JACQUES TATI DOUBLE FEATURE

Two rarely seen short comedies featuring Jacques Tati comprise this special double feature and offer a cherished glimpse of one the French cinema's master comedians. GAl DIMANCHE -- Tati and a friend buy a mini bus, pick up some tourists and set themselves up as travel tour guides. SWING TO THE LEFT -- A farmhand gets hoodwinked into going a few boxing rounds with a champ.

FRANCE: 34 minutes. French dialog, no English subtitles.
ISBN 1-55881-254-7
$19.95

JOUR DE FÊTE
A traditional postman in a small post war French village becomes enamored with the super efficient American postal system and sets off on a vain attempt to outdo the Yanks and provide similar service — on his bicycle no less! Tati's first feature film introduced his themes of modernization and the clash between man and technology.

“Here we have the true descendant of the silent movie comedians relying as he does on sight gags. What also emerges is his brilliant use of space-the tiny incident at the corner of the screen-an ability to create characters in a few revealing shots, and his slightly sentimental view of the old French values.”— Holt’s Foreign Film Guide.

Directed by Jacques Tati. Script; JacquesTati, Henri Marquet. Photo; Jacques Mercanton. Music; Jean Yatove. Cast; Jacques Tati, Guy Decomble, Paul Frankeur, Santa Relli, Maine Vallee, Roger Ratal, Beauvais.

France, 1947), 90 min. Subtitled.
ISBN: 1-55881-250-4
$19.95

MR, HULOT'S HOLIDAY
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday / Les Vacances De Monsieur Hulot

Jacques Tatí introduced his great character Mr. Hulot (based on a Sergeant he had known in the Army and a clumsy architect called Hulot) in this classic farce. Hulot has at times been described as a man “who belongs in another time”. He invariably wears a hat and hi-pants, smokes a pipe and walks as if there’s a strong wind blowing against him. He is also a bumbler and an instigator of incidents but most importantly, an observer of the idiosyncrasies of the French middle class. In this first outing, he is off on a tortured holiday at the seaside. He bumbles his way into trouble, instigates a series of mishaps that end in a fireworks display to put Macy’s to shame and, in the process, exposes the cruelties the victims of vacation suffer in the name of fun. Memorable and enchanting farce told without any direct dialog, only slapstick comedy and sound effects.

"The best, most genuinely inventive and funny of his films."--Vincent Canby

France: 1953 86 minutes. No dialog,
ISBN: 1-55881-252-0
$19.95

MON ONCLE
My Uncle

Mr. Hulot returns as an unhappy factory worker at odds with his ultra chic Parisian sister’s upbringing of his nephew. Tatì's theme of modernization and mechanization leading to dehumanization, which had only been suggested in "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" is explored here in depth for the first time. Tati gets the most mileage from the sister’s home, which is portrayed as a giant mechanized monster that has devoured it’s occupants. Once again, Tati delivers a series of memorable sight and sound gags; watch for the the variable speed, electric toilet paper dispenser!

“Hulot's second screen appearance was enough to put him among the immortals.” — Holt’s Foreign Film Guide.

Best Foreign Film Oscar 1958
Special Jury Prize Cannes 1958

Directed by Jacques Tati. Script; Jacques Tati, Jacques Lagrange. Photo; Jean Bourgoin. Music; Alain Romans, Franck Borcellini. Cast; Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Adrienne Servatie, Alain Becourt.

France: 1958 Color, 109 minutes. No direct dialogue; music, sound effects and non-essential offscreen dialog in English.
ISBN 1-55881-253-9
$19.95

SYLVIA AND THE PHANTOM
Sylvia And The Ghost / Sylvie Et Le Fantôme

Sixteen-year-old Sylvia who is staying in her family's castle is wooed & amused by a mischievous ghost. This entertaining, light comedy romance offers Jacques Tati’s as the ghost in his first feature film appearance. The 28-year-old Joyeux is quite credible as Sylvia thanks at least in part to her husband Agostini’s photography.

Directed by Claude Autant-Lara. Script; Jean Aurenche. Photo; Philippe Agostini. Music René CIöerec. Cast; Odette Joyeux, François Périer, Jean Desailly, Jacques Tati, Louis Salou.

France 1945 93min Subtitled
ISBN: 1-55881-251-2
$19.95