- He was a big Alfred Hitchcock fan and defined him as his master.
- After the war he became a devoted cinephile and viewed as many as 20 films each week, keeping a diary on his movie-going.
- Was Warren Beatty's first choice to direct Bonnie and Clyde (1967) but he turned it down.
- Had a falling out with Jean-Luc Godard after he came to believe that Godard put down the work of others to raise the regard of his own.
- As a teenager he was involved in petty theft, incidences of violence, defiance of authority and disciplinary incarceration.
- Picked up a hitchhiker once and started a conversation about movies. When it turned out the man had too little knowledge about this subject to participate, Truffaut insisted on him leaving the car.
- Buried in the "Montmartre" cemetery in Paris, France.
- Acknowledges he had a very unhappy childhood, which is reflected in his films.
- Working with Steven Spielberg in US on Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), was regarded as a largely positive experience. Truffaut claimed that this experience enabled him to communicate with actors more effectively whilst making his own films.
- He died two days before Oskar Werner, whom he directed in two of Werner's most celebrated films--Jules and Jim (1962) and Fahrenheit 451 (1966).
- Enlisted in the French army in December 1950, hoping to be assigned to the film branch, but he was assigned first to Germany and then to Indochina as an artilleryman. Unhappy, he deserted twice. He was caught and sent first to a military stockade and later to an asylum. His actions caused him to be dishonorably discharged in 1952.
- In 1968, two years after the book "Hitchcock, Truffaut," Alfred Hitchcock hired Truffaut's star Claude Jade (Stolen Kisses (1968) [Baisers Volés], Bed & Board (1970), and Love on the Run (1979)) for Topaz (1969).
- Truffaut described The 400 Blows (1959) as his most personal film.
- Was an only child who saw little of his working parents during childhood. His maternal grandfather was a great influence on him and is responsible for his love of books.
- Truffaut had a disagreement with his family over the content of some of his films. His family felt that the more autobiographical details included, represented them in a negative and false light. Unfortunately, the tensions between them remained for the rest of Truffaut's life.
- When director Sergei Parajanov was imprisoned by the Soviet government, Truffaut signed a petition for his release.
- His first review for "Cahiers du Cinema" was for Sudden Fear (1952).
- 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)).
- Was rumored to be a contender to direct The Stunt Man (1980), and to have used elements from that film's source, the Paul Brodeur novel of the same name, in the story of Day for Night (1973), but he strenuously denied these rumors in correspondence published after his death, claiming that inspiration had come instead from Singin' in the Rain (1952), 8½ (1963), and The Bad and the Beautiful (1952).
- Was voted the 27th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. He is the highest ranking director on this list who was a film critic before he became a filmmaker.
- As with other French directors of the times, Truffaut found it more economical to shoot his movies on location, instead of using studio sound-stages.
- Two of his were films nominated for the same Golden Globe in the Best Foreign-Language Foreign Film category in 1969, a rare occurrence. Stolen Kisses (1968) and The Bride Wore Black (1968) competed against each other and both failed to win the award.
- Sold "la Cause du people" ("The Peoples' Cause") "revolutionary propaganda" to uphold the cause of freedom of expression on the streets of Paris (June 20, 1970). He had Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir for company.
- Fiancé of Claude Jade (1968).
- Daughter Josephine was born on Sept. 28, 1983. Mother was his companion (1981-84) Fanny Ardant.
- During the time when he was a film critic for the "Cahiers Du Cinema" magazine, Truffaut's less positive film reviews could be quite scathing. Years later when some of his reviews were published in book format, the director attempted to omit his more savage reviews.
- Son of Jeanine de Montferrand. François was raised by his maternal grandparents.
- Father, with Madeleine Morgenstern, of two girls--Laura (b. January 22, 1959) and Eva (b. June 29, 1961).
- Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1962.
- Profiled in "Encyclopedia of French Film Directors" by Philippe Rege (Scarecrow Press).
- Interviewed in "World Directors in Dialogue" by Bert Cardullo (Scarecrow Press, 2011).
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