As a big fan of Tati's work, I couldn't resist the chance of seeing the restored version of his 1953 masterpiece, and on a trip to France I managed to pick up a copy on DVD.
Little did I know that the BFI DVD version I have been watching 'en Angleterre' was in fact a re-issue from 1978, with a different score, shortened length, and new jokes added.
Whilst watching the lovingly cleaned picture and sound, I assumed that restoring the final edit of Tati's is in keeping with the 'auteur' theory, and although purists will sniff at not preserving his first version, should honour his creative decision to continually finesse his work, as he did when re-releasing 'Jour de Fete' in 1964.
The extras on the DVD are comprehensive, and as long as you are armed with a basic grasp of 'la langue' - as you can plainly read, like myself - the lack of English subtitles will not hamper your enjoyment.
My only gripe with the DVD is the way the 4:3 format is presented. In 2010, it is very likely you will have a 16:9 TV, and naturally you will have the DVD/Blu-ray player set to match it. Unfortunately this combination cuts off the top and the bottom of the frame to fit the screen, and to be honest I spent twenty minutes changing the TV settings and spitting feathers, thinking that the French had gone mad and butchered their own classic film!
To fix it, you will have to send your player back 10 years and set the format to a 4:3 TV, with the 'letterbox' function switched on. This also applies to some of the special features.
Once you have sorted that, 'Bonnes Vacances!'