The Grammy for Best New Artist can be a double-edged sword. The award has been associated with a certain “curse” where winners in the category tend to fade away from the public consciousness rather quickly, especially in comparison to their fellow nominees. With a recent coronation of yet another Best New Artist, Olivia Rodrigo, I think it’s time to truly reevaluate whether the award is really a kiss of death. Let’s specifically take a look at the 2010s and onward.
A couple of winners fall into the “genre favorite” category, where the winning artist didn’t become a huge crossover star but still enjoys success in their particular field. For example, the 2010s opened with a win for country group Zac Brown Band. A lot of people mark their win with an asterisk, since that year’s breakout superstar, Lady Gaga, was deemed ineligible due to a Grammy...
A couple of winners fall into the “genre favorite” category, where the winning artist didn’t become a huge crossover star but still enjoys success in their particular field. For example, the 2010s opened with a win for country group Zac Brown Band. A lot of people mark their win with an asterisk, since that year’s breakout superstar, Lady Gaga, was deemed ineligible due to a Grammy...
- 4/12/2022
- by Jaime Rodriguez
- Gold Derby
Megaton Entertainment, an indie distribution and film sales firm, has picked up a pair of titles from Hong Kong production entities Amm Entertainment and Phoenix Waters. It is launching them at the American Film Market (AFM) this week.
Megaton is pre-selling “Chungking Mansions,” which it bills as the biggest zombie film in Hong Kong cinema history, and also as “ ’The Raid’ with zombies.” Directed by banker turned producer and director Bizhan Tong (“The Escort”), the film tracks a diverse group of people who, following a zombie attack, try to break into Chungking Mansions.
The building was made famous in Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express and is possibly the richest cultural melting pot in the predominantly Chinese city. Wong is reputed to have called it a “mass-populated and hyperactive place.”
Currently in pre-production, the film is set to employ a suitably diverse cast including: Japan’s Rina Takeda (“Attack on Titan...
Megaton is pre-selling “Chungking Mansions,” which it bills as the biggest zombie film in Hong Kong cinema history, and also as “ ’The Raid’ with zombies.” Directed by banker turned producer and director Bizhan Tong (“The Escort”), the film tracks a diverse group of people who, following a zombie attack, try to break into Chungking Mansions.
The building was made famous in Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express and is possibly the richest cultural melting pot in the predominantly Chinese city. Wong is reputed to have called it a “mass-populated and hyperactive place.”
Currently in pre-production, the film is set to employ a suitably diverse cast including: Japan’s Rina Takeda (“Attack on Titan...
- 11/2/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
From lavish setups to elaborate dance sequences to Bollywood influence in the ceremony, the Indian wedding market is worth millions of dollars, and the streaming space has started sensing the value of it. While we have seen several wedding stories being narrated on the big as well as small screens, the Ott space has now started looking at the reality drama around weddings in upcoming shows.
We take a look at upcoming shows and films that have created a buzz, and shifted spotlight on the big fat Indian wedding.
Indian Matchmaking
The Netflix show created a buzz in India when it opened elite Indian matchmaker Sima Taparia's journey of finding suitable matches for her wealthy clients in India and the US. The eight-part docu-series revolves around Mumbai-based matchmaker Taparia, who arranged meetings between her clients with the intention of getting them married. All of the clients were of Indian...
We take a look at upcoming shows and films that have created a buzz, and shifted spotlight on the big fat Indian wedding.
Indian Matchmaking
The Netflix show created a buzz in India when it opened elite Indian matchmaker Sima Taparia's journey of finding suitable matches for her wealthy clients in India and the US. The eight-part docu-series revolves around Mumbai-based matchmaker Taparia, who arranged meetings between her clients with the intention of getting them married. All of the clients were of Indian...
- 2/4/2021
- by Glamsham Editorial
- GlamSham
A couple of things have caught our eye in February’s Netflix UK line-up, first, the German dystopian sci-fi Tribes of Europa. After the success of sci-fi series Dark, the streaming service invested in a bunch of new German-language series, including the mega-successful historical Barbarians. Tribes was among them, and tells the story of a group of siblings in 2074, separated after a global disaster that leaves Europe riven by warring factions. Also sounding like a good time is South Korean comedy Space Sweepers, about a spaceship crew tasked with cleaning up intergalactic trash.
There’s also the arrival of Parks and Recreation in full – perfect for a lockdown rewatch, new stand-up, all of The Vampire Diaries, and Jason “It’s a megalodon” Statham in The Meg.
We’ll update this list with new arrivals as they’re confirmed.
1 February
Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
The Family Fang (2015)
The House Arrest of Us...
There’s also the arrival of Parks and Recreation in full – perfect for a lockdown rewatch, new stand-up, all of The Vampire Diaries, and Jason “It’s a megalodon” Statham in The Meg.
We’ll update this list with new arrivals as they’re confirmed.
1 February
Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
The Family Fang (2015)
The House Arrest of Us...
- 2/1/2021
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Chance the Rapper streamed a virtual live show on Monday night as part of a collaboration with fashion company Ralph Lauren. The pre-recorded set, which originally aired at 9:00 p.m. Et, is available to view 24 hours after launch on the artist’s and brand’s social channels.
The 27-minute concert, filmed at Ralph Lauren’s flagship store in the emcee’s hometown of Chicago, featured smooth tracks like “Work Out,” “Summer Friends” and “Ballin Flossin.” Early on in the show, Chance addressed his unique surroundings, noting, “I grew up...
The 27-minute concert, filmed at Ralph Lauren’s flagship store in the emcee’s hometown of Chicago, featured smooth tracks like “Work Out,” “Summer Friends” and “Ballin Flossin.” Early on in the show, Chance addressed his unique surroundings, noting, “I grew up...
- 9/15/2020
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
Chance the Rapper is about to become Chance the Prankster too.
Taking over the gig once held by Ashton Kutcher, the multiple Grammy winner has been revealed to be the host of the Quibi revival of Punk’d.
“Punk’d is one of MTV’s most iconic franchises,” stated the Chicago-based Chance of the now phone-based series. “I grew up watching this show and it’s surreal to be in the driver’s seat this time around on Quibi.”
First announced last June and set to debut in its 10-minutes or less form on the April 6 premiering Jeffrey Katzenberg launched mobile-first media technology platform, the 20 or so episodes of the new 21st century Punk’d is produced by STXtelevision in association with MTV Studios. In addition to fronting the hidden camera gags and tricks on celebrities, Chance the Rapper will serve as an executive producer on the series with Jason Goldberg.
The...
Taking over the gig once held by Ashton Kutcher, the multiple Grammy winner has been revealed to be the host of the Quibi revival of Punk’d.
“Punk’d is one of MTV’s most iconic franchises,” stated the Chicago-based Chance of the now phone-based series. “I grew up watching this show and it’s surreal to be in the driver’s seat this time around on Quibi.”
First announced last June and set to debut in its 10-minutes or less form on the April 6 premiering Jeffrey Katzenberg launched mobile-first media technology platform, the 20 or so episodes of the new 21st century Punk’d is produced by STXtelevision in association with MTV Studios. In addition to fronting the hidden camera gags and tricks on celebrities, Chance the Rapper will serve as an executive producer on the series with Jason Goldberg.
The...
- 1/24/2020
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Randy Newman has canceled a string of tour dates in Australia and New Zealand as he continues to recover from hip surgery.
The musician was set to hit the road on February 2nd in Melbourne, but in a note on social media he said that his recovery period was taking longer than expected. “I couldn’t be more sorry, I really couldn’t,” Newman said. “I wanted very much to perform in Australia and New Zealand.”
Newman also alluded to the devastating bushfires in Australia, saying, “I am especially sorry...
The musician was set to hit the road on February 2nd in Melbourne, but in a note on social media he said that his recovery period was taking longer than expected. “I couldn’t be more sorry, I really couldn’t,” Newman said. “I wanted very much to perform in Australia and New Zealand.”
Newman also alluded to the devastating bushfires in Australia, saying, “I am especially sorry...
- 1/16/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Mubi is showing Jacques Tati's Jour de fête (1949) and PlayTime (1967) in December 2018 and January 2019 in many countries around the world as part of the series A Holiday with M. Tati.The characters played by director Jacques Tati, in Jour de fête (1949), Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953), Mon oncle (1958), PlayTime (1967), Trafic (1971), and Parade (1974), are rarely the singular focus of their respective film. Sure, his endearing M. Hulot appears in four of these features, and his François, from Jour de fête, is the most prominent resident of that film’s snug provincial hamlet. But Tati’s on-screen persona, whatever his name (he has none in Parade), is often more of an escort, an inimitable figure whose primary function is to introduce surrounding characters by way of his direct and indirect interaction, and to establish the capacity of each film’s essential setting, which is usually enlivened by his mere existence if not his actual relevance.
- 12/18/2018
- MUBI
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Interstellar (Christopher Nolan)
Sure, the film has some flaws. I think Nolan‘s visual style suffers with the absence of his usual collaborator, Wally Pfister, though Hoyte van Hoytema still shoots a beautiful film. All the same, Interstellar swings for the fences, and while it might throw out its shoulder and stumble on a twisted ankle in the homestretch, I’ll be damned if the ball...
Interstellar (Christopher Nolan)
Sure, the film has some flaws. I think Nolan‘s visual style suffers with the absence of his usual collaborator, Wally Pfister, though Hoyte van Hoytema still shoots a beautiful film. All the same, Interstellar swings for the fences, and while it might throw out its shoulder and stumble on a twisted ankle in the homestretch, I’ll be damned if the ball...
- 12/18/2015
- by TFS Staff
- The Film Stage
At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Bound by Flesh"
If you're a fan of "American Horror Story: Freak Show," you'll want to get to know sideshow stars Daisy and Violet Hilton. Leslie Zemeckis writes and directs this doc about the world-famous conjoined twins.
"Nightbreed: The Director's Cut"
This is the first time that Clive Barker's original cut has been released, with 40 minutes of fresh footage. The limited edition release comes with the theatrical cut, as well as a third disc of extras, but it's already sold out. Still, the regular release has the long-awaited director's cut, Barker audio commentary, and some other goodies that make it a worthwhile investment for fans.
The Complete Jacques Tati
This seven-disc Criterion set comes with Tati's six features, plus...
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Bound by Flesh"
If you're a fan of "American Horror Story: Freak Show," you'll want to get to know sideshow stars Daisy and Violet Hilton. Leslie Zemeckis writes and directs this doc about the world-famous conjoined twins.
"Nightbreed: The Director's Cut"
This is the first time that Clive Barker's original cut has been released, with 40 minutes of fresh footage. The limited edition release comes with the theatrical cut, as well as a third disc of extras, but it's already sold out. Still, the regular release has the long-awaited director's cut, Barker audio commentary, and some other goodies that make it a worthwhile investment for fans.
The Complete Jacques Tati
This seven-disc Criterion set comes with Tati's six features, plus...
- 10/27/2014
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
Watch the digital premiere of the French master comedian's 1947 short The School for Postmen (aka L'Ecole des Facteurs). Containing many of the same jokes and gags as Tati's debut feature Jour de Fête (which was released two years later) it features Tati as a lugubrious mailman undergoing training to improve the efficiency of the French postal service. The School for Postmen distils Tati's genius in embryonic form, and is available as part of The Essential Jacques Tati Collection on Blu-ray Continue reading...
- 8/6/2014
- by Guardian film
- The Guardian - Film News
The Complete Jacques Tati Boxset & 'La Dolce Vita' Anchors The Criterion Collection October Releases
For the most part, The Criterion Collection tends to serve up four or five films each month, and perhaps something in their Eclipse line of down and dirty releases. But this October, they've got stuff coming that's so big, they're keeping the focus where it should be, rather than spreading themselves too thin. First up is "The Complete Jacques Tati," which as the title suggests, will feature his six feature length films — "Jour de fête," "Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday," "Mon oncle," "PlayTime," "Trafic," and "Parade" — along with seven short films as well. Needless to say this has all been beautifully restored, and yes, it will be coming absolutely packed with extras. This thing will be teeming with documentaries, archival interviews, visual essays and much, much, much, more. It's everything you could want as a Tati fan or newcomer alike, so get on it. A bonafide classic, Criterion has finally got their mitts on.
- 7/15/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Above: 1970s re-release poster for Jour de Fête (Jacques Tati, France, 1949).
Michel Landi (born 1932) is an incredibly prolific French poster artist with more than 1,500 posters to his name, many of which, like his Bullitt, are very well known. Having worked from the late 50s—when he began by painting the billboards outside Paris movie theaters—through to the 00s, he has worked in many different mediums (he had a notable airbrush period in the 80s) and isn’t really known for one distinctive style. But I recently discovered a number of painted posters by Landi from the late 60s and early 70s that are all very much the work of one artist: all distinguished by wildly expressive brush strokes and a generous, almost fauvist, use of color. The first one I noticed was this exuberant re-release poster for Jacques Tati’s Jour de Fête which renders a carousel as a whirlwind of paint.
Michel Landi (born 1932) is an incredibly prolific French poster artist with more than 1,500 posters to his name, many of which, like his Bullitt, are very well known. Having worked from the late 50s—when he began by painting the billboards outside Paris movie theaters—through to the 00s, he has worked in many different mediums (he had a notable airbrush period in the 80s) and isn’t really known for one distinctive style. But I recently discovered a number of painted posters by Landi from the late 60s and early 70s that are all very much the work of one artist: all distinguished by wildly expressive brush strokes and a generous, almost fauvist, use of color. The first one I noticed was this exuberant re-release poster for Jacques Tati’s Jour de Fête which renders a carousel as a whirlwind of paint.
- 1/24/2014
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
What defines a “great director”? Not influence; of that I’m fairly sure, though the broader appeal of a director—any director, spiritual or commercial—solely rests on their place in “cinema history.” And if it is influence that dictates greatness, Tati most certainly would not be appearing on this list.
Whatever the case, this article will determine—whilst not being restricted to—some of the greatest directors from some of the greatest filmmaking nations.
5. France — Jacques Tati
I start with the most obscure choice on the list. Jacques Tati. Most would make a case as to why Jean Renoir, Jean Vigo or Jean-Luc Godard should be crowned France’s Goat, at least of the pack with forenames beginning with ‘J’, which I cannot argue. But Jacques has something no other director has ever had before, and what’s worse is that I cannot explain what it is. Perhaps it’s that M.
Whatever the case, this article will determine—whilst not being restricted to—some of the greatest directors from some of the greatest filmmaking nations.
5. France — Jacques Tati
I start with the most obscure choice on the list. Jacques Tati. Most would make a case as to why Jean Renoir, Jean Vigo or Jean-Luc Godard should be crowned France’s Goat, at least of the pack with forenames beginning with ‘J’, which I cannot argue. But Jacques has something no other director has ever had before, and what’s worse is that I cannot explain what it is. Perhaps it’s that M.
- 3/11/2013
- by Thomas Priday
- Obsessed with Film
In 1947, Tati shot his successful comedy on two cameras, one in colour film and one in black and white as a back-up. When the lab could not process the intended version, the film was released in black and white, and only in 1995 reconstructed from the colour film. Now BFI has released a Dual Format Edition of Jour de fête with the colour version in high definition as well as a 1964 variation.
Set in an idyllic, rural French village the film follows several different minor plot lines all centered around the carnival that has come to town – a love story, an angry restaurant owner, a barber shop. But most importantly, we meet Francois, the ever mumbling postman, ridiculed but loved by all. Francois learns about the efficient Us postal system during the fun fair and tries to take their modern practices on, only to realise that maybe it is best not to.
Set in an idyllic, rural French village the film follows several different minor plot lines all centered around the carnival that has come to town – a love story, an angry restaurant owner, a barber shop. But most importantly, we meet Francois, the ever mumbling postman, ridiculed but loved by all. Francois learns about the efficient Us postal system during the fun fair and tries to take their modern practices on, only to realise that maybe it is best not to.
- 11/6/2012
- by Jessica Ritter-Holland
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
★★★★☆ The BFI's remastered Jacques Tati series continues with the double release of Jour de Fête (1949) and Mon Oncle (1958) - two of the beloved French star's most renowned films. Packaged with in-depth booklets, essays and brand new artwork to tie-in with the crystal clear restorations, these films well represent the immeasurable talent Tati attempted to share with his audience. Jour de Fête, Tati's directorial debut, centres on a delusional postman, François (Tati), who works for the French postal service. Ridiculed by his fellow townspeople, François is constantly subjected to taunts and antics at the cost of his own pride.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 10/30/2012
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
In homage to Jacques Tati, French animator Sylvain Chomet has crafted an exquisite, gently comic and elegiac film
Seven years ago, French animator Sylvain Chomet made a pleasing intervention into the world of bland, airbrushed, computer-animated American movies with his delightful Belleville Rendezvous (aka Les Triplettes de Belleville). A crucial element in his wildly inventive film was the Tour de France, and Chomet wanted to include a clip featuring the cycling postman from his great hero Jacques Tati's Jour de fête. He wrote to the director's daughter, Sophie Tatischeff, seeking permission, and she was so impressed she not only gave him the go-ahead but also drew his attention to an unfilmed screenplay her father had written in the late 1950s. Filed in the archives as "Film Tati No 4", it was dedicated to her. Tati had abandoned what has now become The Illusionist as being too serious and personal, embarking instead on the extravagant Playtime,...
Seven years ago, French animator Sylvain Chomet made a pleasing intervention into the world of bland, airbrushed, computer-animated American movies with his delightful Belleville Rendezvous (aka Les Triplettes de Belleville). A crucial element in his wildly inventive film was the Tour de France, and Chomet wanted to include a clip featuring the cycling postman from his great hero Jacques Tati's Jour de fête. He wrote to the director's daughter, Sophie Tatischeff, seeking permission, and she was so impressed she not only gave him the go-ahead but also drew his attention to an unfilmed screenplay her father had written in the late 1950s. Filed in the archives as "Film Tati No 4", it was dedicated to her. Tati had abandoned what has now become The Illusionist as being too serious and personal, embarking instead on the extravagant Playtime,...
- 8/21/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Alors. The opening gala film at this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival, The Illusionist is an animated film by Sylvain Chomet, who made The Triplets of Belleville, based on an unfilmed script or treatment or scriptment by Jacques Tati. So, rather like the Kubrick-Spielberg hybrid A.I. Artificial Intelligence, it's tempting to treat it as an artifact whose uncertain authorship is its most interesting feature. But as with the fascinating blurring of two very different sensibilities seen in the earlier science fiction fairy tale, to get too caught up in that question may result in paying insufficient attention to the object itself.
Certainly Chomet's view of the world is closer to Tati's than Spielberg's to Kubrick's. His first feature paid respectful homage to Jour de fête(and being a French visual comedy with a bicycle in a central role, how could it not?) which brought Chomet to the attention of Sophie Tatischeff,...
Certainly Chomet's view of the world is closer to Tati's than Spielberg's to Kubrick's. His first feature paid respectful homage to Jour de fête(and being a French visual comedy with a bicycle in a central role, how could it not?) which brought Chomet to the attention of Sophie Tatischeff,...
- 6/16/2010
- MUBI
After the success of Belleville Rendez-Vous, French animator Sylvain Chomet had much of Hollywood making overtures at him. So what made him decamp to Edinburgh instead?
"Scotland is very like Provence," Sylvain Chomet declares, and waits a second for the ridiculousness of what he has just said to sink in. Who wouldn't be fooled by the lavender fields of Lanarkshire, the sun-bleached hills of Kirkcaldy or the olive groves of Auchtermuchty?
Isn't Govan even a kind of Monte Carlo by the Clyde with scratchcards for roulette and Buckfast for Bordeaux? And what is a midge, if not a cicada that has yet to find its voice?
"No, no, I am serious," Chomet insists, half in outrage. "Laugh if you like, but they are very similar. The light is exactly the same as in Provence. That is, when there is light in Scotland. And I am telling you, you only get...
"Scotland is very like Provence," Sylvain Chomet declares, and waits a second for the ridiculousness of what he has just said to sink in. Who wouldn't be fooled by the lavender fields of Lanarkshire, the sun-bleached hills of Kirkcaldy or the olive groves of Auchtermuchty?
Isn't Govan even a kind of Monte Carlo by the Clyde with scratchcards for roulette and Buckfast for Bordeaux? And what is a midge, if not a cicada that has yet to find its voice?
"No, no, I am serious," Chomet insists, half in outrage. "Laugh if you like, but they are very similar. The light is exactly the same as in Provence. That is, when there is light in Scotland. And I am telling you, you only get...
- 6/10/2010
- by Fiachra Gibbons
- The Guardian - Film News
Grandson of Hulot star accuses film-makers of sabotaging script of new animated movie
An unfilmed Jacques Tati screenplay, L'illusionniste, will finally make it to the screen after 54 years, when director Sylvain Chomet's animated version has its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, Berlinale, next month. But the occasion threatens to be overshadowed by a story of pain and scandal from the real life of the French comedian.
Chomet's treatment of Tati's poignant tale has been much awaited since his award-winning 2003 animation, Belleville Rendez-Vous. L'illusionniste tells of an old-fashioned, ageing magician whose encounter with a young girl changes his life, in a narrative believed to have been written by Tati as a personal message to his teenage daughter.
In 2000, the screenplay was handed over to Chomet by Tati's daughter, Sophie, two years before her death. Now, however, the family of Tati's illegitimate and estranged eldest child, Helga Marie-Jeanne Schiel, who...
An unfilmed Jacques Tati screenplay, L'illusionniste, will finally make it to the screen after 54 years, when director Sylvain Chomet's animated version has its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, Berlinale, next month. But the occasion threatens to be overshadowed by a story of pain and scandal from the real life of the French comedian.
Chomet's treatment of Tati's poignant tale has been much awaited since his award-winning 2003 animation, Belleville Rendez-Vous. L'illusionniste tells of an old-fashioned, ageing magician whose encounter with a young girl changes his life, in a narrative believed to have been written by Tati as a personal message to his teenage daughter.
In 2000, the screenplay was handed over to Chomet by Tati's daughter, Sophie, two years before her death. Now, however, the family of Tati's illegitimate and estranged eldest child, Helga Marie-Jeanne Schiel, who...
- 1/31/2010
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
It seems that every 10-15 years Jacques Tati is reintroduced to the American moviegoing public. The last wave was in the late '90s when the recently-restored color print of Jour de Fête (1949)--Tati's first directorial feature--traveled the art house circuit. Now with the participation of the French ministry, spanking new prints have been struck of Tati's films and a new wave is hitting American shores. Riding the crest of this most recent wave is The Magnificent Tati, an outstanding documentary biography by Michael House, which will see its U.S. premiere in San Francisco at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Sunday, January 24, 2010, 2:00Pm, with House in the house.
Along with Dennis Harvey's helpful overview of Tati's career, SF360 has optioned my interview with Michael House, which is now up at their site. As synopsized at SF360, Michael House was born in San Diego and worked...
Along with Dennis Harvey's helpful overview of Tati's career, SF360 has optioned my interview with Michael House, which is now up at their site. As synopsized at SF360, Michael House was born in San Diego and worked...
- 1/19/2010
- Screen Anarchy
"The Museum of Modern Art's retrospective of the French screenwriter, director, and actor Jacques Tati (born Jacques Tatischeff, 1907–1982) features newly struck, gloriously restored 35mm prints of his six feature films," brags the Museum, and well they should: "Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, Playtime, Mon Oncle, his long-dreamed-of colorized version of Jour de fête, the revelatory Traffic, and the little-seen Parade - along with three short sketch films." The series runs through January 2 and Jordan Hruska (T Magazine) notes that, architecturally, "MoMA is a perfect venue" for it, while Nicolas Rapold (Voice) notes that it follows "the huge Cinémathèque Française exhibition" and: "Besides a 1936 René Clément short with gangly Tati as a farm boy recruited for sparring (sports-based routines were initially his specialty), MoMA also shows the delightful Cours du soir (1966), shot during Playtime downtime, in which Tati presides at a night school for pratfalls and mime. It's quite an education, but then,...
- 12/22/2009
- MUBI
Jacques Tati was a master of burlesque. Emilie Bickerton on a French revolutionary
If you told Jacques Tati that his flight was delayed, he'd say terrific – and settle down to watch what he considered "the best movie of the year": people passing by. Observation gave the director all the material he needed for the four films he made over three decades. Tati liked to call himself "the Don Quixote of cinema", which captures his combination of idealism, imagination and generosity. Monsieur Hulot, his charming, self-effacing but out-of-synch comic creation, is the character with whom he is most often, and fondly, associated. But Tati's work cannot be reduced to the man with the too-short trousers. His films – from the early burlesque of Jour de fête in 1949 to the highly stylised modernism of Play Time in 1967 – might not have an intellectual message, but they are delightful witnesses to the second half...
If you told Jacques Tati that his flight was delayed, he'd say terrific – and settle down to watch what he considered "the best movie of the year": people passing by. Observation gave the director all the material he needed for the four films he made over three decades. Tati liked to call himself "the Don Quixote of cinema", which captures his combination of idealism, imagination and generosity. Monsieur Hulot, his charming, self-effacing but out-of-synch comic creation, is the character with whom he is most often, and fondly, associated. But Tati's work cannot be reduced to the man with the too-short trousers. His films – from the early burlesque of Jour de fête in 1949 to the highly stylised modernism of Play Time in 1967 – might not have an intellectual message, but they are delightful witnesses to the second half...
- 12/5/2009
- The Guardian - Film News
Stumped for what to buy your friends and family this year? Forget the socks and chocs and bubble bath – our critics have chosen 40 of the best music, film and TV box sets
Pop by Kitty Empire
1 The Beatles Remastered Stereo Box Set (Parlophone)
At £145, the Beatles box set probably costs roughly what a small car did in the early 1960s. But the startling detail on these CDs will repay the outlay for Beatles nerds and mere mortals alike. Its sister release, The Beatles in Mono – 1960s scooter prices, at a guess – is even more desirable, audiophiles reckon.
2 Kraftwerk The Catalogue (Mute/Emi)
Eight albums by the electronic Beatles, dating from 1974's Autobahn, all gleamingly remastered. Costing considerably less than one of Ralf Hütter's beloved bicycles, this is the master text of most electronic genres – electro, techno, even hip-hop – today.
3 Spiritualized Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space Deluxe...
Pop by Kitty Empire
1 The Beatles Remastered Stereo Box Set (Parlophone)
At £145, the Beatles box set probably costs roughly what a small car did in the early 1960s. But the startling detail on these CDs will repay the outlay for Beatles nerds and mere mortals alike. Its sister release, The Beatles in Mono – 1960s scooter prices, at a guess – is even more desirable, audiophiles reckon.
2 Kraftwerk The Catalogue (Mute/Emi)
Eight albums by the electronic Beatles, dating from 1974's Autobahn, all gleamingly remastered. Costing considerably less than one of Ralf Hütter's beloved bicycles, this is the master text of most electronic genres – electro, techno, even hip-hop – today.
3 Spiritualized Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space Deluxe...
- 11/29/2009
- The Guardian - Film News
Tati (1907-1982) was the screen's most fastidious director of comedy and the greatest visual humorist since the silent days of Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd whom he revered, and this comic cornucopia contains all his feature films except Trafic (1971). The first four are increasingly ambitious masterpieces generally using onomatopoeic sound rather than dialogue. The last, Parade (1974), is an anthology of his stage mimes performed as in a circus and made for Swedish TV. Tati burst on the world as a moustachioed rural postman in Jour de fête (1949), then adopted the screen persona of the accident-prone, neo-Luddite Monsieur Hulot whose slouch hat, raincoat, pipe, ankle-length trousers and umbrella made him as recognisable as Chaplin's tramp. In the black-and-white Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953), he disrupts a holiday resort; in Mon oncle (1957), beautifully designed and shot in colour, he leaves a trail of disasters in a gadget-laden Paris suburb. The satire on soulless, conformist modernity...
- 11/22/2009
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Jacques Tati had an astonishing run of success in the '40s and '50s with his puckish comedies Jour De Fête, Mr. Hulot's Holiday, and Mon Oncle, each of which reduced everyday human behavior to a set of clockwork actions, easily gummed up. Then Tati gambled all his goodwill—and most of his personal savings—on the 1967 comedy Playtime, for which he built an elaborate set meant to replicate the sterile, officious city he felt Paris had become. Playtime is Tati's crowning achievement, simultaneously bleak, beautiful, and stunningly choreographed. But it was a little too clean and reactionary for the shaggy '60s, and its financial failure left Tati unable to work on such a grand scale again. The same critics and cineastes who were initially cool to Playtime were equally indifferent to Trafic, a more modest 1971 comedy featuring Tati's signature character Mr. Hulot as an automotive engineer embarking on a.
- 7/16/2008
- by Noel Murray
- avclub.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.