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

4 wins & 2 nominations.

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 | paris france | maze | restaurant | architecture | 

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Taglines:

A wonderful playtime where you will discover the funny side of life's every moment.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jacques Tati observed, perhaps correctly, that the cost of building the set was no greater than what it would have cost to have hired Elizabeth Taylor or Sophia Loren for the leading role.

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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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Quotes

Barbara, Young Tourist: How do you say "drugstore" in French?
Monsieur Hulot: Drugstore.

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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

Followed by Trafic (1971)

User Reviews

Greatest film ever?

The only other movie I know that is as profound and beautiful and challenging as this is Tarkovsky's "Stalker." But "Playtime" may prove to be a better, more accessible example of what films can do. Tati so radically deconstructs space and depth within a film that it is almost unrecognisable: Spielberg doesn't have this level of craftsmanship, and not even Kubrick ever did. Virtually dialogue-free and spryly paced, "Playtime" works on nearly any possible level.

It can be seen as simply a superficial comedy, and as that, it succeeds because it is, well, very funny. (Modern technology is the golden cow that Tati playfully cuts down to size.) On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, is a work that stands the art of film on its head, commenting wryly on the nature of human beings, culminating to a party in a restaurant that gets completely out of hand. It's so beautiful.

Words really don't do justice to this movie. One last thing: The big screen is the ideal medium to see this film; that's true of every film, but this one more than most others. Unfortunately, I haven't had this privelege, and if you don't either, rent it anyway. It's too good to be missed.

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French English German

Release Date:

27 June 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Playtime

Filming Locations:

Joinville, Haute-Marne, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF15,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$521,990

Company Credits

Production Co:

Specta Films, Jolly Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

155 min 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

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1