Mon Oncle

( 6 )

Overview

Mon Oncle was the second film (though the first in color) in which director/actor Jacques Tati played the whimsical character of Monsieur Hulot on the screen. The film is a dazzling comic tour de force of intricate slapstick gags and naïve social commentary, stunning technical set pieces, and minimalist staging. The Criterion Collection DVD beautifully showcases this frequently visually stunning film, with an equally stunning digitally remastered transfer. The high-contrast print is always stable and free of ...
See more details below
DVD (Pan & Scan / Mono)
$29.00
BN.com price
(Save 3%)$29.99 List Price
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up In Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Other sellers (DVD)
  • All (3) from $34.54   
  • New (2) from $34.54   
  • Used (1) from $39.99   

More About This Product

Overview

Mon Oncle was the second film (though the first in color) in which director/actor Jacques Tati played the whimsical character of Monsieur Hulot on the screen. The film is a dazzling comic tour de force of intricate slapstick gags and naïve social commentary, stunning technical set pieces, and minimalist staging. The Criterion Collection DVD beautifully showcases this frequently visually stunning film, with an equally stunning digitally remastered transfer. The high-contrast print is always stable and free of video noise or artifacts. Grain is evident at times, but that has more to do with the film stock used and its vintage than with the pristine and careful transfer given to it. The soundtrack, which has likewise been given a major uplift, sounds full and clear throughout. Tati's use of sound was sophisticated, and frequently the punch line to many of his jokes, so the more clear and resonant the soundtrack the better. The film is offered in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The framing seems fine, but some visual information appears to be slightly compromised during some of the shots (i.e. the opening credits). Overall, the full-screen picture is excellent. Terry Jones gives a brief and fitting introduction to the film (as with Criterion's release of Tati's first feature, M. Hulot's Holiday, 1953), elaborating a bit on Tati's brilliant comedic timing and his deft use of satire. One of Tati's short films, the hilarious L'ecole des facteurs from 1947, is also available and a welcome addition. The disc's French-only mono soundtrack is available with optional English subtitles.
Read More Show Less

Special Features

Digital transfer, with restored image and sound; Video introduction by writer, director, and performer Terry Jones; "L'école des facteurs," the 1947 short film directed by and starring Jacques Tati; Improved English subtitles translation
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Gregory Baird
The sterility of modern, automated life is sent way, way up in Jacques Tati's comic masterpiece Mon Oncle. Tati himself stars as the lazy and affable Monsieur Hulot (the legendary character he created in Mr. Hulot's Holiday) in a series of brilliant vignettes involving Hulot's awkward interaction with his sister's family and their upper-class, futuristic lifestyle. Masterfully framed is his sister's house, a bizarre modern-architecture nightmare overflowing with absurd household gadgetry that automates -- and complicates -- even the simplest chores. It's style over substance and hi-tech as social status -- concepts that are perhaps even more relevant today than they were when the film was made. In stark contrast is the gracious, slow-paced, old-world Parisian lifestyle of the rather frumpy, pipe-smoking, bicycle-riding Hulot. Tati milks this contrast for all it's worth, finding endless ways of making the inhabitants of that strange ultramodern abode seem awkward and ridiculous in their everyday rituals: their very footsteps are an absurdity of staccato clicks on polished stone floors, and pretty much everything in the house makes a buzz when turned on. This inventive use of sound is typically Tati, providing an extra layer of humor and atmosphere to what is at heart a silent film: Hulot has virtually no dialogue, and the gags are mostly visual. The sheer originality of all this is nothing short of genius, rivaling -- and perhaps surpassing -- the work of obvious predecessors like Keaton and Chaplin. Ultimately, Mon Oncle stands as one of the greatest screen comedies -- and one of the cleverest satires of the 20th-century lifestyle -- ever made.
All Movie Guide
Like Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton, France's great comic satirist Jacques Tati plays the role of the bumbling innocent. Tati's irreverent, serio-comic Monsieur Hulot films pit the hero's naive charm against the vagaries of the modern world; nowhere is this theme more overt than in the director's first color film, Mon Oncle. Convoluted technological advances turn up in the most unassuming places, and poor Hulot is typically the brunt of the action. Like Chaplin and Keaton before him, Tati uses the character's inherent mildness and some wonderfully choreographed slapstick comedy to underscore his commentary on humanity versus the changes of modern life. Mon Oncle was widely acclaimed, winning the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar as well as a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Perfectionist Tati would wait almost a decade before his next feature, the extraordinary Playtime (1967).
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • Release Date: 1/6/2004
  • UPC: 037429155929
  • Original Release: 1958

    • Rating:

  • Source: Criterion
  • Region Code: 1
  • Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
  • Presentation: Pan & Scan / Mono
  • Sound: monaural
  • Language: Français
  • Time: 1:56:00
  • Format: DVD

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Jacques Tati Monsieur Hulot
Jean-Pierre Zola Monsieur Arpel
Alain Becourt Gerald Arpel
Adrienne Servantie Mme. Arpel
Lucien Frégis M. Pichard
Betty Schneider Betty, Landlord's Daughter
Yvonne Arnaud Georgette the Maid
Claude Badolle Flea market dealer
Nicolas Bataille Worker
Adelaide Danielli Mme. Pichard
André Dino Sweep
Michel Goyot Car Salesman
Loriot
Dominique Marie Neighbor
J.F. Martial Walter
Denise Peronne Mademoiselle Fevrier
Technical Credits
Jacques Tati Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Suzanne Baron Editor
Jean Bourgoin Cinematographer
Pierre Etaix Art Director
Read More Show Less

Scene Index

Side #1 --
0. Chapters
1. Opening titles [:10]
2. Two sides of the fence [1:10]
3. The Arpel family [1:48]
4. Cars [2:52]
5. Downtown [1:19]
6. M. Hulot [2:03]
7. The car trick [5:21]
8. A visitor [3:08]
9. "As each night" [3:15]
10. A dishonest scale [1:27]
11. The phone call [2:30]
12. The job interview [2:13]
13. The neighbor [3:29]
14. Dinnertime [3:12]
15. The whistle trick [5:55]
16. "It's always his uncle!" [5:54]
17. Sunday morning downtown [4:07]
18. The garden party [6:55]
19. ...that Evening [14:20]
20. M. Hulot at work [6:51]
21. "Happy anniversary!" [1:57]
22. Red plastic sausages [13:30]
23. An evening on the town [3:37]
24. A good morning [2:58]
25. Goodbye M. Hulot [4:58]
26. The airport [2:01]
Read More Show Less

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play the movie
   Terry Jones intro
   Subtitles
   L'écone des facteurs
   Color bars
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 6 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(3)

4 Star

(2)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
Sort by: Showing all of 6 Customer Reviews

  • Posted October 1, 2010

    Great entertaining!

    Loved the mixed of simple and complicated/sophisticated lives!!!!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted October 1, 2010

    We both love it...

    I love the futuristic kitchen and the house designed for "convenience"... with the husband and wife twisting themselves into knots to keep the house running... and my husband loves the dogs running around at the beginning of the film.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 5, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 31, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 18, 2008

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 5, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 6 Customer Reviews