Jacques Tati was a French filmmaker best known for creating the character of Monsieur Hulot, a clumsy, naive man who just kind of stumbles through life while all sorts of craziness occurs around him. He was in four films, all written and directed by Tati. Each of them is beloved around the world.
Buy PlayTime (Criterion Collection)I’ve never seen any of them. I started to watch Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday once with my wife, but we had to stop it and then never returned. That’s nothing against the film, as we quite liked what we did see; we just got distracted by other things. I have a long list of films like that. One day, maybe, I’ll return to them.
Playtime is generally considered Tati’s best film. In it, Hulot is seen wandering around a gadget-filled Paris, eternally perplexed by everything that is happening all around him. It is notable for using one of the largest sets ever built for a film.
Criterion has given it a new 4K restoration and loaded it with their usual extras.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
A Woman Under the Influence: This John Cassavetes-directed film stars Gena Rowlands as a woman who has a breakdown and is put into an institution for a while. Peter Falk plays her angry, violent husband.
Nuremberg: This drama about the infamous Nuremberg trials pits a psychiatrist whose job it is to determine which Nazis are fit for trial against Hermann Goring. It stars Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, and Richard E. Grant.
The Big Heat: This Johnnie To film has an inspector putting his career on hold to investigate a former partner’s mysterious murder.
American Yakuza: Arrow Video brings this action film about an American FBI agent who is lured away by the Yakuza.
