Meanwhile (quite a while)... there IS a region A Blu of RABBI JACOB,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGx2DwPq8AAas well as a Kino Lorber FANTOMAS collection, and in France, OSCAR and some other English-friendly Blus (check specs carefully) have been released. So with some unfortunate exceptions, most notably the
Gendarme series, it *is* now possible to get some pretty good idea of this madcap comedy genius/auteur in HD with English subs. (Though sometimes the 5.1 remixes raise an eyebrow, restoration-ethically.) If Tati and Etaix are France's Chaplin and Keaton, respectively, then de Funes is easily all six Stooges in one, with a bit of heart and poignancy thrown in on occasion for good measure. (And Pierre Richard surely isn't bad either! It's too bad they didn't get to co-star in 1976 as originally planned.) And it's still beyond me why he doesn't seem to be on the radar of so many slapstick experts at all - must simply be the lack of access. So get those Blus and share your impressions...
Uli