Jacques Tati

[kinjitsu]

Jacques Tati (1907-1982)



If I look back at my films, I realize that the path
I took has been, in my opinion, not too difficult.
I went a little astray with Mon Oncle, but I soon
made my way back to what I really enjoy doing.
Playtime is closer in spirit to Les Vacances de
Monsieur Hulot than to Mon Oncle. I felt quite
at home shooting Playtime.


Filmography

Gai dimanche (1935) co-directed with Jacques Berr

L'Ecole des facteurs / School for Postmen (1947)

Jour de fete / The Big Day / Holiday (1949) AV Channel (R2) BFI (R2) Madman (Regions 1 thru 6)

Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot / M. Hulot's Holiday (1953) BFI (R2) Criterion (R1) Madman (Regions 1 thru 6)

Mon oncle (1958) BFI (R2) Criterion (R1) Madman (Regions 1 thru 6)

Playtime (1967) BFI (R2) Criterion (R1) Les films de mon oncle (R2) Madman (Regions 1 thru 6)

Trafic (1971) Atlantic Film (R2) Criterion (R1)

Parade (1974) DVDY Films (R2)


Forum Discussions

Jacques Tati on DVD

M. Hulot's Holiday

Mon Oncle

Playtime

Trafic


Internet Resources

The Cinema of Jacques Tati - Danvid Ng (Images Journal)

The Color of Paradise: Jour de fête - Jonathan Rosenbaum (Chicago Reader)

The Dance of Playtime - Jonathan Rosenbaum (Criterion essay)

Jacques Tati - Jaime N. Christley (Senses of Cinema)

Jacques Tati: Last Bastion of Innocence - Pedro Blas Gonzalez (Senses of Cinema)

M. Hulot's Holiday - David Ehrenstein (Criterion essay)

Mon Oncle - Matt Zoller Seitz (Criterion essay)

My holiday with Monsieur Hulot - Peter Lennon (The Guardian)

Tativille - Le site officiel de Jacques Tati


Publications

The Films of Jacques Tati - Brent Maddock (Scarecrow Press, 1977)

The Films of Jacques Tati - Michel Chion (Guernica Editions, 2002)

Jacques Tati - Penelope Gilliatt (Woburn Press, 1976)

Jacques Tati: Frame By Frame - James Harding (Secker & Warburg, 1984)

Jacques Tati: His Life and Art - David Bellos (Harvill Press, 2002)
__________________________________________________

[aox]

Hate to sound like a broken record, but has there been any word on a Tati (Hulot) Criterion box since CC has all four films?

I want to purchase Playtime which I just recently discovered, but would holdout if there was a box set of all of them coming. The other three films are pretty great as well.

[zedz]

Hate to sound like a broken record, but has there been any word on a Tati (Hulot) Criterion box since CC has all four films?

I want to purchase Playtime which I just recently discovered, but would holdout if there was a box set of all of them coming. The other three films are pretty great as well.

They've also got a fifth (at least) up their sleeves in the form of Jour de fete, I believe, so if they are thinking of a Tati 'collectors set' I expect it would be some time after that was released.

I'd say a collection of all the Tatis is a no-brainer, but you might be waiting for some time.

[domino harvey]

Mr. Hulot's pipe censored by Paris Metro
Fri Apr 17, 3:34 pm ET

PARIS (Reuters) - The pipe favored by one of French cinema's most enduring comic characters has fallen victim to advertisers who were worried about breaking an anti-smoking law -- but have earned mockery and ridicule instead.

Jacques Tati's Mr Hulot, whose pipe was as much a trademark as his hat and beige raincoat, is seen riding his Velosolex motor scooter in a poster advertising a retrospective at the Cinematheque de Paris.

But the pipe has been replaced by a small colored whirligig by Metrobus, the group that manages advertising on Paris public transport, because of fears the pipe could break a law forbidding it from "direct or indirect" tobacco and alcohol advertising.

Mr Hulot, the accident-prone hero who stumbled benevolently through a series of films between 1953 and 1971, is one of the most immediately recognizable figures in French cinema and the affair of his pipe has sparked a minor uproar.

The Liberation daily was among many newspapers mocking the cover-up, pointing out that Mr Hulot is not wearing a helmet, is riding an old-fashioned, polluting vehicle and that the small boy riding behind him is not seated securely.

"Why not go all the way with this legislative zeal?" it asked.

Even Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot has been worried. "We're getting pretty ridiculous with this," she said.

A Metrobus spokesman appeared unperturbed, reacting with the kind of assurance in adversity that would have done Mr Hulot proud.

"I really don't understand what all the fuss is about," he said.

(Writing by James Mackenzie, editing by Tim Pearce)

[jdcopp]

Serge Toubiana who runs the Cinématheque Française has written about this in a post on his blog (in French but with a copy of the photo)

He says that Macha Makeïeff who designed the poster, in commenting on the issue, has suggested that they should have replace the pipe with the words "This is not a pipe". He also says that for an Bibliothèque Nationale exposition on the Jean-Paul Sartre's centenary in 2005, a cigarette was airbrushed from a photo of Sartre.

[eltopo]

[Saturnome]

Wow that's not pretty at all. But I'm glad something humorous was done instead of a subtle airbrush censorship.

[Arny]

Hoping all members have had a Happy Christmas and I hope you have a prosperous New Years.

There was one book that was missed out, also I should add that I have found that Tati books to be an investment
Frame X Frame will fetch over 100 Euro these days and the one that is missing from the list of books shown here will fetch over $200
Jacques Tati: A Guide to References and Resources (Reference Publication in Film) (Hardcover)
http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1261833522/ ... 000&page=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am British, but have retired in France and each week I see something that reminds me of Hulot.
I really do feel, had Jacques Tati been born in another country he would never have come up with such hilarious scripts, being a great observer is just one of the many Talents this great man had.

I am 73 and I saw Jour de Fete with my Father when I was 14 years old and have been a true fan since.
My wife Natalie & I visit the places where Jacques filmed on a regular basis, I do recommend Sainte-Severe-sur-indre , and there is a great little hotel called the “Hotel Notre Dame” in the next village La Chatre to stay.
4 Place Notre Dame, 36400 Châtre (La), France‎ - 02 54 48 01 14‎
A nice couple runs this charming little hotel. Well-decorated rooms, and very reasonable.
If you visit the Supermarket in Sainte-Severe-sur-indre, you might meet a lady who was the young girl leaning out of the window at the Fairground operator in the film.

I really do recommend a visit to “St. Marc Sur Mer” and stay in the “Hotel de la Plage” it is not expensive and the food in the little restaurant opposite is also plain but good value for money.
While we were there we met another couple who were Hulot fans and spent a whole day in their company talking about our favourite Tati moments.
Interesting, but not very nice, the Statue of Mr Hulot after assembly, within 24 hours someone had stole his pipe
Best Regards,

Tony.

[Faux Hulot]

A sad and revealing letter by Tati's grandson, sent to Roger Ebert and reprinted in full as this blog entry:

It is well documented that my grandfather, Jacques Tati, wrote the script of l'Illusionniste as a sentimental semi-autobiographical reflection on how he was feeling about himself and in particular what he saw as his personal failings during the 1950's. It is also documented that the script was written as a personal letter to his teenage daughter. What is less well known however is the depth of his deceitful torment and how in the script he wrestles with the notion of publicly acknowledging his eldest daughter, my mother, who he had under duress from his elder sister heartlessly abandoned during the Second World War.

[mrmarbach]

I just saw this mention on bluray.com of Pierre Étaix:

"On a side note, Tati fans should definitely check the collected works of disciple and former assistant Pierre Étaix. These films were unseen for decades due to legal issues but they will be released next week in a DVD box set in France."

A search here produces only two mentions, of his film about Buster Keaton. Can anyone tell me more about his work? Is this box set worth getting?

[duydoan]

Among online and printed materials on Jacques Tati, in the book "A Companion to Film Comedy" there's an insightful piece I highly recommend to all of Tati's fans: "Jacques Tati and Comedic Performance".