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Posted: **Fri Nov 13, 2009 7:20 pm**

videozor wrote:
Faux Hulot wrote:
Stefan Andersson wrote:So: a 2-dvd for release Nov. 1 including the 1978 edit, restored in 2009, the 1953 edit remastered, a resto docu, analysis featurette by Goudet, commercials directed by Tati, trailers for three versions, interviews, docu on the shooting and more.
Fantastic news!
I own Les Films de mon Oncle’s 2-DVD edition of Mon Oncle – it’s English-friendly, has two versions of the film (using latest restoration, I believe) and a lot of extras – much better choice than either CC or BFI.

On the other hand, their Playtime is not English-friendly.

I’m very exited about this, new edition of Mr Hulo; Amazon.fr lists Nov 17 as an availability date.

I’ll appreciate if someone can in the future post info on whether this new DVD is English-friendly or not…

If the BFI set included Trafic instead of Playtime, it would be a deal breaker for me!

Posted: **Wed Aug 18, 2010 3:00 pm**

Mr. Hulot's Holiday & Playtime announced as coming in Dual Format Editions November 15th.

Mr. Hulot's Holiday

* Newly remastered to High Definition
* Includes two different cuts of the film
* Interview with filmmaker Richard Lester ('A Hard Days Night', 'Superman II') (DVD only)
* Original trailers for Les Vacances de M. Hulot, Mon Oncle and Playtime
* Extensive illustrated booklet featuring essays and film notes

Playtime

* Newly remastered to High Definition
* Feature commentary by film historian Philip Kemp
* Short Documentary 'Au-delà de Playtime' (DVD only)
* Continuity supervisor Sylvette Baudrot on Tati and Playtime (DVD only)
* Director biography and short film about Tati (DVD only)
* Audio interview with Jacques Tati
* Original trailers for Les Vacances de M. Hulot, Mon Oncle and Playtime
* Includes extensive booklet with contextualising essays on the film and its director

Posted: **Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:03 pm**

Wow! November's going to be an expensive but brilliant month.

Posted: **Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:28 pm**

Playtime better be transfered from 70 mm elements, otherwise what's the point for this release.

Posted: **Thu Oct 28, 2010 11:40 am**

Full specs announced for the Tati Blu-rays:

BFI releases High Definition editions of Jacques Tati’s best-loved films

Two of the BFI’s best-selling titles, Jacques Tati’s Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot and Playtime (previously released by the BFI on VHS and DVD) are to be released in new Dual Format Editions, which include both DVD and Blu-ray discs, on 29 November.

The films have been lovingly remastered in High Definition and the lavish selection of extras on each release includes never-before released alternative versions of the films, amongst which is the rarely seen original 1953 theatrical version of Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot.

Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday)

The film that brought Jacques Tati international acclaim also launched his on-screen alter ego: the courteous, well-meaning, eternally accident-prone Monsieur Hulot with whom Tati would from now on be inseparably associated.

The film is set in a sleepy French coastal resort, which is seasonally disrupted by holidaymakers in energetic pursuit of fun. At the centre of the chaos is the eccentric Hulot, struggling at all times to maintain appearances, but somehow entirely divorced from his immediate surroundings.

Tati’s beautifully orchestrated comic ‘ballet’ is a seamless succession of gently mocking studies of human absurdity.

Special features

* Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition
* Fully restored version of Jacques Tati’s definitive 1978 final cut
* Alternative ‘international’ soundtrack (revised to include more English dialogue)
* Original theatrical release version (1953, 95 mins)
* Original theatrical trailer (DVD only)
* Richard Lester interview (DVD only, 2004, 36 mins): the acclaimed filmmaker discusses Les Vacances de M. Hulot with film historian Philip Kemp
* Illustrated booklet with a newly commissioned essay by film historian Philip Kemp

Cat no: BFIB1050 / France / 1953/1978 / Cert U / black and white / French language, optional English subtitles / 88 mins / Original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / Disc 1: BD50 / 1080p / 24fps / PCM mono audio (48k/24-bit) and Dolby Digital (320 kbps) / Region B // Disc 2: DVD9 / PAL / Dolby Digital mono (192 kbps)

Playtime

Regarded by many as Jacques Tati’s masterpiece, Playtime is a surreal comic vision of modern life in which the director’s much-loved character, Monsieur Hulot – accompanied by a cast of tourists and well-heeled Parisians – turns unintentional anarchist when set loose in an unrecognisable Paris of steel skyscrapers, chrome-plated shopping malls and futuristic night spots.

Special features

* Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
* Alternative ‘international’ soundtrack (revised by Tati to include more English dialogue)
* Feature commentary by Philip Kemp
* Rare audio interview with Jacques Tati recorded at the NFT in 1968, accompanied by stills and images from the BFI’s collections
* Original theatrical trailer (DVD only)
* Au-delà de Playtime (DVD only, 2002, 6 mins): documentary about the making and unmaking of Playtime
* Script-girl (DVD only, 2003, 12 mins): Continuity Supervisor Sylvette Baudrot on working with Tati
* Tati Story (DVD only, 21 mins, c. 2003): short biographical film
* Illustrated booklet with a newly commissioned essay by David Furnham and Kevin Brownlow’s memories of interviewing Tati

Cat no: BFIB1051 / France / 1967 / Cert U / colour / French language (some English), optional English subtitles / 124 mins / Original aspect ratio 1.85:1 / Disc 1: BD50 / 1080p / 24fps / PCM stereo audio (48k/24-bit) and Dolby Digital stereo (320kbps) / Region B // Disc 2: DVD9 / PAL / Dolby Digital Stereo (192 kbps)

Each title has an RRP of £19.99.

Posted: **Thu Oct 28, 2010 5:18 pm**

Second the motion on 70mm. Considering the films rich detail and complex, choreographed scenes, a proper transfer of the proper elements is a must. The fact that Criterion derived their blu-ray master from a 35mm reduction print was a deal breaker for me. Playtime needs an 8K transfer, ideally of the 0-neg.

Posted: **Thu Oct 28, 2010 10:03 pm**

65/70mm HD transfers (ie. 2-8k rez) are horrifically expensive. The neg is stored in France. All 70mm elements are no doubt in it's home country. The BFI will have used a 35mm no doubt. Remember that this film was not technically shot on FULL 70mm as the neg was masked from 2.21:1 to 1.66:1 (though the BFI specs say 1.85:1). However, I agree that the Criterion Blu of Playtime seemed to be less than optimal. I'll look forward to the Blus from BFI though, especially Hulot.

Posted: **Fri Oct 29, 2010 3:29 am**

Considering the modified AS Tati shot Playtime with, you could probably get away with 6K resolution, and still get it to resolve. 6K is starting to become more prevalent, and wouldn't be so prohibitive.

Posted: **Fri Oct 29, 2010 4:05 pm**

Since some of you are speculating about the transfer source, here's the official info from the booklets:

Playtime appears in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with stereo 2.0 audio. The film was transferred and restored in High-Definition, made from the 35mm reduction Internegative made from the restored 65mm Interpositive. The audio was remastered at 24-bit from the original stereo audio stems. Master materials have been made available by The Criterion Collection.

Les Vacances de M. Hulot appears in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with mono 2.0 audio. HD Master materials for the Restoration Version were made from the 2009 2K film restoration and supplied by Les Films de Mon Oncle. Master materials for Les Vacances de M. Hulot (1953 Version) were supplied by Les Films de Mon Oncle. Further picture and sound restoration was completed by the BFI.

While a new transfer directly from 65mm materials would naturally be a Utopian ideal, Person is entirely correct to point out that it would be "horrifically expensive" - and it would clearly be impossible to recoup that investment through disc sales alone even in a healthier financial climate than the present one. For such a project to be viable, it would need to be funded as a major cultural preservation project along the lines of the BFI's ongoing silent Hitchcock restorations - which essentially means that you need to lobby the French.

Posted: **Fri Oct 29, 2010 5:08 pm**

MichaelB wrote:For such a project to be viable, it would need to be funded as a major cultural preservation project along the lines of the BFI's ongoing silent Hitchcock restorations - which essentially means that you need to lobby the French.

I'm all for that. How about something like this?

Qu'est-ce que nous voulons?

Tati en 6K

Quand le voulons nous?

Maintenant!

I'm glad I've finally found a use for that French A-Level.

Posted: **Fri Oct 29, 2010 5:53 pm**

MichaelB wrote:Master materials have been made available by The Criterion Collection.

No reason to double or triple-dip then if one already owns the Crit Blu of Playtime unless the BFI have done some additional tweaks to Criterion's resto and made it look appreciably better still (though I doubt it). I'm actually relieved at this as it'd have been the fourth purchase of this film for me (having previously bought the BFI DVD, the Crit DVD reissue and most recently the Blu). That said, I have preordered the BFI Blu of Monsieur Hulot's Holiday and look forward to Mon Oncle in 1080p eventually.

Posted: **Fri Oct 29, 2010 8:06 pm**

MichaelB wrote:For such a project to be viable, it would need to be funded as a major cultural preservation project along the lines of the BFI's ongoing silent Hitchcock restorations - which essentially means that you need to lobby the French.

Though the downside of this is that the new transfer will feature Hulot with a CGI pinwheel in his mouth in every shot.

Posted: **Sat Oct 30, 2010 8:23 am**

RossyG wrote:Qu'est-ce que nous voulons?

Tati en 6K

Quand le voulons nous?

Maintenant!

I'm glad I've finally found a use for that French A-Level.

Well, French protesters are a bit busy right now, but I'm sure this will be next on their agenda once the government has capitulated and reduced the pension age to 45.

Posted: **Mon Nov 15, 2010 12:49 pm**

Has anyone had a look at the blu-ray of 'Les Vacances De M. Hulot' yet? Release dates seem to be all over the place, some stores stating the 15th - others the 22nd or the 24th.

Posted: **Mon Nov 15, 2010 5:45 pm**

HMV says the 29th and i trust them.

Posted: **Wed Nov 17, 2010 9:06 am**

Playtime and Monsieur Hulot reviewed by dvdbeaver.

Posted: **Wed Nov 17, 2010 10:16 am**

I had somehow missed the BFI's very important addition of the original version of Les Vacances, which according to Beaver is over 98 minutes - a good 10 minutes longer than the final reissue, and since that and the earlier reissue included new material there must be even more than 10 minutes of footage in the 1953 edition I've never seen. Is this the first time it has been generally available since Tati withdrew it in 1959? In his excellent biography, David Bellos writes: "The original version of Les Vacances de M.Hulot with piano-solo soundtrack has been lost." Is that the soundtrack we get on this new release?

I first saw Les Vacances in the 1978 reissue and remember seeing an episode of the ITV children's cinema show Clapperboard in which Tati talked about adding the "shark" insert, probably to capitalise on the success of Jaws. (This programme appears to be one of the many lost episodes of Clapperboard though I find I have a 1980 episode on VHS that is officially regarded lost.)

It will be interesting to see if I like the original version more. It has never had the feel of an early 50s film to me, no doubt due to Tati's additions and subtractions, and was never one of my favourites - though ironically in 1982 I vigorously defended it in the pages of The Listener magazine after its then film critic (DJ) John Peel casually dismissed it as dated and unfunny. "Surely the nadir of published film criticism," I loftily wrote of Peel's "review", as 21 year-old film graduates are apt to do...!

Posted: **Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:17 pm**

Jonathan S wrote:I had somehow missed the BFI's very important addition of the original version of Les Vacances (...). Is this the first time it has been generally available since Tati withdrew it in 1959?

No, it isn't: Exactly one year ago Naïve released it in France as part of its 2-DVD set <http://www.naive.fr/#/work/les-vacances ... ieur-hulot>. I haven't had an opportunity yet to sample the new BD/DVD, but I had the good fortune to see the 1953 version theatrically on two separate occasions quite recently, one of them even as a double feature.

It has a very different rhythm, it breathes differently, and this not only in the overall editing (scenes in/out) and the myriad of minor revisions (nip/tucks), but especially in the music -- so glad you mentioned this! You can look forward to a host of 'new' sight gags and little set pieces (never one to let a laugh go to waste, Tati reused some of the ideas in later films). My favourite moment involves a catholic priest nodding off by the tennis court; kneeling down to tie his loose shoelaces, Hulot's gestures are elevated (by the magic of sound effects) into a gentle travesty of the consecration. You'll also notice an endless amount of minor trims (I almost invariably found myself siding with the earlier version). Major advantages of the 1953 cut are that we're spared several clunky later insertions such as the Jaws reference you mentioned, the much too new-sounding 1963 soundtrack music and the post card ending (red stamp).

The biggest leap for me was the soundtrack though. I'll confess up front that I generally suffer under the musical choices in Tati's films which very frequently feel banal and opportunistic to me - music that 'talks down' to the audience. (I'm not impugning Tati's motives here, which I am sure were perfectly honest. I merely question the outcome which would have been identical if someone had condescendingly ordered 'a homespun score').

This went double for Vacances in that its score was not of a piece with the film. The sound and the texture of the re-recording (which I believe took place in 1963) were totally 'off', they seemed as incongruous to the world of this film as the '70s beachwear in the scene of the folding boat. Naturally the arrangement and the interpretation had to turn out different ten years after the initial recording.

The fascinating thing is that the original soundtrack works with the same themes but presents them with quite a different feel. With the original soundtrack the fissure closed. I no longer needed to try constantly, futilely, to filter out the jarring 1963 music and was finally able to enjoy Vacances fully, as I trust you will.

Posted: **Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:50 pm**

Thanks for that. Yes, I think it's mainly the new score that always made the film feel anachronistic for me too. So is the original music literally "piano solo" as Bellos claimed?

Posted: **Thu Nov 18, 2010 10:40 am**

Sorry I didn't respond to this above; it's not solo piano but Aimé Barelli's band.
I've asked a friend who owns the Naïve DVD and he says the credits read:

Musique de Alain Romans
avec l'orchestre Aimé Barelli

Barelli plays his trumpet over the waves & rocks in the opening credits (a slightly different view if memory serves) whereas the later reworking uses a clarinet I believe.

Alain Romans himself was the pianist in the band btw. It's quite possible that he made a solo recording of his music but the film as I know it is scored with Aimé Barelli's band. To think I can double check in a couple of weeks!

Posted: **Fri Nov 19, 2010 4:58 pm**

I'm playing the original version now, and can confirm that the opening theme is indeed played on a trumpet, initially with piano backing but with other instruments gradually being added.

I can also confirm that that although the main theme is the same, the tone is quite different from the clarinet version, and that the shots of the waves backing the credits are also different - the rocks are much more prominent in the original version.

Sadly, although still genuine 1080p, the original version is in noticeably worse shape than the reworked one - but that's to be expected, given that it didn't undergo the same extensive restoration. The restored version, on the other hand, looks astonishingly good for a nearly sixty-year-old film.

Posted: **Fri Nov 19, 2010 6:26 pm**

MichaelB wrote:Sadly, although still genuine 1080p, the original version is in noticeably worse shape than the reworked one - but that's to be expected, given that it didn't undergo the same extensive restoration.

I guess that may never be possible due to the processing lab's destruction of many of the original materials in 1955, due to a misunderstanding with Tati. But I'm amazed it survived at all after what I'd read.

Thanks (also to Hofmeister) for the music details. I have a Ducretet Thomson 78rpm disc in which the theme music is performed as the song "Quel temps fait-il a Paris?" by Frederica, accompanied by the Fred Ermelin Trio. The film is mentioned on the label so I presume it coincided with the original release.

Posted: **Tue Dec 14, 2010 11:28 am**

Blu-ray.com reckons Playtime is marginally superior to the Criterion edition, citing the uncompressed international soundtrack and the complete Philip Kemp commentary as evidence (Criterion offers Dolby Digital and excerpts).

Posted: **Thu Dec 23, 2010 12:03 pm**

...and Blu-ray.com is even more enthusiastic about Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot, describing it as:

a wonderful high-definition transfer - fine object detail is outstanding, clarity dramatically improved, and contrast levels remarkably consistent. The color-scheme does not disappoint either; the variety of whites, grays, and blacks look exceptionally fresh. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are never an issue of concern. I did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction either - the fine film grain is certainly intact and well resolved. Stability has also been greatly improved. I also did not see any annoying flecks, large scratches, cuts, debris, or stains to report in this review. Indeed, this is a wonderful release, arguably one of the very best in [the] BFI's catalog.

Posted: **Thu Jan 06, 2011 10:33 am**

The Digital Fix on Les Vacances....

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