1934

Tati Shorts (1934/1978) [The Criterion Collection]
Films by Jacques Tati - Part of "The Complete Jacques Tati - The Criterion Collection #729"
DVD9 | Untouched | ISO+MDS | NTSC 1.37:1 4:3 720x480 VBR 29.97 fps | 147 mn | 7.72 GB
Audio: French AC-3 Dolby Digital Mono @ 192 kbps 48.0 kHz | Subtitles: English
Genre: Shorts, Comedy, Family, Documentary | Country: France

Jacques Tati's career, which stretched from the midthirties to the late seventies, encompasses more than just the six features for which he's best known. The charming short films he wrote or directed are essential parts of his filmography as well. Collected here, they include three wacky 1930s comedies he wrote and starred in—On demande une brute (1934), Gai dimanche (1935), and Soigne ton gauche (1936)—and two later films he directed and starred in: L'éole des facteurs (1946), which introduces the postman character reprised in Jour de fête, and Cours du soir (1967), made during the filming of PlayTime. We're also pleased to present Dégustation maison (1977), a César-winning short by Tati's daughter Sophie Tatischeff, shot in the town from Jour de fête, and Forza Bastia (1978), a soccer documentary begun by Tati and completed by Tatischeff after his death.

On a visit to a spa in the Ruritanian Kingdom of Tyronia, American financier Richard Gresham meets the country's ruler, King Anatol XII, and convinces him that he could arrange for a $50 million dollars in loans to benefit his impoverished nation if the king's charming daughter could do the appropriate public relations in the States. Unfortunately the Princess Catterina falls ill and is quarantined for a month aboard ship. Rather than risk losing the loan, Gresham hires out-of-work lookalike actress Nancy Lane to impersonate Catterina. Complications arise when she falls in love with investigative newsman Porter Madison, who is investigating Nancy Lane's disappearance, and she must precariously balance playing both parts convincingly with the loan and her emotions at stake.