I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Memorable, crazy movie

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Tragic, unconventional, non-chronological told love story in which the protagonist Charlie loses two girlfriends under fateful circumstances, partly caused by him. The occasionally funny and always entertaining film transform the American novel Down There and it's noir atmosphere into a french masterpiece that exposes the "romance and beauty between the lines" (Kael in a different context). It centers around the titular piano player who's shyness, love for women and art, as well as his final powerlessness reflect not only the writer and director Truffaut, but also our own lives. It's his second picture and maybe with the, partly failed, exception of Jules and Jim his last real attempt at the Godard-esque deconstruction of film and his genres, after which he leaned more, and sometimes too much so, to the classical approach of his great idol Hitchcock. Nevertheless do I admire Truffauts more grounded style, which fits his striving for succession of Renoirs humanistic legacy. In Shoot the Piano Player the combination between youthful experimenting with genre and form, and the not quite polished attempt at an effective emotional drama, perfectly fit the story to create a masterpiece.

After the great 'The 400 Blows', Monsieur Truffaut made this cool film with a peculiar title - a title which, by the way, I like. Curiously, the pianist is portrayed by a real-life musician: the great Charles Aznavour. However, the rest of the cast is about as great when it comes to acting abilities.Despite the title, there is really very little of action. But hey, you can't expect a movie this old to have "exciting" levels of action like the modern movies. This is "old-school" action, when action was limited but authentic and even the noises were realistic, nothing to do with the almost deafening sounds of nowadays. Who needs those excesses? Deep down, this classic isn't limited to just one genre, being a successful but modest combination of different genres which works. Besides, few movies transform tense scenes into humorous scenes the way this does.I really like the beating of the piano melody by Georges Delerue. Cinematography is quite decent and permits us to appreciate french streets and other places, a Truffaut specialty. I consider this one of Truffaut's best films, after 'The 400 Blows' and 'The Wild Child', and better than the interesting but flawed 'Jules et Jim'.This should definitely be on Top 250.

May be i expected more from this flick....but it started like a comedy,slowly into a melo drama with more plots added to the film. the suspense factor wasn't there though it had his moments..but the main disappointment for me is sometimes the characters weren't aware wat happening around them.... the protagonist didn't care of his rico(if i am correct) his brother child was with the gangsters..at the time he doesn't care abt him,but instead he thinks of philosophy and all...its out of normal to me. but a brilliant camera works..some dialogues was funny...truffaut did with what thought i cant understand.. i read review saying great movie. but it falls short not being great or bad movie.... not tat much recommended i give 6 out of 10...

One of the more notable hallmarks of French New Wave filmmakers was their willingness to try anything once, allowing for a sometimes exhilarating freedom of expression, which even in its search for new forms never failed to proclaim its affection for the old. François Truffaut's effervescent second feature is a case in point, owing its existence to the American B-movie tradition of earlier decades. Truffaut borrowed time-tested Hollywood formulas to create, in essence, little more than a quick, romantic third-person daydream of good guys and not-so-good guys, sketched with tentative charm and irreverence. The translation was (and still is) refreshing, despite (and in large part because of) its disjointed, half-mocking melancholy. The film simply shrugs its shoulders in the face of tragedy with the same Gallic fatalism as its world-weary anti-hero, pianist Charles Aznavour, hiding out from life and love in a small, smoke-filled café until the unexpected arrival of his brother, with a pair of gangsters in hot pursuit.