The 400 Blows Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The 400 Blows Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 8, 2022

François Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" (1959) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the disc include new program with film academic Catherine Wheatley; short films; screen tests; promotional materials; and more. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Homeshchooling

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 the 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 become closer.

Very soon, however, Antoine is again in trouble. He is caught stealing and quickly sent to a correctional facility. He becomes angry, and so do his parents. As time goes by, Antoine then 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 talk about, I ended up attending a special screening where the film 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 on, 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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The 400 Blows arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute.

The release is sourced from a 4K master that was prepared after The 400 Blows was restored in 4K at Eclair, in France, on behalf of MK2. According to technical credits provided with the release, during the restoration process the technicians at Eclair accessed the original 35mm camera negative, and the entire project was supervised by Guillaume Schiffman, with assistance by Eric Vallee.

The technical presentation of the 4K restoration is underwhelming. In fact, there are certain aspects of the presentation that are quite problematic. While I address the presentation below, I will be referencing Curzon Artificial Eye's old Region-B release of The 400 Blows from 2014. This release offers a presentation of the film that is practically identical to the one from Criterion's release from 2009.

The 4K master reveals marginally better grain exposure and density levels. Predictably, native fluctuations that are part of the original cinematography are still quite prominent. (You can see examples in screencaptures #20 and 33). Fluidity is very difficult to judge because of the film's particular visual style, but I think that the 4K master does reveal some minor improvements. I did not see traces of problematic degraining corrections, or other similar adjustments. However, there are serious issues with the dynamic range of the visuals that produce various anomalies resembling degraining corrections. The most serious issue is the introduction of digital gray blocks that destroy native detail and compromise delineation and depth. The issue is most prominent during darker visuals that are supposed to reveal different ranges of shadow nuances, but the overall flatness that is associated with it is quite easy to observe during daylight footage as well. (Good examples can be seen in screencaptures #10, 15, 30, and 32). In very dark visuals the overall dynamic range can become extremely problematic because virtually all of the crucial nuances are compromised or simply flattened by the digital gray blocks subtle ranges of blacks. (You can see examples in screencaptures #16, 21, 22, and 23). This isn't a unique issue that affects only this 4K master. It was also present on the 4K master that was used to produce this Region-B release of Rocco and His Brothers, which was prepared at the L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory. On this release the issue is simply exaggerated more. How much native detail is lost because of it? Quite a bit, plus the flatness that is introduced in the process affects the perception of depth and ultimately gives the visuals an artificial quality. (You can see examples that highlight the loss of detail if you compare screencaptures #6 and 33 with the corresponding screencaptures from our review of Curzon Artificial Eye's release). The entire film is essentially spotless. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The 400 Blows Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The audio is crisp, sharp, and clean. The upper register sounded very healthy as well. Does the lossless track now sound better than the lossless track from the Cruzon Artificial Eye release? It is impossible for me to tell. I just viewed the film without performing any particular comparisons and thought that it was outstanding.

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

• 4K Restoration Trailer - presented here is a new British trailer for the theatrical premiere of the 4K restoration of The 400 Blows. In French and English text, with English subtitles. (2 min).

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

• Images of Paris - presenters here is archival footage with visuals from old Paris (early 1900s), taken from BFI's vaults. With music (8 min).
  
  1.Panorama Around the Eiffel Tower.
  2. Lunch on the Eiffel Tower (Topical Budget 149-1)
  3. Metropolitan Railway of Paris

• Truffaut, Bazin, Renoir: A Love Story - in this illustrated presentation, film academic Catherine Wheatley, of King's College, London, discusses Francois Truffaut's relaitonship to Andre Bazin and Jean Rnoir. The presentation was filmed during Francois Truffaut's Cinematic and Literary Influences Study Day, at BFI Southbank, on January 29, 2022. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Les Mistons (The Mischief Makers) - 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. Fully remastered. In French, with English subtitles. (19 min).

• Screen Tests - presented here is raw footage from screen tests with Jean-Pierre Leaud and Richard Kanayan. In French, with English subtitles. (7 min).

• Booklet - 26-page illustrated booklet featuring Ellen Cheshire's essay "The Greatest Film Ever Made About Childhood", Kieron McCormack's essay "Francois Truffaut", and technical credits.

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

This recent 4K restoration of The 400 Blows that was prepared in France does not appear to be the definitive makeover the film deserves. There is a very small chance that the raw 4K files are not plagued by the gamma issue -- and of course all the other troubles that are associated with it -- that is addressed in our review, which would mean that a proper 4K master is still possible to produce, but I am not optimistic we would see a different presentation of the film in the near future. The party that brings the 4K restoration to North America will almost certainly be stuck with the exact same master the BFI licensed from MK2 to produce this release. Of course, I could be wrong, but at the moment this appears to be the most likely scenario. So, my recommendation is to keep Curzon Artificial Eye's release in your library. (If you reside in the U.S., this means keeping Criterion's release in your library).