<div>Truffaut shot to fame in 1959 with his first film <i>Les 400 Coups</i>, a semi-autobiographical narrative shot in the low-budget neo-realist style of the emerging <i>Nouvelle Vague</i>. He went on to make twenty-three films in twenty-six years, films which have entertained, provoked debate and caused controversy. This fresh appraisal of his work provides a useful socio-political contextualization and gives an overview of his films and film-making methods, shedding new light on key aspects such as sexual politics, the construction of masculinity, the exploitation of genre and the tension throughout the films between the "absolute" and the "provisional."<br></div>