Few could have expected, the director himself
least of all, that Truffaut's ground-breaking first
film The 400 Blows would ultimately lead
to a unique cycle of four feature films and one
short that chronicle the life of a single character
through twenty years of his life. Watching the
entire 'adventures of Antoine Doinel' now, it's
never less than fascinating to see actor Jean-Pierre
Léaud, picked out of an open audition to play the
lead in Truffaut's feature debut, age along with
his co-stars, many of whom return at various stages
throughout the cycle.
The 400 Blows was one of the first films
to be released on DVD by The Criterion Collection,
and it has now long been a valuable out-of-print
title fetching high prices on auction sites. But
finally, a long-absent special edition has been
returned to us, packaged in a glorious box set
that contains all the films in the cycle along
with a veritable smorgasbord of extras, including
commentaries, documentaries, rare audition and
newsreel footage, and excellent interviews with
Truffaut and his collaborators spanning the better
part of two decades. Designed as a suitcase carrying
shirts that resemble the various costumes worn
by actor Jean-Pierre Léaud in the various films,
the gorgeously detailed design is truly second
to none, and while the features might not each
be honest-to-goodness masterpieces when taken on
their own, the unique chronicle as a whole along
with its production history makes this an essential
addition to any movie lover's collection.
The
Adventures of Antoine Doinel - The Criterion
Collection
