One of the Best Criterion releases yet. . In this 5 disc set, the five Antoine Doinel films are released. All are by François Truffaut.     The first film, "The 400 Blows" or "Le Quatre Cents Coups" was previouslly released by the Criterion Collection but was taken out of print until this version was released. Truffaut based it loosely on his own troubled adolescence. It follows 14 year old Antoine Doinel's youth playing hooky from school, later running away from home and eventually sent to a juvenile deliquent center.     The second film "Antoine and Collette" or ""Antoine et Colette" was originally a segment of a film titled "L'Amour à vingt ans" or "Love at Twenty" It follows his life as he is in his late teens working in a phonograph record factory.     The third film, "Stolen Kisses" or "Baisers volés" covers his dishonorable discharge from the army, his reunion with his girlfriend, and subsequent attempts to find a steady job     The fourth film, "Bed & Board" or "Domicile conjugal" skips ahead to after he is married. It covers his wife's pregnancy, his son's birth, and an adulterous affair he has with a Japanese woman.     The fifth and final film, "Love on the Run" or "L'Amour en fuite" covers the process of his divorce and reunion with an ex flame.     The films wer made between 1959 and 1979 and Jean-Pierre Léaud reprises his role for each film. The films are very impressive and quite rare for there to be series like this. Each film has some fine secenes and some interesting comedy. The acting is good and many scenes are well photographed.     The box set has some excellent special features also.   out of the five discs, four are numbered. For describing the special features, I will list the unnumbered disc as the last one.    Disc one contains the first two films. 400 Blows and Antoine & Colette. The supplements for the 400 Blows are similar to ones in the out of print version. There are two audio commentaries. One is by film professor, Brian Stonehill and the other is by Robert Lachenay who was a lifelong friend of François Truffaut. The commentary by Lachenay is in French with subtitles. There is also audition footage for three of the child actors in the film. Jean-Pierre Léaud who played Antoine, Patrick Auffay, who played Rene, and Richard Kanayan who played Abbou. There is also footage of Jean-Pierre at the Cannes film festival for the screening of the film and a theatrical trailer. There are also two television interviews with François Truffaut about the making of the film.    It also contains the short film, Antoine and Colette.       Disc two contains the film Stolen Kisses along with the following special features:    There is News footage of Truffaut's participation in the sucessful attempt to shut down the 1968 Canne Film Festival to support students and striking workers, a TV spot of Truffaut and Jean-Luc Goddard showing ther support for Cinémathèque française founder, Henri Langlois at a time when his job was in jeopardy, news footage of French cinema VIP's protesting against the planned removal of Henri Langlois from his job, excerpts from a TV interview with Truffaut discussing actor Jean-Pierre Léaud's portrayal of Antoine, and a video introduction to the film and events surrounding its release presented by film historian Serge Toubiana.    Disc three contains the film Bed and Board with the following supplements:    Behind the scenes footage with interviews of some of the cast & crew, a TV interview with Jean-Pierre talking about the film being the last in the series (before Truffaut decided to make the fifth and final film,) a TV interview with Truffaut and Bernard Revon discussing how the write the scripts, and a scene from a Truffaut documentary where he discusses the character of Antoine Doinel.    Disc four contains the final film in the series Love on the Run along with the following    Truffaut and Marie-France Pisier talking about their work on the film and their feelings about the film, Scenes of a TV interview with Truffaut talking about his feelings on ending the series, There is also a theatrical trailer.    The final unnumbered disc contains:    François Truffaut's 1957 short film, "Les Mistons" or "The Mischief Makers" about some young teenage boys who attempt to sabotage the relationship of an older couple. The film also has oprional audio commentary by Claude De Givray. It is in French with English subtitles. There is also a primer for the film presented by Serge Toubiana, a noted film historian.    There is also a 44 minute interview with co-writers Claude deGivray and Bernard Revon. A scene from a 1961 documentary titled "François Truffaut," a 1981 TV interview with Truffaut, and a slide show of movie posters for the four feature length Doinel films.    This set is a must buy for those who like the series as well as Criterion collectors, and fans of François Truffaut's work
Output: POS