Tati's

Some insiders insist that Tati's long-unproduced story was inspired by his relationship -- or lack thereof -- with his eldest estranged daughter, Helga Marie-Jeanne Schiel.

The 'Riffs Interview: 'ILLUSIONIST' filmmaker Sylvain Chomet delves into art, inspiration & Oscars Michael Cavna 2011

The near-wordless "Illusionist" tells Tati's melancholic tale of an aging, traveling magician at the dawn of rock and roll -- and of the girl who fairly believes that his hat-and-rabbit sleight-of-hand means this man is capable of genuine magic.

The 'Riffs Interview: 'ILLUSIONIST' filmmaker Sylvain Chomet delves into art, inspiration & Oscars Michael Cavna 2011

Tati's trademark pipe was replaced by an absurd-looking yellow windmill in a 2009 campaign -- a move which one cinema expert said would have made him "die laughing."

France Restores Smoking To National History The Huffington Post 2011

Chomet also changed the location: From Tati's scripted Prague to the Edinburgh of "The Illusionist" -- the same city where Chomet has had his Django film studio.

The 'Riffs Interview: 'ILLUSIONIST' filmmaker Sylvain Chomet delves into art, inspiration & Oscars Michael Cavna 2011

For a similar discourse about how modernist design makes a mockery of comfort and practicality, rent Jacques Tati's 'Mon Oncle'—also from 1958.

Silver-Screen Décor Jen Renzi 2011

Tati's trademark pipe was replaced by an absurd-looking yellow windmill in a 2009 campaign -- a move which one cinema expert said would have made him "die laughing."

France Restores Smoking To National History The Huffington Post 2011

Mr. Tunbjörk b. 1956 has a Scandinavian sense of color and design, and a social sensibility similar to Jacques Tati's.

A Teacher, a Student and Three Books William Meyers 2011

An underappreciated counterpart to French silent-film hero Georges M é li è s, de Chom ó n took a special, proto-Surrealist pleasure in lampooning the young 20th century's rapid technological progress: in The Electric Hotel a stop-motion house comes alive, as luggage self-packs, letters home write themselves, and a massive control panel (an inspiration to Tati's Playtime?) makes furniture waltz.

The Best of the Rest Greater New York Staff 2010

It wasn't quite like Jacques Tati's postman, who found himself taking part in the Tour de France by accident.

Lionel Messi mesmerises in Madrid but football is the star | Richard Williams 2011

Too, the aging magician's name is Tatischeff -- Tati's true surname.

The 'Riffs Interview: 'ILLUSIONIST' filmmaker Sylvain Chomet delves into art, inspiration & Oscars Michael Cavna 2011