50 years ago: The 400 Blows released

The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) Released: May 4, 1959 Studio: Les Films du Carrosse Genre: foreign Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: -- Worldwide: 0.17 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: François Truffaut Screenwriting: François Truffaut, Marcel Moussy Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier Review: This was the first feature film from director François Truffaut. It was also the first of his autobiographical Antoine Doinel series, which also included Stolen Kisses (1968), Bed and Board (1970), and Love on the Run (1979). Along with Breathless, The 400 Blows “marked the arrival of the French New Wave and its fresh, streetwise style.” PM The movie was “shot on location in Paris with a casually vivid eye that is almost documentary.” T95 It is “one of the cinema’s most perceptive forays into childhood” T95 with “an amazing freshness in its (quasi-autobiographical) account” T95 of Antoine Doinel (Léaud), a Parisian youth. 400 Blows is “more than a sentimental coming-of-age story.” PM It is “a harsh, often sad tale” PM about “downtrodden, neglected and rebellious adolescence that is intensely moving but never mawkish.” T95 The movie unveils “Doinel’s bleak odyssey” T95 in which he’s always running away and ends up turning to a “life of small-time crime as a reaction to derelict parents.” LM Sources: LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century” PM Premiere Magazine (Oct. 1998). “100 Most Daring Movies Ever Made” T95 Time Out (1995). “Centenary Top One Hundred Films”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 0 Nominations: 0 Lists: Expert Picks: Genre Lists: First posted 6/9/2023.

Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro's magnum opus fairy-tale for adults, released

Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) Released: October 11, 2006 Studio: Warner Bros. Genre: fantasy/monster/foreign Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 37.63 Worldwide: 83.85 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: Guillermo del Toro Screenwriting: Guillermo del Toro Starring: Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil, Álex Angulo Review: Pan’s Labyrinth is director/screenwriter Guillermo del Toro’s “magnum opus,” SF “the essence of the filmmaker distilled down to a single film.” SF It is a “fairy tale for grown-ups, as pull-no-punches brutal as it is gorgeously, baroquely fantastical.” E18 “There’s an earthy, primal feel to his fairy-world here, alien and threatening rather than gasp-inducing and ‘magical.’” E18 It is a “poignant, visually stunning dark fantasy about the loss of innocence set during the Spanish Civil War.” SF The story “follows a young girl who escapes her grim and death-filled reality by entering a world of magical creatures and wood fairies. del Toro doesn't sugarcoat or hide anything, paying as much attention to crafting a stunning magical world with stunning creature designs as he does to portraying the grim and violent reality of fascist Spain. Tying the fantasy to real-life horrors is the core of what makes this such a brilliant film, as it grounds both storylines, making reality feel fantastical, and fantasy feel real.” SF “This is in no small part thanks to the gorgeous visuals that realize del Toro’s vision to life, particularly the titular faun and the repulsive Pale Man, creating two memorable characters that will forever haunt your dreams — while the haunting score helps realize a world that is as beautiful as it is eerie.” SF Sources: E18 Empire (3/20/2018). “The 100 Greatest Movies” SF SlashFilm.com (5/23/2023). “Top 100 Movies of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Oscars: Wins: 3 – Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup Nominations: 6 – including Best Original Screenplay, Best Foreign Film, Best Original Score Lists: Hall of Fames: Experts’ Picks: Genre Lists: First posted 6/10/2023; last updated 3/5/2025.

 

50 years ago: Rashômon, the first major postwar Japanese film, released

Rashômon

Rashômon Released: August 25, 1950 Studio: Daiei Film Genre: foreign/suspense Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 0.14 Worldwide: 0.18 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: Akira Kurosawa Screenwriting: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura Review: This was the “first huge international success” LM for Japanese director/screenwriter Akira Kurosawa and the “first major postwar Japanese film to be released stateside.” PM It is one of his “most inventive and sustained achievements.” T95 “Its virtues are…plentiful: Kurosawa’s visual style at its most muscular, rhythmically nuanced editing, and excellent performances.” T95 “The film’s very title has become part of our language.” LM “The main part of the film, set in 12th century Kyoto, offers four mutually contradictory versions of an ambush, rape and murder, each through the eyes of one of those involved.” T95 “The police interrogate witnesses, only to find in each retelling of the event that there is no one true version.” PM “The view of human weaknesses and vices is notably astringent, although the sheer animal vigor of Mifune’s bandit is perhaps a celebration of a sort.” T95 “Rashomon emerged as the definitive cinematic treatment of point of view.” PM Sources: LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century” PM Premiere Magazine (Oct. 1998). “100 Most Daring Movies Ever Made” T95 Time Out (1995). “Centenary Top One Hundred Films”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 1 – Most Outstanding Foreign Film (Honorary Award) Nominations: 1 – Best B/W Art/Set Direction Lists: Experts’ Picks: Genre Lists: First posted 6/12/2023.