6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Monsieur Hulot is employed as an auto company's director of design, and accompanies his new product (a "camping car" outfitted with absurd gadgetry) to an auto show in Amsterdam. Naturally, the road there is paved with modern-age mishaps.
Starring: Jacques Tati, Marcel Fraval, Franco Ressel, Maria Kimberly, Honoré BostelForeign | 100% |
Comedy | 2% |
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
English, French SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Nominated for Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, Jacques Tati's "Trafic" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The only supplemental feature on the disc is a new video piece with film critic Jonathan Romney. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
"And this is how it works..."
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Tati's Trafic arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.
In terms of detail and clarity the new restoration has produced marvelous results. Indeed, regardless of whether light is restricted image depth is consistently enormously pleasing (see screencaptures #2 and 4). Contrast levels also remain stable throughout the entire film. The best news, however, is that there are absolutely no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening corrections -- grain is evenly distributed and beautifully resolved. Colors are stable and natural looking, but the tonal balance is a bit too warm for my taste. This being said, I find it suitable for the overwhelming majority of the film. Lastly, there are no encoding or compression issues to report in this review. (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 is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with small portions of English, Dutch and Flemish). For the record, StudioCanal have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The film does not have an elaborate soundtrack, but there are all sorts of different sounds and noises that are used to enhance its unique atmosphere. The dialog is not always clear, but the cacophony that frequently overlaps it is part of the film's original sound design. There are no audio dropouts, pops, crackle, or digital distortions to report in this review.
I believe that most people who have previously seen Jacques Tati's Trafic on DVD will be very pleased with the new 2K restoration of the film. I have some minor reservations -- the film looks a bit too warm to me -- but detail and image depth are absolutely phenomenal. Trafic is currently available in StudioCanal's Jacques Tati Collection, but an individual Blu-ray release will be available for purchase later this year. RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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