The Adventures of Antoine Doinel: Five Films by François Truffaut Blu Ray – Claire Maurier, Delphine Seyrig

Collection of five films directed by François Truffaut and starring Jean-Pierre Léaud as Antoine Doinel. ‘The 400 Blows’ (1959) follows Antoine, an unruly young Parisian whose unhappiness leads him into trouble. Frequently running away from school and home, Antoine spends much of his time playing with his friends on the steets of the city. But events take a more serious turn when an accusation of plagiarism leads him to quit school and the theft of a typewriter lands him in trouble with the police. ‘Antoine and Colette’ (1962) follows Antoine as he experiences love for the first time when he meets and falls for Colette (Marie-France Pisier), a young girl from a privileged background. In ‘Stolen Kisses’ (1968), having received a dishonourable discharge from the army at the age of 20, Antoine works his way through a number of unsatisfactory jobs and transient relationships. In ‘Bed and Board’ (1970), Antoine experiences the early years of marriage, and faces fatherhood and adultery with a beautiful Japanese girl. Lastly, in ‘Love On the Run’ (1979), separated from his wife, Antoine, now a novelist, is having an affair with Sabine (Dorothée). When seeing off his son at a train station, he spots his first love, Colette (Pisier), and jumps into her carriage. Colette is now seeing Sabine’s brother, Xavier (Daniel Mesguich), and soon all four protagonists are back in Paris attempting to reconcile their lives.

Starting with one of the greatest films about childhood, from anywhere, ever (Anthony Quinn, The Independent), which kicked off the French New Wave, François Truffaut delivers an indisputable landmark of cinema history five films, four features and one short, which follow the life of one charming, compelling and unforgettable character. Before anyone else, Truffaut allowed audiences to dip into one character’s life progressively over 20 years, witnessing him growing up from a child struggling with school and the law to an adult, struggling with love and divorce. A very special and unique collection, The Adventures of Antoine Doinel will invoke joy, humour, nostalgia and happiness time and time again as your investment in Antoine and his story progressively proliferates with each gloriously captured scene.