Playtime - Criterion Collection (1967)

There's never been, and never will be, another comedy like Playtime. Three years in the making, French comedy master Jacques Tati's 1967 classic was an epic, experimental undertaking of unprecedented scale: Requiring the lavish construction of three entire city blocks of ultra-modern buildings, it was the most expensive French film up to that time, financially ruined its creator, baffled many viewers and critics when it was finally released after numerous delays, and is now regarded as Tati's undisputed masterpiece. Once again, Tati plays his comedic alter ego, the hapless M. Hulot (first seen in 1953's Mr. Hulot's Holiday), seen here as a befuddled pawn on a gigantic chessboard (metaphorically speaking) of modern conformity. He's simply trying to get to an appointment, but in the film's astonishing mock-Parisian landscape of antiseptic steel, glass, and plastic, Tati's resonant theme of contemporary confusion is fully expressed through meticulous use of framing and space--so effectively, in fact, that critic Jonathan Rosenbaum (in an accompanying essay) suggests that the film's dazzling "Royal Garden" sequence "may be the most formidable example of mise-en-scène in the history of cinema." With M. Hulot taking a back-seat to the film's breathtaking accumulation of visual details, Playtime (or, if you prefer, Play Time) rewards multiple viewings, revealing something new every time in its widescreen canvas of subtle gags and delirious eccentricity. Although journalist Art Buchwald provided English dialogue for the film, Playtime bears closer kinship to silent comedy, with universal humor and a musical soundtrack that's as essential as any of the visuals. Tati (1908-1982) never recovered from the film's financial failure, but happily, he lived long enough to see Playtime receive its much-deserved critical re-appraisal. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

For Jacques Tati fans

I have not received it yet, but Mr. Hulot's Holiday is one of my favorites and am looking forward to watching Playtime. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 100% fresh rating. January 14, 2008

Mr. Hulot does Better on Vacation

"Play Time" is the second "Mr. Hulot" picture I've seen. It would have been better if it were the first but then I might not have watched a second. The first movie starring the character was "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" which I would describe as hilarious. I would describe "Play Time" as funny and there WERE at least a couple of times that I laughed out loud. However, the humor is more subtle in PT and more slapstick in MHH and it is the quality of that subtle humor that led me to rate it as high as I did; that and the marvelous sets.

Imagine a day in which everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Well that seems to be what happens to everyone (with the possible exception of Mr. Hulot) in "Play Time". Of course, everything is seen in a humorous perspective and, while some of the humor takes too long to develop, it culminates in a brilliant opening night of a new nightclub in Paris. I mentioned that some of the humor is too slow in developing and that, I think is the main issue I have with "Play Time". I think if this movie were at least 20 minutes shorter, it would be more of a holiday for all of us. January 1, 2008

Mr. Hulot strikes again!

Since "Modern times" no other film was capable to depict with such fine irony, the devastating effects of the industrialization understood as the messy and accepted quotidian way of life. The unfruitful attempts to keep an appointment in Paris, surrounded of automobiles, big buildings remits us to any one of the great cities around the world. This is what we might call a refined and silent conspiracy against this simple man.

The multiple laughable visual gags make of this film a notable masterpiece in its style.
November 28, 2007

Greatest comedy from Tati

This is a most wonderful and delightful film. I was grinning like a fool all the way through it, and ocassionally laughing out loud. It harkens back to the silent comedy tradition of Keaton, Chaplin, and Lloyd; although it's essentially like nothing else in the history of cinema. Hulot is a very old-fashioned character, and he's caught in an imaginary futuristic version of Paris which is all glass and steel and cubicles. A lot of the humor derives from the droll contrast between Hulot and his surroundings. I like Playtime a lot more than M. Hulot's Holiday, which is essentially just a series of sight gags. Playtime builds to a wonderful climax in the nightclub party (there IS a plot, including a love story!), and it draws on the tension between Hulot and his environment. Playtime is a very visual film, with dozens of incredible sight gags, but notice the use of sound also; there are dozens of "sound gags," marvelous sound effects (and great music!) that I can't really describe here. The movie works on so many levels: pure visual and aural comedy, Hulot's character and his looping walk, the plot, the parody and critique of modern city life, the American Paris tourists. I love this film, in case you haven't noticed. October 27, 2007

Tati's confounding masterpiece

Jacques Tati's 1967 film "Playtime" is often a paradox. Reportedly, it was three years in the making, and nearly a decade in planning. And it bankrupted its creator, who was insistent on re-shooting scenes and building enormous sets.
Did the gambit pay off? Well, yes and no. No, because it failed to meet box office expectations to cover the money put into it (the most expensive French production at that time). And yes, because it was later hailed as Tati's crowning achievement (who lived long enough to see it happen).
To the casual viewer, it is not an easy film to sit through, running at just over 2 hours long (while most comedies run at an economical 90 minutes). Tati's pace is often leisure, purposely matching the pace of his beloved character, Monsieur (or Mr.) Hulot, a polite but clumsy wanderer, often out of place in his surroundings. In fact, Tati uses Hulot sparingly in this film; the real stars, it seems, are other people and the ultra-modern buildings they file through.
On the other hand, if you are patient enough with Tati's film style, there are some brilliant filmmaking moments here. The look of the film is unlike anything I've ever seen: a city filled with shiny, metallic monsters (with lots of glass) and chic nightclubs. Tati's genius lies in the fact he can focus on things that other comic talents miss: the idiosyncracies of people as they go about their business. Tati unifies his main theme with the terrible realization that we have created these structures to box ourselves in, to isolate ourselves from each other.
There are beautiful visual gags to cherish here: Hulot accidentally shattering the glass door entrance to the nightclub..with the doorman carrying on the illusion of a glass door by moving the handle to & fro; Hulot spending the entire day looking for his future employer in a maze of a building (and never connecting); nightclub staff coping with faltering lighting, lose floor tiles and rowdy patrons (who reduce the place to shambles by daybreak); and a climactic merry-go-round of vehicles clustered in a street circle.
Whether you find Tati's "Playtime" tedious or terrific, there's no question about the man himself: he's absolutely brilliant.
The REAL big question is: When will Criterion package and release Tati's other films like "Traffic" and "Jour de Fete" for the American viewers to enjoy? August 21, 2007

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