Rating: 
Summary: Saw it as a kid & couldn't believe my eyes (or the house's)
Review: Like our Australian reviewer I, too, saw this film as a kid. It was in Lexington, Va. in the early 60's and my brother and I had a habit of going to the State Theater on Saturdays for the cheap matinees - 25 cents. It was there that we saw this film for the first time and were instantly enthralled. My memory from the time is primarily the circular windows of the modern house and how the 2 heads became like pupils of 2 great eyes. This must have really stuck in my youthful mind, as it's the only thing from the movie which I remembered. Since then I've gotten my own copy and have introduced my 5 year old daughter to the film. She likes the dogs who pee during the opener - go figure - so she'll probably be as warped as her old man when she grows up. Tati is a master pantomimist and its a shame that he didn't make more films. When I watch the films as a 49 year old man I find myself wishing that I lived in that rooftop apartment in Paris and had that neighborhood to live in. I wonder if the streetsweeper will EVER get the street swept...
Rating: 
Summary: Charmed
Review: My children(19 and 8) and I borrowed the most recent dvd version of Mon Oncle from our local library. We were charmed. Watching various visitors to the garden navigating the stepping-stones was marvelous.
Gerard waiting to whistle at passersby was hilarious. (My children and I were wishing we could add our coins to the pot.)
What a perfect picture of a boy being a boy.
We loved the dachshund in his bothersome coat leading the other dogs around town.
Tati was certainly a genius of detail. The reason for just four stars...My children prefer Les Vacances.
Rating:
Summary: Charmed
Review: My children(19 and 8) and I borrowed the most recent dvd version of Mon Oncle from our local library. We were charmed. Watching various visitors to the garden navigating the stepping-stones was marvelous.
Gerard waiting to whistle at passersby was hilarious. (My children and I were wishing we could add our coins to the pot.)
What a perfect picture of a boy being a boy.
We loved the dachshund in his bothersome coat leading the other dogs around town.
Tati was certainly a genius of detail. The reason for just four stars...My children prefer Les Vacances.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Criterion, for bringing Tati back from obscurity!
Review: Tati is undoubtably one of the great filmmakers of all time. And this despite the fact that he only released three films under his total control (M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY, MON ONCLE, and PLAYTIME), all available now on Criterion DVD. What is even more impressive is that, unlike the great Howard Hawks, who successfully directed movies of every genre, Tati's accomplishment was to sucessfully document the development of the modern world under the guise of three simple, light-hearted comedies. From the whimsical near-silent classic HOLIDAY, to the clash of the modern with the traditional in MON ONCLE, to the crushing approach of metal and glass over the classical world in PLAYTIME, Tati made brilliant films that, while obstensibly comedies, offer some of the most insightful commentary on the joy of life to be found in cinema. No movies I can think of are more deserving of DVD presentation. Each film is a masterpiece that warrants repeated viewings (PLAYTIME being particularily challenging). MON ONCLE, a popular favorite, and beautifully restored here in saturated colors, is a comedy that comments on the threatened loss of the enjoyment of the simple things in life due to the demands of the modern world. Or at least those demands that have been self-inflicted. It is just as prescient today as the it must have been in 1958, maybe more so. Terry Jones' nice opening commentaries comment on Tati's carefully constructed sight-gags, but I find Tati's subtle commentaries on the modern world to be more interesting. Note, for instance, that the workers who are perpetually demolishing older buildings are encroaching towards Hulot's charming neighborhood as the film progresses. I cannot recommend Tati's films highly enough. And for those who collect Criterion releases but are somewhat unsure of this sudden rash of releases by a relatively unknown French auteur, I say jump right in, and if you can't stand Tati's films after several viewings, e-mail me and I'll buy them from you! P.S. The additional feature alone is worth the price for Tati fans.
Rating:
Summary: A nice print of a very special film
Review: The films in the "M. Hulot" series of Jacques Tati are more experiences than stories. Tati's humor is definitely not for everyone, but if you are a fan, or open to a unique new experience, this DVD will be a treat! Print quality of a VHS copy I rented was very disappointing, but on the DVD the clear picture and the rich palette of pastel colors adds to the surreal beauty of this film. ....and how can anyone resist that group of little dogs?
Rating:
Summary: dpridachin@mail.intracorp.com
Review: The viewer from UK was obviously expecting either "The Naked Gun' or 'There's Something About Mary' type shenanigans. Obviously this was the last film that person should've rented then. Tati is one of the greatest comic artists of 20th century and his brand of comedy is unique and undoubtedly strange to American sensibility. He's the Tarkovsky of comedy. You have to pay close attention to his work in order to fully apreciate it. Great comedy doesn't have to be "laugh till I cry". It can be sharply made observations, or little set-pieces that are so ingenious that you can't help but smile. 'Mon Oncle' is still very funny, even when there aren't any obvious gags. Tati's deliriously designed house is a movie in itself. I personaly prefer his other masterpiece 'Playtime', but this is nearly as good.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent DVD Quality
Review: There are several very good reviews about the story, humor, etc. of "Mon Oncle" (and other Jacques Tati films), but I wanted to address the DVD version. My wife and I had seen the movie previously on VHS and were amazed at the quality of the remaster on DVD! The contrast is particularly striking. The colors on this version are so vivid and crisp. By comparison, the colors in the VHS version are washed out. The movie itself, from start to finish, is a real piece of art. Anybody who has any interest in color, form, texture should see this movie. This alone would make it a worthwhile DVD purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Very funny, lots of subtle visual and situational humor
Review: There's so very much to like about this movie -- where to start? How about the house? So many "convenient" and "modern" features, none of which isn't completely absurd! It's like watching one of the period "family of the future" shorts, except Tati knew it was all absurd and played it out as comedy. We have the advantage of hindsight, but he recognized the humor in such "advances"; the other characters think it's marvelous, the way of the future, but we -- and Hulot - know it's ridiculous. And the fish! That absurd fish fountain whose only purpose in life is to gurgle its water at the appearance of visitors who might find it impressive. Just grand! How about the little running gags? The man with the broom, who never quite manages to actually sweep anything. The convoluted path Hulot must take to get upstairs to his apartment. The Arpel dog whose doggie-sweater is the same plaid as his master's scarf. There's hardly a scene where some small humorous element doesn't appear, in addition to the main action of the scene. And, of course, there are the scenes other reviewers have already mentioned as favorites. Bouncing the coffee urn. The factory mishap. The kids' game of making people walk into a light pole. None of these is overplayed or "in your face," yet they are as funny -- and add to the charm of the movie as a whole -- as anything you could see in any comedy since. Jacques Tati's direction of camera angles and framing is as understatedly impressive as his acting. Again, as another reviewer mentioned, funny things seem just a little funnier when viewed in a long shot; perhaps its just that little extra element of feeling like we're watching the action over the back yard fence, as though we're part of the scene. Whatever the reason, it works, and adds to the viewing enjoyment. Bravo to the Criterion Collection for an impeccable video transfer and wonderful sound quality, and bravo again for presenting Hulot/Tati to a new generation of viewers. It's such a shame he has been all but forgotten. He successfully combines the physical comedy of Keaton or Chaplin, while poking fun (yet remaining good-natured) at the nature of people.
Rating: 
Summary: This film is NOT FUNNY at all!!
Review: This film is, without any doubt, THE WORST FILM I EVER SAW. I watched it waiting for anything remotely funny but all I saw was VERY BORING indeed.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Masterpiece
Review: This is a very funny film... loaded with humor and irony.... however, if you have a limited attention span, or do not understand subtile humor, you won't "get" this film, since the humor is not ONLY in the characters, indeed, the interiors, furniture, greenery, birds, dogs, children, and yes, even the family car is comedic and it all blends together in this charming and very funny film. Another reason this film is so wonderful is that it is one of the FEW films made during the 1950s that shows a family living in a totally "futuristic" mid-century ultra modern home, complete with pushbuttons and plastic cookware.... sophisticated humor perhaps, but virtually EVERYONE who I have shown this film to over the last 15 years I have owned it on VHS have been doubled over with laughter. It defintely deserved its "best foreign film" oscar! Oh, one more thing.... how terrific it is to have a comedy you CAN actually show children and without vulgar language, sex, or violence. Remember when comedies were like that?
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