Jacques Tati’s Parade (1974/Umbrella Entertainment/PAL/All Region)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C Film: B-
PLEASE NOTE: This DVD can only be operated on
machines capable of playing back DVDs that can handle Region Zero PAL format
software and can be ordered from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the
website address provided at the end of the review.
One of
the most intelligent, interesting, and important filmmakers of French cinema is
Jacques Tati, and yet to this day his work still remains highly underrated and
underappreciated. Fortunately there are still companies out there that
are dedicated to seeing his films arrive on home video formats, the recent
issue of his 1974 made-for-TV film Parade
from Umbrella Entertainment is just one great example.
Now the
film does not come close to many of Tati’s other productions and this is also
his last film, but still worth seeing at some point in time. Tati would
pass away less than a decade later and it’s tragic that this would be his last production,
which took place just a few years after his brilliant Trafic (1971). This particular film is unique in that it’s more of
a performance than anything else, it’s simply a bunch of talented artists and
circus performers doing their thing in front of a live audience and filmed from
various angles to create a narrative that only Tati could masterfully pull
together.
Presented
in a full-frame transfer the image quality is disappointing, dated, and doesn’t
help bring the feature to life. Colors are muted, fidelity is almost
non-existent, there is edge enhancement, washed out, lack of depth, and looks
like a downgraded recycled VHS transfer. The 2.0 stereo mix is also
problematic with very little fidelity and is noisy. We understand that perhaps
not the best elements were available to choose from for this release, but by
DVD standards this is an embarrassingly poor effort and we hope that in the
future better elements will be made available or a full-restoration can take
place.
No real
extras here either, but it is all-region so importing this DVD should not be a
problem for Region 1/U.S. audiences.
As noted
above, you can order this PAL DVD import exclusively from Umbrella at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
- Nate Goss
