When the BFI released the Jacques Tati box-set it appeared to be the last work on the great French comic. Tati was hardly prolific, so all of his output could be put onto a neat set, so why these two new releases. The cynical answer would be to squeeze some more cash out of the same films, the kinder version would be to give fans a chance to own his two finest films on Blu-Ray and remastered DVDs with some new extras. So is it worth the extra spend (£19.99)? Well, that depends on how obsessed you are with Tati.
His best-loved and most known film, Mr Hulots holiday (Les Vacances de M. Hulot), is always worth another look. Its Tati at his warmest and funniest, when all he wanted to do was make people laugh at the absurdity of life. His Mr Hulot heads down to the south of France on the train and stays in a version of Fawlty Towers. Its a gentle comedy with loads of sight gags and perfect comic timing Tati really was the French Chaplin, with a gangly body and long legs that always seem to be going in the opposite direction.
If Mr Hulots holiday was Hulots best-received film, Playtime was the opposite an extraordinary look at modernity set in a glass and steel vision of the future. It took Tati years to make, went hugely over budget and at times seems almost wilfully unwatchable. Owning it on DVD and/or Blu-ray though is a must, as the true genius of the film reveals itself over many viewing. Its almost too exhausting to watch in one go, much better enjoyed almost as an instillation playing in the corner of your room. Tatis Hulot wanders around this antiseptic city Paris is glimpsed in the distance trying to get to grips with marble floors, machines that never work and humans who never meet. A lot of the sight gags dont actually work, many do, but its simply impossible to take them all in in one go.
The restaurant scene for example goes on for over half an hour, telling of the chaotic opening of a nouveau cuisine type eaterie in which the air conditioning doesnt work, the waiters are like rats in a cage and the food is cooked three times. Somehow Tati keeps it all together, but his message here is anyones guess. Playtime certainly benefits from its new transfer, looking in mint condition, crucial for a film of its type, with much of its power coming from the look and visual feel of the film. It has never looked better.
For real Tati buffs, Playtime is the one to own and watch over and over, Vacances is the slightly more disposable but much more accessible film. If you already own the excellent BFI box-set you might have to think hard before handing over your cash, but if youre new to Tati then start with Vacances. Its an amazing thought that he ended up making Playtime, and that the film pretty much killed off his career. It still plays in a cinema in Paris, and if you need convincing of how portentous it is, you can see it there, then get the Metro to La Defence, the kind of glass city Tati was mocking in his masterpiece.
Special Features:
Mr. Hulots Holiday:
Blu-ray HD and DVD Versions
1978 Version
International soundtrack
Trailer
Richard Lester interview
Booklet
Playtime:
NFT interview with Tati
Doc about the making of Playtime
Tati story
Booklet
Reviewer: Mike Martin