Tom Vick wonders: On Wed, 03 Dec 1997 03:30:12 -0500 Tom Vick <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Regarding Schlemiels, a category of person dear to my heart: > > What about Jacques Tati's reception here? He is, of course popular among > academics, etc., but I wonder about his popularity among more "general" > audiences. Part of what translates so well, for me, at least, is his debt to > silent comedy, which translates well across cultures. Same with Bean. I've found students, at least, slow to warm to Tati, perhaps because he is so much the formalist in his play with depth of field and attention to things like the soundtrack that audiences are conditioned to accept at face (or ear) value. Once they begin to catch on, they begin to enjoy, but it takes some doing (not unlike their reactions to CITIZEN KANE). I think it's interesting that BEAN the film seemed to owe much less to the spirit of Tati (one of Atkinson's avowed inspirations) than to the spirit of Curly Howard! Don Larsson ---------------------- Donald Larsson, Mankato State U (MN) [log in to unmask] ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/screensite