7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Monsieur Hulot visits the technology-driven world of his sister, brother-in-law, and nephew, but he can't quite fit into the surroundings.
Starring: Lucien Frégis, Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Adrienne Servantie, Yvonne ArnaudForeign | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
French: LPCM Mono
English: Dolby Digital Mono
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Winner of Oscar Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Jacques Tati's "Mon Oncle" (1959) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include the French director's alternative version of the film, "My Uncle"; video introduction by actor and comedian Terry Jones; new visual essay by scholar Stephane Goudet; an episode of the French television program 30 millions d'amis; and more. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Villa Arpel
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Tati's Mon Oncle arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with The Complete Jacques Tati Blu-ray box set:
"This digital transfer was created in 2K resolution from the edited camera negative at Arane-Gulliver in Clichy, France, where the film was also restored. The 2013 restoration was undertaken by Les Films de Mon Oncle. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit at L.E. Diapason in Epinay-sur-Seine, France, from the optical track off the negative.
Restoration supervisors: Jerome Deschamps & Macha Makeieff, Philippe Gigot.
Image restoration: Arane-Gulliver, Clichy, France.
Sound restoration: L.E. Diapason, Epinay-sur-Seine, France."
Please note that the screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:
1. Screencaptures #1-19: Mon Oncle (Restored).
2. Screencaptures #21-26: My Uncle (English-language version).
3. Screencaptures #27-37: Mon Oncle (BFI Region-B release)
Restored Version: Both depth and clarity are visibly improved. Contrast levels are also far better balanced. Grain is well resolved and in a number of different sequences also better distributed. The most notable improvements are in the area of color stability. On the BFI release of Mon Oncle there are some very light color pulsations (sporadic fluttering), but on the new high-definition transfer colors remain solid. As it was the case with the new 4K restoration of PlayTime greens and yellows are elevated. The effect the stronger green has had on the more balanced reds and whites from the previous restoration of Mon Oncle is very easy to see throughout the entire film (compare screencapture #3 with screencapture #33, screencapture #2 with screencapture #32, and screencapture #17 with #screencapture 37). Overall image stability is outstanding. Also, there are no large debris, cuts, stains, damage marks, or warps to report in this review.
My Uncle: This alternative version of Mon Oncle is presented in 1080p, but it appears to have been sourced from a standard definition master. Detail and image depth are not impressive, but overall image stability is very good.
(Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
The lossless track is excellent. The music is crisp and clear and the various sounds and noises heard throughout the film well defined. There is plenty of random dialog that isn't easy to follow, but the effect is actually part of the film's original sound design. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.
Mon Oncle, Jacques Tati's first film to be released in color, targets a wide range of modern values and attitudes that have become an essential part of our reality. I find the film to be just as effective as Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times, though the two accomplish their goals differently. StudioCanal's new 2K restoration offers excellent improvements in terms of clarity and detail, but my feeling is that its color scheme would have been slightly different if Criterion had been in charge with the restoration. Regardless, this is a release well worth owning. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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