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 | restaurant | paris france | airport | 1960s | 

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Taglines:

An incomparable spectacle.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The climactic restaurant scene lasts for 45 minutes.

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Goofs

In the store Hulot takes the elevator up several floors, but he is then seen looking down from the 2nd to 1st floor, with traffic visible at street level.

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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

Referenced in The Tunnel (2001)

User Reviews

Monsieur Hulot's transition into the modern world

The issue of viewing a film in the right format has seldom been more pressing than with this film. Although I've only seen it on DVD, it shows immediately that it's best seen in the original 70mm format on the biggest screen possible, because of the numerous subtle sight gags on screen, that go largely unnoticed when watching it on a regular TV-set. A treatment equally essential for films like "2001: A Space Odyssey" or "Lawrence of Arabia". Unless living in London, Paris, New York, or a few other places, chances of seeing this in the proper way in the foreseeable future are slim for most of us, so one has to cope with whatever is available.

At the time, "Play Time" was the most expensive French film ever made. Tati built an enormous set outside Paris, that included an airline terminal, city streets, high rise buildings and traffic circles, that was soon dubbed "Tativille". Three years in the making, experiencing numerous setbacks and financial difficulties and combined with Tati's perfectionist way of filming, the project could only have been saved - financially that is - if the film was an enormous success. It wasn't and "Play Time" bankrupted Tati, forcing him to sell the rights of all his films for little more than a fee.

Tati shot the entire film in medium-long and long shots, not one close-up. The result is a bewildering pastiche of people on their daily do-abouts in modern Paris (the old Paris, like the Eiffel Tower, is only seen through reflections in the glass facades) amidst flickering neon signs, voices through intercoms, buzzers, and through all this, Monsieur Hulot tries to find his way while stumbling across the urban frenzy surrounding him. The film is virtually dialog-free, and mainly serves as background noise. When watching a film by Tati, you expect Monsieur Hulot. Well, he is present in almost every frame, but he is nothing close to a real character, which is probably one of the reasons audiences didn't connect with the film. On an another level, the sight and sound gags abound. It's not particularly funny in a laugh-out-loud sense, but each viewing seems to reveal a new unseen joke or small detail, a funny sign or a person in the background, not seen before. Most of the gags only work because they are part of a carefully orchestrated ensemble. At the core, the kind of humor is the same as in "Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot" or "Mon Oncle", but here, the jokes are more subtle. It's an enormous canvas where there's so much going on, it's fascinating to look at, but can be a bit tiring after a while. However, the long party scene at the restaurant, when the crowds befall in a collective euphoria, is priceless.

I think for most people, it's all a little too much upon first viewing and in many ways it remains a bit of a folly, a director gone mad in making a film no audience was ripe for at the time, and perhaps never will be. Assesing this film by some of the more conventional qualities one can look for in a film is not a very useful approach in case of this film. Tati certainly made something completely unique. If anything, a work of art that poses more than a few challenges.

Camera Obscura --- 9/10

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 (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1