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Trauffaut's Jules et Jim & The 400 Blows on BFI Blu-ray & Digital in April

6 April 2022

The BFI is to release two key works by director François Truffaut on Blu-ray, iTunes and Amazon Prime on 25 April, his groundbreaking debut feature, The 400 Blows [Les quatre cents coups], and the hugely popular and inflencial Jules et Jim.

 

The 400 Blows Blu-ray cover art

THE 400 BLOWS [LES QUATRE CENTS COUPS] (France 1959) | Blu-ray | 25 April 2022 | £19.99

The 400 Blows, François Truffaut's directorial debut in 1959, introduces his enduring alter ego, Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) – a misunderstood 12-year-old, neglected by his parents and mistreated by repressive schoolteachers, who seeks refuge in truancy, petty crime and, above all, cinema. Following its UK theatrical release via BFI Distribution in January, it now comes to Blu-ray presented in HD from a new 4K restoration, released by the BFI on 25 April and also made available via iTunes and Amazon Prime.

Truffaut's most autobiographical film is widely regarded as one of the all-time great coming-of-age movies and was a cinematic landmark that heralded the French New Wave. Extras on this Blu-ray release include a feature commentary, audition footage and, Truffaut, Bazin, Renoir: A Love Story, film academic Catherine Wheatley's illustrated presentation, recorded at François Truffaut's Cinematic and Literary Influences Study Day earlier this year.

BLU-RAY FEATURES:

  • Presented in High Definition from a new 4K restoration
  • Feature commentary by Robert Lachenay (2002)
  • Audition footage (1958, 7 mins): Jean-Pierre Léaud, Patrick Auffay and Richard Kanayan's screen tests for Truffaut
  • Les Mistons (1957, 18 mins): Truffaut develops his distinctive style in this early short
  • Truffaut, Bazin, Renoir: A Love Story (2022, 18 mins): Film academic Catherine Wheatley's illustrated presentation, recorded at François Truffaut's Cinematic and Literary Influences Study Day, BFI Southbank
  • Images of Paris: documentary gems from the BFI National Archive, including Panorama Around the Eiffel Tower (1900, 1 min), Metropolitan Railway of Paris (1913, 6 mins), and Lunch on the Eiffel Tower (1914, 1 min)
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • 2022 trailer
  • Image gallery
  • First pressing only: Illustrated booklet with an essay by Ellen Cheshire, a biography of François Truffaut, credits and notes on the special features.

 

Jules et Jim Blu-ray cover art

JULES ET JIM (FRANCE 1962) | Blu-ray | 25 April 2022 | £19.99

Starting just before the Great War and spanning three decades, François Truffaut's hugely popular classic Jules et Jim depicts one of cinema's most captivating love triangles, between two best friends – the Austrian Jules (Oskar Werner) and the French Jim (Henri Serre) – and the object of their mutual desire, the enigmatic and alluring Catherine, played with verve and sensitivity by Jeanne Moreau. Following its UK theatrical release via BFI Distribution in February, it comes to Blu-ray in a new 2K restoration, released by the BFI on 25 April. Among the many extras is a new panel discussion about Francois Truffaut's work and an audio commentary with Jeanne Moreau and Serge Toubiana recorded in 2000.

Fast, funny and stylish, Jules et Jim is a deeply affecting and engaging testament to love, loyalty and freedom, and remains a highly influential landmark of world cinema.

BLU-RAY FEATURES:

  • Presented in High Definition from a new 2K restoration
  • Audio commentary with Jeanne Moreau and Serge Toubiana (106 mins, 2000)
  • François Truffaut panel discussion (2022, 54 mins): film scholars Pasquale Iannone, Marilyn Mallia, Sonali Joshi, Ginette Vincendeau and Catherine Wheatley discuss key themes and influences in Truffaut's work
  • The John Player Lecture: François Truffaut (c1972, 53 mins, audio): the director discusses his films
  • Jeanne Moreau in Conversation (1982, 83 mins, audio): the Jules et Jim star talks with Don Allen about her life and career
  • Screen Epiphanies: John Hurt on Jules et Jim (2010, 8 mins): the actor on his first viewing of the film and the lasting impression it has left on him
  • Trailers
  • Stills gallery
  • First pressing only: Illustrated booklet with essays by Pasquale Iannone and Lillian Crawford; a contemporary review from Monthly Film Bulletin, a biography of Francois Truffaut, credits and notes on the special features.