Truffaut, François

Truffaut, François (1932-1984), French film director and critic, a leader of the nouvelle vague (New Wave) movement of film-makers who espoused auteur cinema, in which the director, not a studio, has creative control. Truffaut was born in Paris and, after a troubled childhood, he left school at the age of 14. After a period in jail for army desertion, he began writing for André Bazin's famous film journal Cahiers du Cinéma.

Truffaut began film-making in the late 1950s and wrote or co-authored as well as directed all of his films. His first feature was the highly acclaimed Les Quatre Cents Coups (1959; The 400 Blows), the story of Antoine Doinel, a misunderstood adolescent. This semi-autobiographical protagonist is featured and further developed in the warmly humorous films Baisers Volés (1968; Stolen Kisses), Domicile Conjugal (1970; Bed and Board), and L'Amour en Fuite (1979; Love on the Run). Truffaut's eclectic films combine comedy, pathos, suspense, and melodrama. They include Tirez sur le Pianiste (1960; Shoot the Piano Player), mixing farce and suspense; Jules et Jim (1961), the wistful story of a love triangle; and L'Histoire d'Adèle H (1975; The Story of Adele H) and La Chambre Verte (1978; The Green Room), two visually evocative dramas. Truffaut's homage to film-making, La Nuit Americaine (1973; Day for Night), won the Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Foreign Film, and his theatre tribute, Le Dernier Métro (1980; The Last Metro), was also successful. Truffaut died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, on October 21, 1984.