Francois Truffaut (1932-1984) was a French filmmaker and one of the leadings talents of the French New Wave. Always less political and pretentious than Godard (although we love you, anyway, Jean-Luc!), he was also less influential and made less confrontational films. However, look at any Truffaut film closely enough, and you'll see the heart of a real film lover. Kindred spirits.
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Truffaut was an avid reader. He consumed words. Fahrenheit 451, adapted from Ray Bradbury's famous novel about a society that burns books, is Truffaut's ode to the written language. Although it didn't quite live up to Truffaut's vision, it's still worth watching.
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Truffaut's other passion: making movies. Day for Night follows the dramas and exploits behind the scenes, on a film shoot. Although most famous for its depiction of the filmmaking process, like all of Truffaut's films it's also filled with characters treated in the most warm and humane way possible.
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Two friends, one woman, and history. Adapted from one of Truffaut's most-cherished novels, Jules and Jim sees the famous "man who loved woman" challenge monogamy with a three-way relationship and then declare it as the only practical way for people to live. Jeanne Moreau is lovely.
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A festival of little effects, creative touches, and experimentation. Based on an American gangster story, Truffaut's film traces the lives and loves of a classically-trained bar pianist as he evades a pair of thugs who are after his thieving brother. Haunting music. Sometimes lives in the shadow of my next pick, and its quiet reception changed Truffaut's views on filmmaking forever...
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Nominally, my number one Truffaut pick is The 400 Blows, one of the films that helped launch the French New Wave. Antoine Doinel, its young anti-hero, is the screen's signature delinquent. Truffaut's follow-up films tracing the same character as he grows and matures, however, add so much depth that it's a shame not to see them all. The Criterion set's a bit pricey, but well worth it. If Truffaut ever managed to achieve cinema's equivalent of a good novel, these films are it.
