In the September issue of Sight & Sound, Quentin Tarantino and his “Video Archives Podcast” co-host Roger Avary discussed the films of French heir to Hitchcock, Claude Chabrol.
What particularly interests me is Tarantino’s criticism of François Truffaut’s films:
“[Chabrol’s] thrillers are drastically better than the abysmal Truffaut-Hitchcock movies, which I think are just awful. I’m not a Truffaut fan that much anyway. There are some exceptions, the main one being ‘The Story of Adele H.’ But for the most part, I feel about Truffaut like I feel about Ed Wood. I think he’s a very passionate, bumbling amateur.”
Tarantino comparing Truffaut to Ed Wood is … an opinion. I guess those darts shot at Truffaut in the “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” novel were quite possibly Tarantino’s own opinions on the legendary French filmmaker. Here’s an excerpt from the novel where Tarantino explain’s character Cliff Booth’s disdain for Truffaut:
“He tried Truffaut twice, but he didn’t respond to him. Not because the films were boring (they were), but that wasn’t the only reason Cliff didn’t respond. The first two films he watched (in a Truffaut double feature) just didn’t grab him. The first film, ‘The 400 Blows,’ left him cold. He really didn’t understand why that little boy did half the shit he did. And he thought the mopey dopes in ‘Jules and Jim’ were a fucking drag.”
I’m not a fan of “Jules et Jim,” but knocking on “The 400 Blows” is sacrilege. That’s one of the greatest movies ever made. Truth be told, Truffaut has had plenty of misses in his career, but I’ll always abide by the church of “The 400 Blows,” “Shoot the Piano Player,” “Day For Night” and “The Wild Child.”