Directed by Jacques Tati • 1971 • France
Starring Jacques Tati
In Jacques Tati’s TRAFIC, the bumbling Monsieur Hulot, kitted out as always with tan raincoat, beaten brown hat, and umbrella, takes to Paris’s highways and byways. In this, his final outing, Hulot is employed as an auto company’s director of design, and accompanies his new product (a “camping car” outfitted with absurd gadgetry) to an auto show in Amsterdam. Naturally, the road there is paved with modern-age mishaps. This late-career delight is a masterful demonstration of the comic genius’s expert timing and sidesplitting knack for visual gags, and a bemused last look at technology run amok.
Up Next in ’70s Car Movies
-
Le Mans
Directed by Lee H. Katzin • 1971 • United States
Starring Steve McQueen, Siegfried Rauch, Elga AndersenSteve McQueen is in the driver’s seat in this pure adrenaline rush of speed cinema, which may just be the most authentic car-racing film ever made. Filmed on location in the French countryside...
-
The Last Run
Directed by Richard Fleischer • 1971 • United States
Starring George C. Scott, Tony Musante, Trish Van DevereRetired Chicago getaway driver Harry Garmes (George C. Scott) has never been lucky: his wife has left him; his son is dead. He should be quietly enjoying his retirement on the coast of P...
-
Fear Is the Key
Directed by Michael Tuchner • 1972 • United Kingdom
Starring Barry Newman, Suzy Kendall, John VernonBased on a novel by thriller specialist Alistair MacLean, this excitingly unpredictable action joyride stars Barry Newman as an underwater salvage expert who, after his family is killed in a plan...
