{"product_id":"play-time-jacques-tati-and-comedic-modernism-9780231193030","title":"Play Time: Jacques Tati and Comedic Modernism","description":"\u003cp\u003eJacques Tati is widely regarded as one of the greatest postwar European filmmakers. He made innovative and challenging comedies while achieving international box office success and attaining a devoted following. In \u003ci\u003ePlay Time\u003c\/i\u003e, Malcolm Turvey examines Tati's unique comedic style and evaluates its significance for the history of film and modernism. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTurvey argues that Tati captured elite and general audiences alike by combining a modernist aesthetic with slapstick routines, gag structures, and other established traditions of mainstream film comedy. Considering films such as \u003ci\u003eMonsieur Hulot's Holiday\u003c\/i\u003e (1953), \u003ci\u003eMon Oncle\u003c\/i\u003e (1958), \u003ci\u003ePlay Time\u003c\/i\u003e (1967), and \u003ci\u003eTrafic\u003c\/i\u003e (1971), Turvey shows how Tati drew on the rich legacy of comic silent film while modernizing its conventions in order to encourage his viewers to adopt a playful attitude toward the modern world. Turvey also analyzes Tati's sardonic view of the bourgeoisie and his complex and multifaceted satire of modern life. Tati's singular and enduring achievement, Turvey concludes, was to translate the democratic ideals of the postwar avant-garde into mainstream film comedy, crafting a genuinely popular modernism. Richly illustrated with images from the director's films, \u003ci\u003ePlay Time\u003c\/i\u003e offers an illuminating and original understanding of Tati's work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMalcolm Turvey is Sol Gittleman Professor in the Art and Art History Department and director of the Film and Media Studies Program at Tufts University. He is an editor of the journal \u003ci\u003eOctober.\u003c\/i\u003e His books include \u003ci\u003eDoubting Vision: Film and the Revelationist Tradition\u003c\/i\u003e (2008) and \u003ci\u003eThe Filming of Modern Life: European Avant-Garde Film of the 1920s\u003c\/i\u003e (2011).\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Columbia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50318594605330,"sku":"9780231193030","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_31c02483-5747-4959-95c0-d9b11fb56eea.jpg?v=1727558522","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/play-time-jacques-tati-and-comedic-modernism-9780231193030","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}