be careful. dont forget about “la peau douce”. thats a brilliant, brilliant film from truffaut. never given the attention it deserves. the film hit so many familiar places for me.
so if you add that to the other truffauts you listed, he’s had a lot of great films in his career.
@Mekka, re: “It seems that among cinephiles it’s very unfashionable at the moment. Maybe it’s popularity will rise again in the future or maybe it’s always been overrated.”
It’s interesting how that happens, isn’t it? I actually think it’s a good thing for people to re-assess what here is often called “the canon”, as it helps reiterate and redefine the ways in which cinema operates through various audiences’ eyes.
—PolarisDiB
To chime in on Truffaut….. 400 Blows is one of the most exquisite humanist films ever made. To see it and not be moved is incomprehensible to me…. mon dieu! I put it in the top 10 list we did last month or so…. it’s a timeless, deep well of human experience.
Nothing Godard made has moved me so, but he’s the other side of the same coin… broadly, a bit more cynical intellect to Truffaut’s warmth and engagement. Like Lennon and McCartney, I love them both.
Dave-Agreed.
I think Breathless is a legitimate classic, but it took many viewings, close examination, and years of studying to see exactly why and how it was great (it is one of those few films that changes in my mind almost ever time I watch it).
You can’t watch these films once (on video, on a television) and expect for them to live up to their reputations. It usually takes time and exploration before one can say such things with any justification.
Brandon Bedaw
Dave, while I love 400 Blows (and really, the entire Doinel cycle), Jules & Jim, and Shoot the Piano Player, I think that’s the extent of Truffaut’s career as a truly great filmmaker. The majority of his films are mediocre at best, and most of them forgettable.
He had a couple great films in him, and he continued making decent work within the world of Antoine Doinel and a few of his later films, but he certainly failed to live up to the lofty expectations bestowed upon him in his youth.
I’d actually argue that his greatest work post-Jules & Jim was his performance in Close Encounters.