Reception
The film opened the 1959 Cannes Film Festival and was widely acclaimed, winning numerous awards, including the Best Director Award at Cannes,[14] the Critics Award of the 1959 New York Film Critics' Circle[15] and the Best European Film Award at 1960's Bodil Awards.[16] It was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 32nd Academy Awards.[17] The film holds a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 71 reviews, with a weighted average of 9.4/10. The website's critical consensus states, "A seminal French New Wave film that offers an honest, sympathetic, and wholly heartbreaking observation of adolescence without trite nostalgia."[18]
The film is among the top 10 of the British Film Institute's list of 50 films that should be seen by age 15.[19]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | François Truffaut | Nominated | [14] |
| Best Director | François Truffaut | Won | |||
| OCIC Award | François Truffaut | Won | |||
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | The 400 Blows | Won | [15] | |
| Cahiers du cinéma | Annual Top 10 List | François Truffaut | 5th | [20] | |
| 1960 | Academy Awards | Best Original Screenplay | François Truffaut, Marcel Moussy | Nominated | [17] |
| Bodil Awards | Best European Film | The 400 Blows | Won | [16] | |
| French Syndicate of Cinema Critics | Best Film | The 400 Blows | Won | ||
| 1961 | BAFTA | Best Film from Any Source | François Truffaut | Nominated | [21] |
| Most Promising Newcomer | Jean-Pierre Léaud | Nominated | |||
| Sant Jordi Awards | Best Foreign Director | François Truffaut | Won | [16] |
