François Truffaut

Directing

François Truffaut

Born February 6, 1932 · Paris, France

Died October 21, 1984 · aged 52

François Roland Truffaut (February 6, 1932 – October 21, 1984) was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five films. Along with Jean-Luc Godard, Truffaut was one of the most in…

Known For

Close Encounters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind · 1977
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
7.41977
MovieScience FictionDrama
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
The 400 BlowsThe 400 Blows · 1959
The 400 Blows
8.01959
MovieDrama
For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.
BreathlessBreathless · 1960
Breathless
7.51960
MovieDramaCrime
A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.
Wings of DesireWings of Desire · 1987
Wings of Desire
7.81987
MovieDramaFantasy
Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds — with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk — that it might be possible for him to take human form.
Bed and BoardBed and Board · 1970
Bed and Board
7.11970
MovieComedyDrama
Parisian everyman Antoine Doinel has married his sweetheart Christine Darbon, and the newlyweds have set up a cozy domestic life of selling flowers and giving violin lessons while Antoine fitfully works on his long-gestating novel. As Christine becomes pregnant with the couple's first child, Antoine finds himself enraptured with a young Japanese beauty. The complications change the course of their relationship forever.
Day for NightDay for Night · 1973
Day for Night
7.81973
MovieComedyDrama
A committed filmmaker struggles to complete his latest project while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.
Fahrenheit 451Fahrenheit 451 · 1966
Fahrenheit 451
7.11966
MovieDramaScience Fiction
In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as “firemen,” to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation…
When Hitchcock met O'CaseyWhen Hitchcock met O'Casey · 2019
When Hitchcock met O'Casey
2019
MovieDocumentary
It was a collaboration between one of Ireland’s most noted playwrights and cinema’s greatest directors, yet the 1930 release of Juno and the Paycock is often neglected in the repertoire of both men. Brian O’Flaherty’s documentary aims to find out why. Featuring extensive, incisive interviews with family members, academics, directors and actors, including Shivaun O'Casey, Prof Charles Barr, and Peter Sheridan, it tells the story of how these two iconic figures met and the legacy of the film.

Movies

Close Encounters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind · 1977
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
7.41977
MovieScience FictionDrama
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
The 400 BlowsThe 400 Blows · 1959
The 400 Blows
8.01959
MovieDrama
For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.
BreathlessBreathless · 1960
Breathless
7.51960
MovieDramaCrime
A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.
Wings of DesireWings of Desire · 1987
Wings of Desire
7.81987
MovieDramaFantasy
Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds — with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk — that it might be possible for him to take human form.
Bed and BoardBed and Board · 1970
Bed and Board
7.11970
MovieComedyDrama
Parisian everyman Antoine Doinel has married his sweetheart Christine Darbon, and the newlyweds have set up a cozy domestic life of selling flowers and giving violin lessons while Antoine fitfully works on his long-gestating novel. As Christine becomes pregnant with the couple's first child, Antoine finds himself enraptured with a young Japanese beauty. The complications change the course of their relationship forever.
Day for NightDay for Night · 1973
Day for Night
7.81973
MovieComedyDrama
A committed filmmaker struggles to complete his latest project while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.
Fahrenheit 451Fahrenheit 451 · 1966
Fahrenheit 451
7.11966
MovieDramaScience Fiction
In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as “firemen,” to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation…
When Hitchcock met O'CaseyWhen Hitchcock met O'Casey · 2019
When Hitchcock met O'Casey
2019
MovieDocumentary
It was a collaboration between one of Ireland’s most noted playwrights and cinema’s greatest directors, yet the 1930 release of Juno and the Paycock is often neglected in the repertoire of both men. Brian O’Flaherty’s documentary aims to find out why. Featuring extensive, incisive interviews with family members, academics, directors and actors, including Shivaun O'Casey, Prof Charles Barr, and Peter Sheridan, it tells the story of how these two iconic figures met and the legacy of the film.
Testament of OrpheusTestament of Orpheus · 1960
Testament of Orpheus
7.61960
MovieFantasy
An 18th century poet travels through time in search of divine wisdom. In a mysterious wasteland, he has a series of enigmatic encounters with symbolic phantoms with whom he muses about the nature of art and his own career. Ultimately, the poet strives to achieve his rebirth as a celestial being.
The Soft SkinThe Soft Skin · 1964
The Soft Skin
7.11964
MovieDramaRomance
Pierre Lachenay is a well-known publisher and lecturer, married to Franca and father of Sabine. He starts a love affair with air hostess Nicole, which Pierre is hiding, but he cannot stay away from her.
Two English GirlsTwo English Girls · 1971
Two English Girls
6.91971
MovieDramaRomance
In the early 20th-century, Frenchman Claude meets Englishwoman Ann in Paris. Ann invites him to her family home, intending him for her sister Muriel. Claude falls for Muriel, but families demand year-long separation before approving marriage.
BreathlessBreathless · 1983
Breathless
5.91983
MovieRomanceDrama
Jesse, a small-time criminal, high-tails it to Los Angeles to rendezvous with a French exchange student. Stealing a car and accidentally killing a highway patrolman, he becomes the most wanted fugitive in L.A.
Morceaux de CannesMorceaux de Cannes · 2021
Morceaux de Cannes
2.02021
MovieDocumentary
We thought we'd seen, read, and heard everything there was to see about the Cannes Film Festival, from the glitz and gossip to the scandals and censorship. And yet, Emmanuel Barnault's "Morceaux de Cannes" (Pieces of Cannes), by this leading expert on Italian and French cinema, convinces us otherwise. The third largest event in the world (after the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup) reveals its secrets only sparingly, as this film attests. The result of passionate research in the INA archives, these 52 minutes, without interviews or voice-over narration, string together rare and sometimes previously unseen footage. Taken together, they tell a surprising, original, and heartwarming story of the Festival. On the beach, on a street corner, in a restaurant, or in the privacy of a hotel room, these forgotten archives summon the greatest filmmakers, actors, and actresses of the last seventy years, from Jean Cocteau to David Lynch, for an anthology of the Festival's history.
The Last MetroThe Last Metro · 1980
The Last Metro
7.21980
MovieDramaRomance
In occupied Paris, an actress wed to a Jewish theater owner must keep him hidden from the Nazis while doing both of their jobs.
The Truth About CharlieThe Truth About Charlie · 2002
The Truth About Charlie
4.92002
MovieThrillerMystery
Regina meets charming Joshua while vacationing in Martinique, as she contemplates ending her whirlwind marriage to enigmatic Charlie. Upon her return to Paris, she finds that both her apartment and her bank account have been emptied, and her husband has been murdered. Stuck in ever-increasing danger and with four men pursuing her, another stranger offers assistance - but who can she trust?
Shoot the Piano PlayerShoot the Piano Player · 1960
Shoot the Piano Player
7.21960
MovieDramaThriller
Charlie is a former classical pianist who has changed his name and now plays jazz in a grimy Paris bar. When Charlie's brothers, Richard and Chico, surface and ask for Charlie's help while on the run from gangsters they have scammed, he aids their escape. Soon Charlie and Lena, a waitress at the same bar, face trouble when the gangsters arrive, looking for his brothers.
LangloisLanglois · 1970
Langlois
5.31970
MovieDocumentary
Documentary portrait of Henri Langlois, co-founder of the Cinémathèque Française.
The Mischief MakersThe Mischief Makers · 1957
The Mischief Makers
6.81957
MovieComedy
A group of young boys develops a crush on a girl, leading to jealousy toward her boyfriend. They scheme to disrupt their relationship, and when the boyfriend catches one of them spying, he punishes him harshly. In retaliation, the boys attempt to make the girl doubt her boyfriend's love.
Jim Morrison: The EndJim Morrison: The End · 2021
Jim Morrison: The End
7.42021
MovieDocumentaryHistory
Paris, Rue Beautreillis, July 3, 1971. The corpse of rock star Jim Morrison is found in a bathtub, in the apartment of his girlfriend Pamela Courson. The chronicle of the last months of the life of the poet, singer and charismatic leader of the American band The Doors, one of the most influential in the history of rock.
François Truffaut: Stolen PortraitsFrançois Truffaut: Stolen Portraits · 1993
François Truffaut: Stolen Portraits
5.61993
MovieDocumentary
Twenty-six people - including two daughters, an ex-wife, his last lover, actors, fellow directors and writers, a neighbor, and boyhood friends - talk about François Truffaut. They discuss his attitudes toward wealth, his early writings about cinema, the undercurrent of violence in his films and his personality, the way he used and altered events in his life when making films, his search for a father (both artistic and biological), his relationship with his mother, the scenes in his films that cause a squirm of embarrassment, and his ultimate mysticism. Clips from a dozen of his films are included.
The Little ThiefThe Little Thief · 1988
The Little Thief
6.21988
MovieRomanceDrama
In a small town in post-WWII France, 16-year-old Janine tries to improve her conditions by any means necessary. Three people—Michel, a married lover; Raoul, a fellow thief; Mauricette, a photographer she meets in prison—will help her learn from her mistakes.
The Wild ChildThe Wild Child · 1970
The Wild Child
7.11970
MovieDramaHistory
The true story of Victor of Aveyron. In a French forest circa 1798, an abandoned child — feral, filthy and mentally impaired — is found. Dr Jean Marc Gaspard Itard becomes interested in the case and patiently attempts to civilise the boy.
Bernadette Lafont: And God Created the Free WomanBernadette Lafont: And God Created the Free Woman · 2016
Bernadette Lafont: And God Created the Free Woman
6.92016
MovieDocumentary
A journey in the company of Bernadette Lafont, French Cinema’s most atypical actress. Tracing her career from pin-up girl, to New Wave model of sexual freedom, to drug-dealing granny in the film Paulette, by way of La Fiancée du Pirate and Les Stances à Sophie, this film pays tribute to her extraordinary life and artistic odyssey. Her grand-daughters, Anna, Juliette and Solène, revisit the dreams of Bernadette, in the family home in the Cevennes region where they, like her, grew up. Her close friends, Bulle Ogier and Jean-Pierre Kalfon, reminisce on their artistic and human complicity. Throughout the film, Bernadette Lafont in person, with her inimitable character actress voice, re-evokes a life in cinema marked with insolence, courage and freedom.
Stolen KissesStolen Kisses · 1968
Stolen Kisses
7.31968
MovieComedyDrama
The third in a series of films featuring François Truffaut's alter-ego, Antoine Doinel, the story resumes with Antoine being discharged from military service. His sweetheart Christine's father lands Antoine a job as a security guard, which he promptly loses. Stumbling into a position assisting a private detective, Antoine falls for his employers' seductive wife, Fabienne, and finds that he must choose between the older woman and Christine.

TV Shows

Spécial cinémaSpécial cinéma · 1974
Spécial cinéma
9.51974
Series
Marcello Mastroianni, Isabelle Adjani, Alain Delon, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen... the biggest stars in cinema were welcomed by Christian Defaye on his show Spécial cinéma. Between intimate confessions from actors and immersion in the world of the greatest filmmakers, Christian Defaye took viewers on a journey into the fascinating world of cinema for nearly thirty years.
The Merv Griffin ShowThe Merv Griffin Show · 1962
The Merv Griffin Show
6.61962
Series
ApostrophesApostrophes · 1975
Apostrophes
8.51975
Series
Apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years (724 episodes) from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television (around 6 million regular viewers). It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2 (which was called "Antenne 2" from 1975 to 1992). The hourlong show was devoted to books, authors and literature. The format varied between one-on-one interviews with a single author and open discussions between four or five authors.
OmnibusOmnibus · 1967
Omnibus
7.21967
SeriesDocumentary
Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.
Les Rendez-vous du dimancheLes Rendez-vous du dimanche · 1975
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
6.01975
Series
A talk show presented by Michel Drucker
Le Grand ÉchiquierLe Grand Échiquier · 1972
Le Grand Échiquier
8.01972
Series
Le Grand Échiquier is a French variety television program created and presented by Jacques Chancel. It aired at 8:30 pm on the first channel of the ORTF from January 12, 1972 to July 12, 1972, then on the second color channel of the ORTF from September 1972 to December 1974, and finally on Antenne 2 from January 1975 to December 21, 1989. The program returned to France 2 on December 20, 2018 and is hosted by Anne-Sophie Lapix.
CinépanoramaCinépanorama · 1956
Cinépanorama
8.71956
SeriesDocumentaryFamily
Reflets de CannesReflets de Cannes · 1954
Reflets de Cannes
5.01954
SeriesDocumentary
Un film et son époqueUn film et son époque · 2003
Un film et son époque
10.02003
SeriesDocumentary
Les Musiciens de la pelliculeLes Musiciens de la pellicule · 1974
Les Musiciens de la pellicule
1974
SeriesDocumentary