The 400 Blows Film Analysis

Based off Charles Webb’s 1963 novel by the same name, The Graduate is an American romantic comedy/drama released in the United States on December 21, 1967 starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, and William Daniels. The film was directed by Mike Nichols, produced by Lawrence Turman and the screenplay written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham. The film was produced by Lawrence Turman/Mike Nichols productions starting in March of 1967. Mike Nichols has also directed other well known films such as Catch-22 (1970), Working Girl (1988), and more recently Closer (2004). The film was distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures nationally and United Artists internationally. AVCO Embassy Pictures studio, founded by Joseph E. Levine, the films executive producer, also claims production/distribution for other hit films such as Godzilla, King of Monsters! (1956), The Fog (1980), and Prom Night (1980). The movie was well received due to its $104 million dollar box office opening tab. The score was produced by Dave Grusin and the songs written by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.

During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that,

In 1959- early 1960 five directors released debut feature length films that are widely regarded as heralding the start of the French nouvelle vague or French New Wave. Claude Chabrols Le Beau Serge (The Good Serge, 1959) and Les Cousins (The Cousins, 1959) were released, along with Francois Truffauts Les Quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows, 1959), Jean-Luc Godards A bout de souffle (Breathless, 1960) and Alain Resnais Hiroshima mon amour (Hiroshima my love, 1959). These films were the beginning of a revolution in French cinema. In the following years these directors were to follow up their debuts, while other young directors made their first features, in fact between 1959-63 over 170 French directors made their debut

Imagine having to face impossible odds, if failed, would kill you. This is exactly what the Spartans had to face when they were protecting their home. The movie 300, directed by Zack Snyder tells the story of the courage and solidarity of King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and his army of three hundred Spartans who fought the army of King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his colossal Persian army to their deaths. In 300, producers cover the Spartan life, the Spartan women, and the Battle of Thermopylae.

Alfred Hitchcock is widely regarded as a prime example of an auteur, a theory that emerged in the 1950s by Truffaut, in the ‘politique des auteurs’ of Cahiers du Cinema (Tudor 121). The auteur theory, as defined by Andrew Tudor, is premised on the assumption that “any director creates his films on the basis of a central structure”(140) and thus, if you consider their films in relation to each other, commonalities can be found within them. These commonalities work to demonstrate the view of the director as “the true creator of the film” (Tudor 122). Evidence of an auteur can be found in examining a director’s creative tendencies, in their distinctive themes and motifs, stylistic choices,

The term Auteur seems to bless a privileged group of filmmakers with an almost messiah-like legacy. Men such as Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford and Fritz Lange are believed to inhabit the ranks of the cinematic elite, and not surprisingly most critics are more than willing to bestow upon them the title of Auteur. By regarding filmmaking as yet another form of art, Auteur theory stipulates that a film is the direct result of its director's genius. With the emerging prominence of auteur based criticism in the 1950?s, the role of the director became increasingly integral to a film's success. However most would argue that this form of criticism didn't reach its apex until 1960s, when Andrew Sarris released his

The French New Wave was a style of film used during the 1950s through the mid 1960s by French directors such as Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. During the French New Wave, directors used an independent style of filmmaking called cinéma-vérité to portray a very realistic outlook on the lives of people who were living in France during the era of the New French Wave. In Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows, we see right away in the opening scene a prime example of cinéma-vérité. The opening scene depicts the view of a young, mischievous child Antoine Doinel, looking out of a car window while driving through the beautiful city of Paris, France. We see the elegant buildings along the side streets of Paris while seeing the Eiffel Tower in

This film analysis will delineate the diverse directorial decisions of The French New Wave cinema movement, and how they have been utilised and developed to challenge and subvert the typical Hollywood filmmaking conventions and techniques of the 1950s and 60s Hollywood cinema, in François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (1959). Hollywood produced films of the time used a very limited variation in film techniques such as camera, acting, mise-en-scene, editing and sound. This can be mainly attributed to the low innovative thought of creative and expressive camera movements, angles, etc… due to technological hindrances. In particular, this film analysis will de-construct the filmmaking elements of the revelatory French New Wave movement in Truffaut’s The 400 Blows ending scene (01:34:42 – 01:39:32) portraying the main character Antoine Doinel’s escape from juvie and trek to the bespoken beach.

The French New Wave, or Nouvelle Vague, is among the most revolutionary film eras in the history of cinema. Spurred as a result of major shifts in economic, social and technological norms within post-WW11 France, the New Wave conceived a renewed mode of expression across various creative industries. Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (1959) and Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (1960) are two films, which despite major disparities, would go on to exemplify integral characteristics of the movement in the following years. Perhaps, the best way to truly appreciate the fervor of New Wave cinema is to examine the context of its inception. Both the stylistic and thematic qualities of French New Wave works directly reflect the implicit values, virtues and vices possessed by the emerging youth culture of the late 1950s, which consequently posed a fundamental challenge to the institutions, ideas and attitudes of the past.

The movie is based upon a graphic novel by Frank Miller (of comic book fame). They are both based upon a one of the most famous battles in the Persian Wars (492 - 449 BC), The Battle of Thermopylae.

In this essay I will be discussing five key points throughout Post Production history between the 1900s-1960s. Post Production is seen as a vital component in the cinematic industry as it essentially finalises the final products. Techniques that have been developed over the years are incredibly important, but they all have an origin. Although these techniques started out without overwhelming effect, they are now unbelievably crucial to how films are constructed. The five points I wish to discuss go as follows: The Great Train Robbery and Edwin Porter himself, D.W. Griffith and his overwhelming influence on editing, The Jazz Singer, the Kuleshov Effect and finally, 2001: A Space Odyssey. As well as discussing these key factors, this essay will take into consideration secondary material.

Since the inception of the motion picture, business has served as the primary influence on the entertainment industry. Although film allows for freedom and experimentation within storytelling techniques, the classical Hollywood cinema style emerged as the front runner of cinema; it told a story, it made money, and it entertained. However, this became stagnant and formulaic, artists not only wanted to entertain, but to provoke and inspire viewers. This mindset is what inspired cinematic innovation within the post-war period— art movements such as the French New Wave and Italian neo-realism emerged. Filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard rejected the traditional conventions of cinematography, editing and structure and chose to create their own.

The romantic idea of the auteur is described by film theoretician, André Bazin, observing the film form as an idealistic phenomenon. Through the personal factor in artistic creation as a standard reference, Bazin primarily refers to an essential literary and romantic conception of the artist as central. He considers the relationship between film aesthetics and reality more important than the director itself and places cinema above paintings. He described paintings as a similar ethical creation to film stating a director ‘can be valued according to its measurements and the celebrity of the signature, the objective quality of the work itself was formerly held in much higher esteem.’ (Bazin, 1967: 250). Bazin contemplates the historical and social aspects that indeed hinder a director’s retribution to their own personalised film, thus en-companying their own ideological judgement upon the world ‘more so in cinema where the sociological and historical cross-currents are countless.’ (Bazin, 1967: 256)

In 1959- early 1960 five directors released debut feature length films that are widely regarded as heralding the start of the French nouvelle vague or French New Wave. Claude Chabrols Le Beau Serge (The Good Serge, 1959) and Les Cousins (The Cousins, 1959) were released, along with Francois Truffauts Les Quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows, 1959), Jean-Luc Godards A bout de souffle (Breathless, 1960) and Alain Resnais Hiroshima mon amour (Hiroshima my love, 1959). These films were the beginning of a revolution in French cinema. In the following years these directors were to follow up their debuts, while other young directors made their first features, in fact between 1959-63 over 170 French directors made their debut films. These films

They knew a lot about film theory and history but not a lot about film production. This allowed them to experiment and try new ways to make films. They also began to break traditional rules in filmmaking.”(Tu) At first audiences were confused by this new style, but now many of the innovative conventions of the French New Wave are normal cinematic devices that we all understand today, like the jump-cut, long take, voice over and handheld location shooting. The 400 Blows, is not a film one is going to understand while watching for the first time, that is where the true beauty lies. As Antoine grows up he will be able to understand his life with a reflective mentality, just as we the viewer will understand the film the more we think about it. The goal of the French New Wave was to have cinema become as worthy of academic study as any other art form. “Existentialism was also a major influence on the French New Wave. French New Wave incorporated working on location as opposed to in the studio. Lightweight hand held cameras were used. Available light was preferred to studio-style lighting and available sound was preferred to extensive audio dubbing. Following characters down streets, cafes and shops were done in the French New Wave just as was in this film 400 Blows. Also long takes like when Antoine was