WRITER
François Truffaut
- Known for
- À bout de souffle (1960), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), La Nuit américaine (1973), L'enfant sauvage (1970)
24 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
François Truffaut is a screenwriter best known for À bout de souffle, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and La Nuit américaine.
All facts (24)
- #001
After the war, François Truffaut became a devoted cinephile, watching up to 20 films a week and keeping a diary of his trips to the cinema.
- #002
Truffaut was a great admirer of Alfred Hitchcock and described him as his master.
- #003
Truffaut fell out with Jean-Luc Godard after he came to believe that Godard belittled the work of others in order to enhance his own reputation.
- #004
In his youth, Truffaut was involved in petty theft, violent incidents, defiance of authority and disciplinary confinement.
- #005
In December 1950, Truffaut enlisted in the French army hoping for a cinema assignment, but he was first posted to Germany and then to Indochina as an artilleryman. Unhappy, he deserted twice. He was caught and sent first to a military camp and then to a psychiatric hospital. His actions led to his dishonorable discharge in 1952.
- #006
Truffaut once picked up a hitchhiker and began talking about films. When it turned out the man knew very little about the subject, Truffaut insisted he get out of the car.
- #007
Truffaut was buried in the Montmartre cemetery in Paris, France.
- #008
Truffaut acknowledged that he had a very unhappy childhood and that it was reflected in his films.
- #009
Truffaut described The 400 Blows (1959) as his most personal film.
- #010
Truffaut died two days before Oskar Werner, whom he had directed in two of Werner's best-known films, Jules and Jim (1962) and Fahrenheit 451 (1966).
- #011
Truffaut disagreed with his family over the content of some of his films. His family felt that the further inclusion of autobiographical details portrayed them in a negative and inaccurate light. Sadly, the tension between them continued for the rest of Truffaut's life.
- #012
An only child, Truffaut saw little of his working parents during his childhood. His maternal grandfather had a great influence on him and was responsible for his love of books.
- #013
In 1968, two years after the book "Hitchcock, Truffaut," Alfred Hitchcock cast Truffaut's star Claude Jade (Stolen Kisses (1968) [Baisers Volés], Bed & Board (1970) and Love on the Run (1979)) in Topaz (1969).
- #014
Truffaut was named the 27th greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. He is the highest-ranked director on the list who was a film critic before becoming a filmmaker.
- #015
Truffaut directed two actresses to Oscar nominations: Valentina Cortese (Best Supporting Actress, Day for Night (1973)) and Isabelle Adjani (Best Actress, The Story of Adele H (1975)).
- #016
Like other French directors of the time, Truffaut found it more economical to shoot his films on location rather than using studio sound stages.
- #017
During his time as a film critic at "Cahiers Du Cinema," Truffaut's less favorable film reviews could be quite harsh. Years later, when some of his reviews were published in book form, the director tried to leave out his more savage criticism.
- #018
François Truffaut's daughter Josephine was born on 28 September 1983. Her mother was his friend (1981-84) Fanny Ardant.
- #019
Two of his films were nominated in the same Golden Globe category for Best Foreign Language Film in 1969, a rare occurrence. Stolen Kisses (1968) and The Bride Wore Black (1968) competed against each other, and neither won the award.
- #020
François Truffaut was engaged to Claude Jade (1968).
- #021
François Truffaut was the son of Jeanine de Montferrand. He was raised by his maternal grandparents.
- #022
François Truffaut had two daughters with Madeleine Morgenstern: Laura (born 22 January 1959) and Eva (born 29 June 1961).
- #023
François Truffaut was a jury member at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.
- #024
François Truffaut was profiled by Philippe Rege (Scarecrow Press) in the "Encyclopedia of French Film Directors."
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