#110/#729: TATI, Jacques: Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953)

TATI, Jacques (France)
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday [1953]

Spine #110/#729
DVD/Blu-ray

Pipe-smoking Monsieur Hulot, Jacques Tati's endearing clown, takes a holiday at a seaside resort where his presence provokes one catastrophe after another. Tati's wildly funny satire of vacationers determined to enjoy themselves includes a series of precisely choreographed sight gags involving dogs, boats, and firecrackers. The first entry in the Hulot series is a masterpiece of gentle slapstick.

87 minutes
Black & White

Monaural

in French

1:37:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2001

Director/Writers

Written by Jacques Tati and Henri Marquet.

With the collaboration of Pierre Aubert and Jacques Lagrange.

Tati was 46 when he directed Monsieur Hulot's Holiday.

Other Tati films in the Collection:

#730: Jour De Fête (1949)
#111: Mon Oncle (1958)
#112: PlayTime (1967)
#439: Trafic (1971)
#731: Parade (1974)

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

#110: Six-page wraparound featuring an essay by David Ehrenstein.

#729: Sixty-eight page booklet featuring essays by James Quandt (Scatterbrained Angel: The Films of Jacques Tati); Jonathan Rosenbaum (Composing in Sound and Image); Kristin Ross (Jacques Tati:Historian); and David Cairns (Things Fall Together).

Commentary

None.

#110/#729:

Video introduction

By writer, director and performer Terry Jones.

Short film

From 1936 by René Clément, Soigne ton gauche, starring Tati.

#729:

Clear Skies, Light Breezes

A 2013 visual essay by Tati expert Stéphane Goudet about the debut of Monsieur Hulot.

Interview 1

With Tati from a 1978 episode of the French television program Ciné regards.

Interview 2

With film composer and critic Michel Chion on Tati’s use of sound design.

Theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

99

By Director
By Spine #