3. The 400 Blows
The French New Wave is arguably the most influential film movement in modern cinema. Begun by former critics of the Cahiers Du Cinema magazine, The French New Wave challenged the accepted order, shook up the establishment, and redefined the limits of narrative cinema. The New Wave began with Francois Truffaut's The 400 Blows, which serves not only as a semi-autobiographical condemnation of contemporary French social issues, but also as a riveting piece of filmmaking. It follows Antoine Doinel, a misunderstood adolescent, and Truffaut stand-in, who is seen by every one as a troublemaker, although it really seems as if he's just incredibly unlucky. The 400 Blows was an instant classic, winning top awards at Cannes, kicking off the New Wave, and established Truffaut as one of the rising stars in the movie world. It's success led to the success of Godard, Resnais, Chabrol, Rohmer and further down the line to the New Hollywood of the 1970's and movies like The Godfather and American Graffiti. Without Truffaut and The 400 Blows, modern cinema would look very different indeed.