Playtime (1967)

Monsieur Hulot curiously wanders around a high-tech Paris, paralleling a trip with a group of American tourists. Meanwhile, a nightclub/restaurant prepares its opening night, but it's still under construction.

Director:

Jacques Tati

Writers:

Jacques Tati (original screenplay), Jacques Lagrange (collaboration)

Stars:

Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barbara Dennek	...	Barbara, Young Tourist
Jacques Tati	...	Monsieur Hulot
Rita Maiden	...	Mr. Schultz's Companion (as Rita Maïden)
France Rumilly	...	Woman Selling Eyeglasses
France Delahalle	...	Shopper in Department Store
Valérie Camille	...	Mr. Lacs's Secretary
Erika Dentzler	...	Mme. Giffard
Nicole Ray	...	Singer
Yvette Ducreux	...	Hat Check Girl
Nathalie Jem
Jacqueline Lecomte	...	Young Tourist's Friend
Oliva Poli
Alice Field
Sophie Wennek
Evy Cavallaro

Storyline

Monsieur Hulot has to contact an American official in Paris, but he gets lost in the maze of modern architecture which is filled with the latest technical gadgets. Caught in the tourist invasion, Hulot roams around Paris with a group of American tourists, causing chaos in his usual manner.

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Plot Keywords:

tourist | conformity | nonconformity | merry go round | traffic circle | 

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Taglines:

An incomparable spectacle.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French English German

Release Date:

27 June 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Playtime

Filming Locations:

Joinville, Haute-Marne, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Specta Films, Jolly Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

155 min (with intermission and exit music) 124 min (2002 restored)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) DTS 70 mm (70 mm prints) (restored version) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's failure at the box office kept Jacques Tati in debt for several years.

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Goofs

The escalator handrails aren't moving in the fist department store scene. You can see the actors skimming their hands along, pretending it's moving when you can see by reflections of its surface, it is indeed not.

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Crazy Credits

The title isn't shown until the end of the opening credits. Additionally, there are no end credits. The final shot simply fades out and there is about a minute of exit music.

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Alternate Versions

For international markets Jacques Tati created a second soundtrack where some of the French lines were dubbed in English.

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Connections

Follows Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953)

User Reviews

Stunning!

This is the right movie for anyone who is tired of "modern" comedies. Aside from its stunning visuals and extremely clever use of sound effects (the film has nearly no dialogue), its humour is highly intelligent, not always obvious, and i must say that i was delighted to see a film that did not try to be funny all the time. This is to say, most other comedies put gag after gag after gag, but to do so they usually stretch one gag for too long. Playtime (and nearly all other works by Tati, which are all must-sees), on the other hand, has long sequences with no reason to laugh, and then it hits the audience with a gag (or, in this film`s case, rather an anecdote) - which is only a few seconds long. So its not for fans of Austin Powers or Dumb & Dumber, but nonetheless very, very funny. 9/10