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Bed and Board (Criterion Collection)

 

  Written and Directed by François Truffaut

France-Italy 1970 / Comedy / Romance / 95 min / Color / Monaural / 1.66: 1 Widescreen Anamorphic / NTSC /  In French with  Optional Thai and English Subtitles
Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claude Jade , Hiroko Berghauer , Barbara Laage, Claire Duhamel , Danièle Gérard

In the fourth installment of François Truffaut's Antoine Doniel series, this romantic comedy shows how Antoine (Jean-Pierre Léaud) went from being a mischievous boy to an adorably charming young man of 26. Domicile Conjugal begins with Antoine settling down with Christine (Claude Jade), his girlfriend from the previous film, Baisers volés. He finds himself accepted and loved by his wife and her family, so the young couple move in to an apartment building together. They live in a lively neighborhood of interesting characters, such as the old man who never leaves and the opera singer who fights with his wife. Antoine finds work as a florist painting roses, while Christine makes a living by teaching violin lessons. After he gets involved in an accidental fire at the florist's, he gets a new job with an American corporation where he steers radio-controlled boats around a pond all day. A big change occurs when Christine becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby boy, while Antoine grows increasingly distant. Eventually, he becomes infatuated with a Japanese girl, Kyoko (Hiroko Berghauer), resulting in some shifts in lifestyle. The fifth and final Antoine Doniel film L'Amour en fuite was released in 1979, picking up the story with Antoine after he reaches his thirties.

 
       
Bonus Features: New digital transfer, enhanced for widescreen televisions / Behind-the-scenes footage with Truffaut at work on the Bed and Board set, and being interviewed along with actress Claude Jade / Excerpt from the 1970 TV program Cinéastes de Notre Temps: François Truffaut, Dix Ans, Dix Films, in which Truffaut and co-writer Bernard Revon reveal their methods for generating scripts and developing ideas / Rare television interview with Jean-Pierre Léaud discussing his feelings about Truffaut and Antoine Doinel, and his thoughts about "ending" the series / Excerpt from the 1972 documentary Approches du Cinéma: François Truffaut ou la Nouvelle Vague, in which Truffaut addresses the complexities of Antoine Doinel / Theatrical trailer / New and improved English subtitle translation