“One of the most intensely touching stories ever made about a young adolescent” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). Truffaut's enduring and endearing first feature was a clarion call for the French New Wave and launched the director on his autobiographical Antonine Doinel cycle. Drawn from his own childhood experiences, The 400 Blows follows the misadventures of its twelve-year-old delinquent hero as he attempts to escape from the indifference and brutality of his parents, turns to petty thievery, and ends up in a reformatory. The famous final freeze frame is a blow to the heart. Influenced by Vigo, Renoir, and Rossellini, the film is full of affectionate homages to the American cinema, particularly Hitchcock and Welles. “The performance of the young Jean-Pierre Léaud makes this Truffaut's finest character study” (Roy Armes).