Monsieur Hulot's Holiday Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Monsieur Hulot's Holiday Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 4, 2014

Nominated for Oscar Award for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay, Jacques Tati's "Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot" a.k.a. "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" (1953) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include the original version of the film; video introduction by actor and comedian Terry Jones; new visual essay by Jacques Tati scholar Stephane Goudet; exclusive new video interview with composer Michel Chion; archival episode of the French television program Cine regards; and more. In French or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Monsieur Hulot

Les vacances de M. Hulot a.k.a. Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday is part of Criterion's upcoming The Complete Jacques Tati Blu-ray box set, which will be available for purchase later this month.

There isn’t much of a plot in Les vacances de M. Hulot. Jacques Tati’s famous character arrives in a small Brittany seaside town, registers in one of its hotels, and various things immediately start breaking apart; various people also begin doing strange things.

Les vacances de M. Hulot is structured as a collage of scenes featuring numerous fascinating characters. There is a frustrated waiter who has to deal with hordes of capricious tourists. An older man who spends a lot of time talking on the phone and a lot of time looking at women half his age. A friendly lady who loves tennis but does not have any friends. A beautiful blonde who inspires Hulot to go horseback riding with her. A group of snobbish card players who do not like to be disturbed. There are also children who love ice cream.

Most of the scenes are unrelated. The many characters in the film come and go, and Hulot’s actions are not always the focus of attention. In fact, often there is a chain reaction of events, and Hulot is nowhere to be seen. Then he would suddenly appear and cause chaos.

Some of the scenes are hilarious, others not so much. Some are easy to deconstruct, others demand a second look. The film is charming, at times sentimental, but not simplistic. Most of the characters in it remain unnamed, but one does not need to know their names in order to understand what motivates them, what excites or angers them.

The dialog is extremely limited. Hulot, for example, has only one line, which he utters when he registers in the hotel. Most of the communication is done through facial expressions and gestures. There are also various random sounds -- though there is absolutely nothing random about them as they reveal what is about to happen or when the camera isn’t pointed in the right direction what has already happened.

The film ends with a bang, literally -- Hulot accidentally ignites a fireworks stand and all hell breaks loose. A few of the fireworks even hit the hotel. On the morning after the clueless tourists head home, while Hulot jumps in his strange little car and goes back to his planet.

Les vacances de M. Hulot changed Tati's career. The film received excellent reviews at the Cannes Film Festival in 1953, and in 1956 earned an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay.

Despite the warm reception, however, in the following years Tati kept improving his film -- he re-recorded the soundtrack in 1962, and in 1978 cut various scenes and added footage to others. This Blu-ray release contains the preferred by Tati version of Les vacances de M. Hulot, which underwent meticulous restoration in 2009, as well as the original 1953 version. The rerelease version is approximately twelve minutes shorter than the original 1953 version.

Monsieur Hulot's Holiday Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Tati's Les vacances de M. Hulot arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The release uses as a foundation the same restoration project which the British Film Institute accessed when they prepared their Blu-ray release of Les vacances de M. Hulot. This project was undertaken in 2009 and is based on the last version that Jacques Tati edited in 1978. The film was fully restored by La Fondation Groupama Gan pou le Cinema, Les Films de Mon Oncle, La Fondation Thomson pour le Patrimoine du Cinema et de la Television, and La Cinematheque francaise.

Please note that the screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:

1. Screencaptures #1-19 are from the 2K restoration of Jacques Tati's 1978 rerelease version.
2. Screencaptures #21-26 are from the original 1953 version of the film.

Rerelease version: The film looks fresh and very healthy. The overwhelming majority of the close-ups boast fantastic depth and make it exceptionally easy to see even very small details, while the panoramic shots from the beach impress with excellent clarity (see screencaptures #2 and 3). Color balance is outstanding -- there is a wide range of nuanced grays and whites, while the blacks are lush but natural. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. There are a few areas where some light fluctuations are present -- temporary soft spots can be seen -- but it is very obvious that these are inherited limitations. Predictably, from start to finish the film has a solid organic look. Overall image stability is outstanding. There are no large damage marks, debris, cuts, warps, stains, or scratches. Lastly, the encoding is excellent. (1080p/LPCM 1.0/ 01.28.56).

Original version: The gap in quality between the restored rerelease version and the original version Les vacances de M. Hulot is substantial. Generally speaking, the original version looks very soft and flat. Also, color stability is average at best. Some light scratches and debris can be seen, though there are no big cuts or splices. Ultimately, it is good to have the original version of the film for basic comparisons, but the restored rerelease version is very clearly the one to see. (1080p/Dolby Digital 1.0/ 01.40.05).

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).

Monsieur Hulot's Holiday Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0 and English Dolby Digital 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

As it is the case with the majority of Jacques Tati's films, there are random sounds and noises that are frequently far more important than the dialog. This film, however, is also complimented by a relaxing soundtrack courtesy of Alain Romans. The film's dynamic amplitude is still quite limited, but the music opens up select sequences and eases certain transitions. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.

Monsieur Hulot's Holiday Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• About This Version - short description addressing the basic differences between the two versions of Les vacances de M. Hulot included on this Blu-ray release. In text-format.

• Terry Jones Introduction - actor and comedian Terry Jones introduces Les vacances de M. Hulot. The video introduction was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2001. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080i).

• The 1953 Version - presented here is Jacques Tati's original 1953 version of Les vacances de M. Hulot. For technical details, please see the video section of our review.

• Clear Skies, Light Breeze - presented here is a visual essay from 2013 in which Jacques Tati scholar Stephane Goudet discusses the production history of Les vacances de M. Hulot, some of the unique social overtones in the film, the evolution of Hulot's gags in different films as well as their framing, some of the key differences between the original version and the rerelease version, etc. The essay features plenty of archival footage from the shooting of the film, split screen comparisons, clips from other films, stills, personal photographs, etc. In French, with optional English subtitles. (41 min, 1080p).

• Michel Chion - in this brand new video interview, composer Michel Chion discusses the sound design of Jacques Tati's films. There are some excellent observations about the seemingly random sounds and noises in the films and the manner in which they enhance their atmosphere as well as Jacques Tati's ability to use them in unique ways to ask questions and/or provide answers where their characters aren't willing to speak. Included with the interview are clips from various films. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Paris in 2014. In French, with optional English subtitles. (32 min, 1080p).

• Cine regards - presented here is an episode of the French television program Cine regards in which Jacques Tati views clips from his films and discusses Monsieur Hulot's body movement, facial expressions, the use of sound, the framing of different sequences (to create the desired "depth of field"), etc. The episode was broadcast in 1978. In French, with optional English subtitles. (27 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - a booklet featuring essays by critics David Cairns, James Quandt, Jonathan Rosenbaum, and Kristin Ross. (Please note that the booklet is included inside the box set).

Monsieur Hulot's Holiday Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are different opinions as to what exactly makes Jacques Tati's films so special -- the magnificently choreographed gags (sometimes involving hundreds of different people), the visuals, the remarkable set designs, or simply the charm of his legendary character. Whatever it is that you like the most, I assure you Les vacances de M. Hulot has plenty of it. This is one of my favorite Tati films and I frequently revisit it. Until recently I have been enjoying BFI's Blu-ray release, but Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release has a fantastic selection of supplemental features which make it the one to own. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.