Trafic [2 Discs] [Special Edition] [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Jacques Tati was one of France's greatest screen comedians and through he made only a handful of features during the course of his career as an actor and director, they were major box office hits at home in France and attracted a significant audience around the world, establishing Tati as one of the most gifted auteurs to emerge from the comic genre. The Criterion Collection, well known for their intelligent and enthusiastic support of classic European cinema, have made most of Tati's features available on DVD in North America, and Trafic is the fourth major Tati work they've released so far. Trafic has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the image looks quite good, reproducing a bit of the natural grain of the original film elements but also capturing a natural and pleasing color balance, and the source elements are clean and in good shape. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono, reproducing the film's original sound mix, and the fidelity is fine if not remarkable. The dialogue is primarily in French (with occasional passages in English and Dutch), with optional subtitles in English. In addition to the main feature, the first disc in this set also includes Trafic's original French theatrical trailer, an episode of the French television series Morceaux de Bravoure in which Tati talks about his work and shows off his estimable skills as a mime, and a French television interview with Trafic's supporting cast as they discuss their experiences working with the master. Disc two is devoted to In The Footsteps of M. Hulot, a two-part television documentary which follows Tati's career and the evolution of his best-known character, including clips from some of Tati's little-seen early short subject and a number of rare television appearances; the historical material in invaluable, though the quality of the film elements often leaves something to be desired. And the booklet includes an essay by Jonathan Romney on the making of Trafic and its place in Tati's body of work (and with admirable honesty he acknowledges that it's one of his lesser works). Trafic has been one of Tati's most elusive features in the United States, and this release not only makes it widely available but in a fine and well-curated edition; the movie isn't a classic in the manner of M. Hulot's Holiday or Mon Oncle, but it's still worth a look and this edition is easily its most impressive presentation on home video to date. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Encoding: NTSC
• Screen: Color
• Subtitle: English
• Features:
  • Disc One:
  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer
  • Interview from 1971 with the cast of Trafic, from the French television program Le Journal du Cinéme
  • "The Comedy of Jacques Tati," a 1973 episode of the French television program Morceaux de Bravoure
  • Theatrical trailer
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • Disc Two:
  • In the Footsteps of M. Hulot (1989), a two-part documentary by Sophie Tatischeff tracing the evolution of Tati's beloved alter ego

AWARDS

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Foreign Film - 1973

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Jacques Tati - Hulot
       Maria Kimberly - Maria
       Marcel Fravel - Truck Driver
       Honore Bostel - Managing Director of ALTRA

• Director:

  Jacques Tati

• Producer:

  Robert Dorfmann

• Screenwriter:

  Bert Haanstra, Jacques Lagrange, Jacques Tati

• Cinematographer:

  Eduard van der Enden, Anton VanMunster, Marcel Weiss

• Composer (Music Score):

  Charles Dumont

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Bernard Gérard

• Editor:

  Maurice Laumain, Jacques Tati, Sophie Tatischeff

REVIEWS:

• The director's second to last feature, Jacques Tati's Trafic also became the swan song of his popular Mr. Hulot character. Intended as more of a crowd-pleaser after the expensive failure of his Hulot masterwork Playtime (1967), Tati's trench-coated naïf contends with the fallout of car mania as he escorts a fully loaded camper car to an Amsterdam auto show, including a pompous public relations woman, truck problems, traffic pile-ups, an elaborate collision, and road rage. Though not up to par with the prior trio of Hulot films, the character's final satirical confrontation with the modern world's absurdities is still occasionally elevated by such signature Tati-isms as expressively non-natural colors, geometrically astute compositions, witty visual puns, and an array of silly walks. Though Trafic was meant to help Tati recoup his losses from Playtime, it failed to save the filmmaker from bankruptcy. While Tati's filmmaking fate was troubled, however, the always humanistic Hulot got to walk off into a cleansing rainstorm with a beautiful woman on his arm, shielded (of course) by his trusty umbrella. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
• The director's second to last feature, {$Jacques Tati}'s {#Trafic} also became the swan song of his popular {%Mr. Hulot} character. Intended as more of a crowd-pleaser after the expensive failure of his {%Hulot} masterwork {#Playtime} (1967), {$Tati}'s trench-coated naïf contends with the fallout of car mania as he escorts a fully loaded camper car to an Amsterdam auto show, including a pompous public relations woman, truck problems, traffic pile-ups, an elaborate collision, and road rage. Though not up to par with the prior trio of {%Hulot} films, the character's final satirical confrontation with the modern world's absurdities is still occasionally elevated by such signature Tati-isms as expressively non-natural colors, geometrically astute compositions, witty visual puns, and an array of silly walks. Though {#Trafic} was meant to help {$Tati} recoup his losses from {#Playtime}, it failed to save the filmmaker from bankruptcy. While {$Tati}'s filmmaking fate was troubled, however, the always humanistic {%Hulot} got to walk off into a cleansing rainstorm with a beautiful woman on his arm, shielded (of course) by his trusty umbrella. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

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