Description

Oscar-winning French filmmaker performer Jacques Tati (1907-1982), one of the most important figures in the history of cinema, is the subject of this comprehensive and long-overdue tribute to an artistic genius. Tati was a fiercely innovative and original filmmaker who found inspiration in the observation of life around him. Designed by M M (Paris), this definitive, five-volume exploration of Tati s life and work was made possible thanks to the complete and unprecedented access to Tati s archives. The books feature original essays, interviews, and screenplays, plus hundreds of photographs, stills, letters, sketches, notes, and production materials.

His early work as a mime taught him how to generate laughter without words; in his films he used gestures, facial expressions, costumes, props, sets, sounds, music—everything but dialogue—to do the talking. The films are truly universal and accessible to anyone, anywhere, who can appreciate the comedy of modern life. Tati once said “I want the film to begin when you leave the theater.” His greatest achievement was to show us that together, as the whole of humanity, we are characters starring in the greatest spectacle of all: life itself.

The editor