7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The clumsy postman of a sleepy French village tries to apply more efficient, modernized methods to his mail delivery after watching an American educational film, but the results become chaotic and comical.
Starring: Guy Decomble, Paul Frankeur, Santa Relli, Maine Vallée, DelcassanForeign | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Jacques Tati's "Jour de fete" a.k.a. "Holiday" arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. Included on this release are three different versions of the film: the original 1949 black-and-white version, the alternative 1964 version which features hand-painted color sequences and newly incorporated footage, and a 1994 full-color version. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and new documentary film by Stephane Goudet. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
The Postman
StudioCanal's Blu-ray release of Jacques Tati's Jour de fete has three versions of the film: the original 1949 black-and-white version, the alternative 1964 version which features hand-painted color sequences and newly incorporated footage, and a 1994 full-color version. The 1949 and 1964 versions are granted new MPEG-4 AVC 1080p transfers, while the 1994 version comes from a standard-definition source (upscaled).
The screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:
1. Screencaptures #1-18: Version 1949 (01.26.53).
2. Screencaptures #21-32: Version 1964 (01.20.25).
3. Screencaptures #33-40: Version 1994 (01.16.37).
Recently restored, the 1949 version of Jour de fete looks lovely in high-definition. Depth and clarity are very pleasing. Many of the outdoor sequences, in particular, boast wonderful fluidity, while the few nighttime sequences impress with very good clarity (see screencaptures #15, 16, and 18). There are select parts of the film where obvious source limitations have affected depth and even contrast balance, but it is very easy to see that different optimizations were performed to make sure that definition is as good as possible (see screencapture #14 where some of the same vertical lines present on BFI's Thomsoncolor version of Jour de fete have been carefully toned down). There are no traces of problematic degraining and sharpening corrections. Predictably, grain is retained and appears very well resolved. This being said, there are parts of the film where fading has affected the grain structure and minor fluctuations are visible, but the film has a very convincing organic appearance. Lastly, a number of important stability enhancements have been performed. The film has been meticulously cleaned up as well.
StudioCanal's presentation of the newly restored 1964 version of Jour de fete looks vastly superior next to BFI's presentation of the same version. Not only are depth and clarity far better, but the entire film looks notably healthier -- scratches, damage marks, cuts, debris, and dirt have been carefully removed. Also, overall image stability is dramatically improved. To be perfectly clear, the shakiness and edge flicker from the BFI release are completely eliminated. The hand-painted color sequences appear more vibrant and better balanced as well (see screencaptures # 29, 30, 31). There are a few areas of the film where some minor contrast fluctuations still exist, but they are inherited. All in all, the new restoration of the 1964 version is very good and the film clearly looks the best it ever has.
The 1994 version of Jour de fete comes from a standard definition source, and it is presented here upscaled. As the screencaptures reveal, it looks quite poor.
(Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 for the 1949 version, French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 for the 1964 version, and French Dolby Digital 2.0 for the 1994 version. For the record, StudioCanal have provided optional English subtitles for each version.
The lossless tracks on the 1949 and 1964 versions are excellent. On the 1949 version, in particular, sound stability and depth are surprisingly good. I assume that some specific stabilization enhancements have been performed because the sound is very well balanced and there are no sudden drops or spikes in dynamic activity. Also, pops, cracks, and hiss have been removed as best as possible. (See the sequence where the postman tries to avoid the annoying bee to see how well buzzing noise is reproduced). The music is well balanced.
The 1964 version has a better range of nuanced dynamics and the music appears slightly clearer. The difference is quite obvious during the opening credits. Still, I don't think that the minor discrepancy in dynamic intensity would be noticed by too many viewers.
The 1994 version comes with a lossy track, but both clarity and depth are very good. Also, there is no problematic background hiss, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.
StudioCanal's Blu-ray release of Jacques Tati's Jour de fete is wonderful. Both the 1949 black-and-white version and the alternative 1964 version of the film have been recently restored and now look fantastic in high-definition. Also included on this release is a very informative new documentary film by Stephane Goudet. If you have previously purchased the BFI's Blu-ray release with the Thomsoncolor and 1964 versions of Jour de fete, do not hesitate to upgrade. These new restorations will remain the definitive presentations of the two versions of Jour de fete. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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