François Truffaut

by Annette Insdorf

Long considered the definitive volume on Truffaut's genius, Annette Insdorf's study returns to print in a revised and updated edition. With fresh insights and an extensive section on the director's last five films, Insdorf captures the essence and totality of his work. She discusses his contributions to the French New Wave, his relationship with his mentors Hitchcock and Renoir, and the dominant themes of his cinema--women, love, children, and language--while exploring his own life in relation to his films. As warmly and piercingly human as its subject, François Truffaut immortalizes one of the cinema's most popular, prolific, and profound artists.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Biography, France

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Annette Insdorf is Professor of Film at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, and Moderator of the 92nd Street Y's Reel Pieces series in New York City. Her books include Francois Truffaut, a study of the French director’s work; two books about Polish filmmakers — Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski and Intimations: The Cinema of Wojciech Has; Philip Kaufman; and the landmark study, Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust (with a foreword by Elie Wiesel). Her latest book is Cinematic Overtures: How to Read Opening Scenes. Among the recent honors she has received are 92Y’s “Exceptional Women Award” (2020), the Silver Medallion from the 2021 Telluride Film Festival, and Moment Magazine’s Creativity Award (2021).

Reviews

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course a book of symbolic analysis of Truffaut's work is going to make me emotional when it ends with a paragraph like "To spend some time in Truffaut's presence is to realize that his passion for art in no way diminishes his sincere interest in and affection for people. If he seems most alive when the conversation turns to cinema, it is really the individuals within and behind the moving pictures that he talks about. He has integrated the best parts of his masters by becoming a skilled craftsman in the manner of Hitchcock, a humanist poet in the manner of Renoir, and a generous man of letters in the manner of Bazin. If these people brought him closer to the cinema, it is equally true that their work then led Truffaut into their personal lives. For this lover of books and films, the primacy of the text has always been a function of the human presence preserved and communicated within it."

Also Insdorf somehow made me have a weird fondness for THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN as well as gives strong arguments for the legitimacy of A GORGEOUS KID LIKE ME as something worthy of analytical study, we stan <3

[Nancy]

I like this guy Truffaut. Justin gave this book to me. First I read what I wanted to read and now I am reading it straight through. The author is in the world of academia, and it reads like it. It is really hard for me to look at the chapter titled "Are Women Magic?" but I got over it and read it.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply one of the best books written about one of cinema's greatest directors.

[David Sterritt]

I just finished another reading of Annette Insdorf’s classic study “François Truffaut,” and it’s just as insightful as I remembered, analyzing individual films and charting the course of his career with vigorous ideas and graceful prose throughout. I knew Truffaut as well as I’ve known any European filmmaker, and Annette is an old and dear friend, but I’m sure my admiration for this book is not swayed by personal factors. Truffaut’s films are still viewed and enjoyed by some, and they should be viewed and enjoyed by everyone, since the best of them are among the cinematic glories of their time. This volume is a smart and absorbing tribute. Highly recommended.

[Bryan Cebulski · Rating 5 out of 5]

It offers diminishing returns with each chapter, but nevertheless a really compelling analysis of Truffaut's work. The chapters with Insdorf's commentary on women and children in Truffaut films are definitely the most in-depth and comprehensive; the later chapter on his personal approach to filmmaking is too broad, and the final chapter on his late period feels tacked-on. Good still, but lacking compared to the first half.

Fair warning, you definitely need to have seen ALL of Truffaut's movies to get into this.

[JJ Cardillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly in depth and thorough look at François Truffaut's career. Insdorf's analysis of Truffaut, his artistic influences, and overarching ideas are beautifully put and eye opening. Insdorf adds an important dimension to Truffaut's work, rewatching these films becomes much richer after a reading.

Accessible, detailed, and engaging.

[Lucile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truffaut c'est la légèreté et le drame de la vie faits cinéma.