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" (1959) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include two archival audio commentaries; multiple archival programs with Francois Truffaut; screen tests; the short film "Antoine and Colette"; trailers; and more. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Note: The text below was first used in our review of Criterion's first Blu-ray release of The 400 Blows in 2009.

Twelve-year-old Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud, Masculin Féminin) is a troublemaker. He skips school and goes to the movies, steals, lies, and runs away from home. But he wants to be good -- he takes care of the garbage and helps his stepfather cook. Occasionally, he even tries to get his homework done.

At school, Antoine isn’t liked. His teacher (Guy Decombie, Bob le Flambeur) is convinced that the boy is always up to no good and routinely reminds him that he is keeping an eye on him. Antoine doesn’t like his teacher either. The two argue a lot, and Antoine often ends up standing alone in front of the classroom board.

Antoine’s mother (Claire Maurier, La Cage aux Folles) isn’t too fond of her son either. She is also having an affair with another man, who treats her in a way her husband doesn't. Because she has grown tired of the tiny apartment the Doinel family shares, she spends as much time away from it as possible. Antoine’s stepfather does not know about his wife’s affair and believes that she works a lot to provide for the family.

While away from school, Antoine accidentally sees his mother with her lover. He does not reveal to his stepfather what he has seen, but makes it clear to his mother that he knows about her affair. Then, for a short period of time, things change for the better, and the Doinel family becomes closer.

But it is not long before Antoine's antics again create drama, a serious one, too. He is caught stealing and quickly sent to a correctional facility. There, surrounded by other troublemakers, he becomes angry, and so do his parents. Then, as time passes, Antoine learns about life, responsibility, and dignity. Eventually, he earns his freedom, but not the forgiveness of his parents.

François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows chronicles a young boy’s struggle to become independent in a world ruled by adults. We begin to feel about Antoine the moment we see him. We immediately understand what his heart desires, but we also realize that he cannot outsmart those he disagrees with. Then gradually, we come to the realization that he is a doomed rebel.

Like all great coming-of-age films, The 400 Blows boasts memorable images that linger with us long after the end credits roll. There are sequences in it that are so beautiful, we don’t want the main characters to utter their lines and disrupt the magic. At times, it feels almost as if we have discovered a painting that has suddenly come alive.

Dedicated to the great André Bazin -- a close friend of Truffaut and founder of Cahiers du Cinema, the influential French film magazine -- The 400 Blows is also an incredibly tender film. Even though Antoine experiences so many disappointments, we rarely see him looking bitter. On the contrary, he finds humor in his failures and smiles at those who punish him. We do not detect a sense of guilt through his actions either.

I saw The 400 Blows rather late, after I had already seen Louis Malle’s Le Souffle au Coeur a.k.a. Murmur of the Heart, another terrific coming-of-age film. For reasons I’d rather not discuss, I ended up attending a special screening where The 400 Blows was shown to a select few, dubbed in a foreign language. I doubt those who were in the screening room with me understood what it was supposed to convey. Later, I recall many of them openly dismissing it as a naive and childish film about a boy who couldn’t stay away from trouble. For me, The 400 Blows was a revelation. The final sequence, where Antoine looks at the ocean and then runs into the water, overjoyed by his newly found freedom, stayed with me for years. It also inspired me to break free of the world I could not tolerate.

The 400 Blows 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of The 400 Blows is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Screencaptures #1-20 are from The 400 Blows presented on Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #25-31 are from Antoine and Colette presented on Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #33-37 are from The 400 Blows presented on 4K Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #38-40 are from Antoine and Colette presented on 4K Blu-ray.

The release introduces the recent 4K restoration of The 400 Blows, completed at Eclair Classics on behalf of MK2. Also included is a new 4K restoration of Antoine and Colette, which was completed at Eclair Classics on behalf of MK2 as well. In native 4K, the 4K restorations of The 400 Blows and Antoine and Colette can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I viewed both with HDR and later spent time with their 1080p presentations on the Blu-ray.

In 2020, we reviewed this Region-B Blu-ray release of the 4K restoration of The 400 Blows, produced by the British Film Institute. Unfortunately, this presentation had some quite obvious and serious issues introduced by gamma anomalies. On this combo pack release, in native 4K and 1080p, the gamma anomalies are not present. As a result, various sections of the film look significantly better. On my system, some of the more obvious improvements are in darker areas with restricted light, but even the classroom footage at the beginning of the film, which has quite a bit of natural light, looks significantly more convincing. If you compare this screencapture from the 1080p presentation of the 4K restoration on the combo pack and this screencapture from the Region-B Blu-ray release, you should get a pretty good idea what type of improvements to expect. Additionally, when viewed in native 4K, the 4K restoration produces visuals with a better dynamic range, which is quite a bit better than the compromised dynamic range of the visuals from the Region-B Blu-ray release. However, I prefer how the 4K restoration looks in native 4K without HDR, so I turned it off. (I also tested the Dolby Vision grade). It is primarily because the HDR grade darkens and flattens some smaller nuances, which are already less than optimal because of the quality of the original elements. Image stability is very good. I did several comparisons with Criterion's original Blu-ray from 2009. The 4K restoration produces better density levels in native 4K and 1080p. However, in terms of delineation and depth, I think that there are some rather surprising trade-offs. For example, in select areas of the old presentation, it is easier to see different ranges of subtle nuances. On the other hand, on a large screen, the older presentation clearly produces looser grain, some of which makes select visuals slightly less attractive than those produced by the 4K restoration.

The 400 Blows 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 400 Blows and Antoine and Colette are presented with French LPCM 1.0 tracks. Optional English subtitles are provided for both. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

Both tracks are excellent. However, on The 400 Blows, in certain areas with outdoor footage, small unevenness can be noticed. Elsewhere, the audio can become a bit thin, too. However, these are inherited limitations, not digital anomalies introduced during the restoration process. The dialogue is always very easy to follow. The English translation is excellent.

The 400 Blows 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Antoine and Colette (1962) - this short initially appeared in the sketch film Love at Twenty, which also featured segments by Andrzej Wajda, Marcel Ophuls, Renzo Rossellini, and Shintaro Ishihara. In the short, a slightly older Antoine, who has found a job in the warehouse of a large record company, accidentally meets Colette (played by the beautiful Marie-France Pisier) during a concert and falls madly in love with her. A 4K restoration completed at Eclair Classics on behalf of MK2. Presented in native 4K with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. In French, with optional English subtitles. (31 min).

• Commentary One - this archival audio commentary was recorded by film scholar Brian Stonehill in 1992. It has appeared on other home video releases of The 400 Blows produced by Criterion, including the first Blu-ray release of the film from 2009.

• Commentary Two - this archival audio commentary was recorded by critic Robert Lachenay, a close friend of Francois Truffaut. It has appeared on other home video releases of The 400 Blows produced by Criterion, including the first Blu-ray release of the film from 2009. In French, with English subtitles.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Antoine and Colette (1962) - this short initially appeared in the sketch film Love at Twenty, which also featured segments by Andrzej Wajda, Marcel Ophuls, Renzo Rossellini, and Shintaro Ishihara. In the short, a slightly older Antoine, who has found a job in the warehouse of a large record company, accidentally meets Colette (played by the beautiful Marie-France Pisier) during a concert and falls madly in love with her. A 4K restoration completed at Eclair Classics on behalf of MK2. In French, with optional English subtitles. (31 min).

• Commentary One - this archival audio commentary was recorded by film scholar Brian Stonehill in 1992. It has appeared on other home video releases of The 400 Blows produced by Criterion, including the first Blu-ray release of the film from 2009.

• Commentary Two - this archival audio commentary was recorded by critic Robert Lachenay, a close friend of Francois Truffaut. It has appeared on other home video releases of The 400 Blows produced by Criterion, including the first Blu-ray release of the film from 2009. In French, with English subtitles.

• Les Mistons/The Mischief Makers (1957) - Francois Truffaut directed this short film in 1957 for his new production company. It follows five boys who are obsessed with a beautiful young woman already in a romantic relationship. The short can be viewed with an archival audio commentary by assistant director Claude de Givray. Also included is a video essay by film critic and documentarian Serge Toubiana. Fully remastered. In French, with English subtitles. (19 min).

• Auditions - presented here are several 16mm screen tests featuring Jean-Pierre Leaud, Patrick Auffay, and Richard Kanayan. In French, with English subtitles. (7 min).

• Cannes, 1959 - presented here is a newsreel excerpt from Francois Chalais and Jacque Planche's episode of Reflets de Cannes, highlighting the reception of The 400 Blows at the Cannes Film Festival in 1959. In French, with English subtitles. (6 min).

• Cineastes de notre temps - presented here is an excerpt from an archival episode of the French television program Cineastes de notre temps in which Francois Truffaut addresses The 400 Blows, Antoine and Colette, and his working methods. The episode was broadcast on December 2, 1965. In French, with English subtitles. (23 min).

• Cinepanorama - presented here is an excerpt from an archival episode of the French television program Cinepanorama in which host France Roche discusses The 400 Blows with Francois Truffaut. The episode was broadcast on February 20, 1960. In French, with English subtitles. (7 min).

• Portrait of Francois Truffaut - presented here is an excerpt from the documentary Portrait of Francois Truffaut, produced by Serge Leroy in 1961, in which Francois Truffaut discusses The 400 Blows. In French, with English subtitles. (25 min).

• Trailer One - presented here is an original theatrical trailer for The 400 Blows. In French, with English subtitles. (4 min).

• Trailer Two - presented here is a trailer for the recent 4K restoration of The 400 Blows. In French, with English subtitles. (1 min).

ADDITIONAL CONTENT

• Booklet - 50-page illustrated booklet featuring essays by Annette Insdorf, Kent Jones, Andrew Sarris, Noah Baumbach, and Chris Fujiwara, and a 1971 piece by Francois Truffaut, as well as technical credits.

The 400 Blows 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When a few years ago the British Film Institute introduced the 4K restoration of The 400 Blows on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom, it was obvious that something had gone wrong because there were serious gamma anomalies on the presentation, causing a variety of problems. Criterion brings the same 4K restoration to 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray, without the gamma anomalies, and both presentations are far more convincing. The 400 Blows is included in The Adventures of Antoine Doinel, an eight-disc 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray set. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.