François Truffaut

The Soft Skin

The Soft Skin

François Truffaut followed up the international phenomenon Jules and Jim with this tense tale of infidelity. The unassuming Jean Desailly is perfectly cast as a celebrated literary scholar, seemingly happily married, who embarks on an affair with a gorgeous stewardess, played by Françoise Dorléac, who is captivated by his charm and reputation. As their romance gets serious, the film grows anxious, leading to a wallop of a conclusion. Truffaut made The Soft Skin at a time when he was immersing himself in the work of Alfred Hitchcock, and that master’s influence can be felt throughout this complex, insightful, and underseen French New Wave treasure.

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Film Info

  • France
  • 1964
  • 117 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 1.66:1
  • French
  • Spine #749

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Audio commentary by screenwriter Jean-Louis Richard and François Truffaut scholar Serge Toubiana
  • New video essay by filmmaker and critic Kent Jones
  • Monsieur Truffaut Meets Mr. Hitchcock, a 1999 documentary by film historian Robert Fischer
  • Interview with Truffaut from 1965 about the film
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Molly Haskell

    New cover by F. Ron Miller

Purchase Options

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Audio commentary by screenwriter Jean-Louis Richard and François Truffaut scholar Serge Toubiana
  • New video essay by filmmaker and critic Kent Jones
  • Monsieur Truffaut Meets Mr. Hitchcock, a 1999 documentary by film historian Robert Fischer
  • Interview with Truffaut from 1965 about the film
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Molly Haskell

    New cover by F. Ron Miller
The Soft Skin
Cast
Françoise Dorléac
Nicole
Jean Desailly
Pierre
Nelly Benedetti
Franca
Daniel Ceccaldi
Clément
Credits
Director
François Truffaut
Produced by
Marcel Berbert
Produced by
António da Cunha Telles
Produced by
François Truffaut
Written by
François Truffaut
Written by
Jean-Louis Richard
Cinematographer
Raoul Coutard
Music
Georges Delerue
Editor
Claudine Bouché

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François Truffaut

Writer, Director

François Truffaut
François Truffaut

A lifelong cinephile, François Truffaut first made his cinematic mark as a fiery, contentious critic for Cahiers du cinéma in the 1950s, denouncing the French film industry's bloated "tradition of quality" and calling for the director to be redefined as the auteur, or individual author, of the film. Truffaut then became an auteur himself, starting with The 400 Blows, which won him the best director award at Cannes and led the French new-wave charge. The 400 Blows remains Truffaut’s seminal film, yet he continued to reinvigorate cinema throughout the sixties, with such thrilling works as Shoot the Piano Player and Jules and Jim. Truffaut also continued to follow the adventures of 400 Blows protagonist Antoine Doinel—embodied by Jean-Pierre Léaud—through the seventies (Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board, Love on the Run), while directing such other classics as Day for Night and The Last Metro, which displayed his undying love for cinema and life. His own life was tragically cut short at the age of fifty-two.

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