If you like Jacques Tati then see this but it´s nothing of his better works.I saw this on the Criterion Collection DVD Playtime.It includes some funny things, but the horse riding bit is not good.Still Tati has some good moments.So if you are a fan of Tati I recommend you to take a look at it. It´s hard to rate short films but if I must I would give this a 3+ out of 5.
8 Reviews
Not one of Tati's better works
zetes24 July 2001
Cours du soir is a sometimes funny Tati short, but it's own format harms it quite a bit. The film is of Tati teaching a night class how to mime as he does. It's not too funny watching Tati mime in front of a class. The tennis and horse riding bits are sort of lame. The postmen skit was done much better in the earlier short School for Postmen. The only really good thing in the film is his fisherman sketch. Otherwise, it's not too great. Nice to watch if you are a Tati fan. 6/10.
How to Be M. Hulot
boblipton10 June 2017
Jacques Tati, wearing his familiar slouch hat, macintosh and smoking his pipe, goes into a large, modern building and addresses a group of eager men on the techniques of humorous observation.
They don't get it, of course, because that's the message Tati sent in his celebrated films: that people are obsessed with how to do things and the trappings of success, whether it be a vacation at a well-regarded hotel at a fashionable resort, or a giant metal fish fountain in a tiny garden; not for M. Hulot, who goes about his pursuits in a way that interests him.
And so while his students watch Tati do quick impressions of various sorts of tennis players, they fail in the practical aspects of his study. They fail to bump into walls convincingly, then argue among themselves about that failure.
They don't get it, of course, because that's the message Tati sent in his celebrated films: that people are obsessed with how to do things and the trappings of success, whether it be a vacation at a well-regarded hotel at a fashionable resort, or a giant metal fish fountain in a tiny garden; not for M. Hulot, who goes about his pursuits in a way that interests him.
And so while his students watch Tati do quick impressions of various sorts of tennis players, they fail in the practical aspects of his study. They fail to bump into walls convincingly, then argue among themselves about that failure.
Incredibly Underrated Masterpiece
miller-632-83018015 August 2016
I don't know why this film is so underrated. For me, this film is special. This is not an ordinary one, even inside of the amazing world of Tati's films (there is no such a thing as an "ordinary film" when talking about Tati). If you take it seriously, not as a simple piece of comedy sketches, this is a short about Tati's obsession: observation. As a matter of fact, in this short, Tati's character makes his point about it: "this is a class about observation".Observation of details as in his whole work, is the clue to understand the film or, at least, make it enjoyable.
Despite the fact of not being directed by Jacques Tati, this is also a film about Tati's peculiar style, especially if we think about the black and white scene that reminds us of his first works: "School of Postmen" and "Jour de fête". The whole short is like the beginning of "School for postmen", when a postman is leading others in their training of mail delivering, but this time with a special and simple "reflection" (one might say): all those things that make Tati's films charming and funny are based on that little thing called observation.
Despite the fact of not being directed by Jacques Tati, this is also a film about Tati's peculiar style, especially if we think about the black and white scene that reminds us of his first works: "School of Postmen" and "Jour de fête". The whole short is like the beginning of "School for postmen", when a postman is leading others in their training of mail delivering, but this time with a special and simple "reflection" (one might say): all those things that make Tati's films charming and funny are based on that little thing called observation.
Why Did Tati Do It?
abenr19 June 2017
In "Cours du Soir" a dim-witted acting instructor teaches acting to a class of equally dim-witted students. This might work well on paper, but the movie is awful. I don't know how Jacques Tati, a master of film and comedy.could have made it, acted in it, and had his name attached to it, unless a gun was held to his head for the entire project. Incidentally, the title has been mis-translated as "Evening Classes." It should be "Evening Class." The French word "cours" serves as both the singular and plural. It's clear only one class is being taught here.
Tati plays a pedantic mime
gerritschroder16 February 2002
Tati made this film during the course of filming Playtime. This must have been the price he paid the devil for the miracle he performed in the longer movie. Here, he teaches a wordless course in mime for an audience of attentive note-takers. I became catatonic early on in this eternal twenty minutes of torture (really, I haven't been this far in Hell since I took 4 grams of mushrooms in 78). Tati is a fisherman, a horseback rider, a tennis player, etc., observing every boring nuance that would make anyone wonder why a kind human being would want to perform such quotidian behavior before a still-living audience.
Even worse than Parade.
Tati's one of my top three directors. Don't watch this.
Even worse than Parade.
Tati's one of my top three directors. Don't watch this.
May work on a stage, but not really as a movie
Horst_In_Translation12 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"Cours du soir" or Evening Classes" is a French short film from 1967, so this one has its 50th anniversary this year. The director is Nicolas Ribowski, but the star is of course writer and lead actor Jacques Tati, who was around the age of 60 when he made this one. It is probably not as well known as his short films from the 1930s and 1940s, but still far from forgotten, especially in France. Tati plays a teacher at a school where he educates a group of men of all ages and teaches them about tennis, fishing, horse riding and walking while we see many scenes outside the classroom that are for comedy purposes and that depict what Tati is telling us about. The movie runs for 26.5 minutes without credits. I personally must say that I did not find it too funny. I think it would be more entertaining in a different context, namely on a stage as honestly the students added absolutely nothing to the movie and the scenes were they are in the center of attention are when the film is at its weakest. Tati shines as a solo performer, but also cannot really make the material work on many occasions. I give this one a thumbs-down. Not recommended.
I think if Tati had stood there and done absolutely nothing, some folks would have still loved it.
planktonrules15 June 2017
I have never understood the work of Jacques Tati. His Mr. Hulot character was beloved and he made several successful films. However, I've seen several of the films and have never found his pantomiming entertaining. Now this is NOT because I hate pantomime (I love Mr. Bean) nor is it because I hate French films (they are among my very favorites)...I just don't think Hulot is funny at all. Well, I decided to try once again...and found "Evening Classes" about as funny as staring at a bowl of snot for 30 minutes.
Tati plays the Hulot character but talks quite a bit, unlike what I've seen in his other films. He's teaching an acting class and teaches such things as how to play tennis, ride a horse and trip on stairs...none of which, NONE, made me laugh or even smile. It was dry as dust and proof that Hulot-lovers will watch ANYTHING in which the character appears.
Tati plays the Hulot character but talks quite a bit, unlike what I've seen in his other films. He's teaching an acting class and teaches such things as how to play tennis, ride a horse and trip on stairs...none of which, NONE, made me laugh or even smile. It was dry as dust and proof that Hulot-lovers will watch ANYTHING in which the character appears.
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