Search - Trafic [Special Edition] [Criterion Collection] on DVD

Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1971 DVD Release: 07/15/2008 Format: DVD - Color Edition: Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: French Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Run Time: 1 hrs 37 mins Studio: Criterion Members Wishing: 21 Genres: Comedy, Road Movie, Adventure Comedy, Urban Comedy

The legendary French comedian Jacques Tati returns as his most famous character, the bumbling M. Hulot, in this gentle but pointed satire of 20th Century car culture. In Trafic, Hulot is working as a designer for a major French automotive firm and is struggling to finish his latest project in time for an international auto show in Amsterdam -- a compact recreational vehicle that features everything from an electric razor and a collapsible couch to a built-in barbecue grill. While the car is completed shortly before the show opens, it doesn't run just yet, so Hulot and his mechanic (Tony Knepper) load the car into a truck and with an American public relations officer (Maria Kimberly) in tow, they hit the road for Holland. But what should be a simple trip from Paris to Amsterdam becomes increasingly complicated thanks to flat tires, breakdowns, traffic jams and multi-car pileups, and the well-intentioned M. Hulot does little to make things easier. Trafic began as a collaboration between Tati and Dutch filmmaker Bert Haanstra, but Haanstra dropped out of the project mid-way through production due to disagreements with Tati, and the great comedian finished the project on his own. Trafic proved to be one of Tati's final screen projects; his last theatrically released feature, Parade, was a shot-on-video homage to they heyday of French vaudeville and was primarily devoted to showing off his talents as a mime. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jacques Tati - Hulot
Maria Kimberly - Maria
Marcel Fravel - Truck Driver
Honore Bostel - Managing Director of ALTRA

Jacques Tati was one of France's greatest screen comedians and through he made only a handful of features during the course of his career as an actor and director, they were major box office hits at home in France and attracted a significant audience around the world, establishing Tati as one of the most gifted auteurs to emerge from the comic genre. The Criterion Collection, well known for their intelligent and enthusiastic support of classic European cinema, have made most of Tati's features available on DVD in North America, and Trafic is the fourth major Tati work they've released so far. Trafic has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the image looks quite good, reproducing a bit of the natural grain of the original film elements but also capturing a natural and pleasing color balance, and the source elements are clean and in good shape. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono, reproducing the film's original sound mix, and the fidelity is fine if not remarkable. The dialogue is primarily in French (with occasional passages in English and Dutch), with optional subtitles in English. In addition to the main feature, the first disc in this set also includes Trafic's original French theatrical trailer, an episode of the French television series Morceaux de Bravoure in which Tati talks about his work and shows off his estimable skills as a mime, and a French television interview with Trafic's supporting cast as they discuss their experiences working with the master. Disc two is devoted to In The Footsteps of M. Hulot, a two-part television documentary which follows Tati's career and the evolution of his best-known character, including clips from some of Tati's little-seen early short subject and a number of rare television appearances; the historical material in invaluable, though the quality of the film elements often leaves something to be desired. And the booklet includes an essay by Jonathan Romney on the making of Trafic and its place in Tati's body of work (and with admirable honesty he acknowledges that it's one of his lesser works). Trafic has been one of Tati's most elusive features in the United States, and this release not only makes it widely available but in a fine and well-curated edition; the movie isn't a classic in the manner of M. Hulot's Holiday or Mon Oncle, but it's still worth a look and this edition is easily its most impressive presentation on home video to date. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide