Playtime (Play Time) (1967)

100% of critics liked it
(34 reviews)
90% of users liked it
(6,217 ratings)

Arriving nearly a decade after Mon Oncle, Playtime continues the adventures of M. Hulot. More than a decade seems to have passed since its predecessor, however. The colorful Paris of Mon Oncle, last seen being slowly chipped away by progress, has now vanished almost entirely. Playtime takes as its… More Arriving nearly a decade after Mon Oncle, Playtime continues the adventures of M. Hulot. More than a decade seems to have passed since its predecessor, however. The colorful Paris of Mon Oncle, last seen being slowly chipped away by progress, has now vanished almost entirely. Playtime takes as its setting an ultra-modern Paris where familiar landmarks appear only as fleeting reflections in the new buildings of glass and steel. Alternating between Hulot and a group of American tourists, Tati exploits the chaos just below the overly ordered surface of this brave new world. Again moving from one nearly wordless episode to another, Tati sends his alter ego off to make an appointment in a whirring, featureless office complex. He subsequently moves on to an exhibition of new inventions, meets an old friend at an aquarium-like apartment, wreaks havoc in a snooty new restaurant, and, again, almost falls in love. The most ambitious and technically complex of the Hulot films, it proved unprofitable and helped usher in the financial difficulties that would plague Tati late in life before later getting the recognition it enjoys today. ~ Keith Phipps, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Jacques Tati
Written By: Jacques Tati, Jacques LaGrange
Genres: Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 16, 1967 Wide
On DVD: May 22, 2001
Studio: Continental Distributing

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Pic takes to the 70mm process with an extraordinary impressionistic outdoor set of a new Paris, and is an observant romp during a one-day stay of a group of tourists.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
For this remarkable 1967 comedy about man and his modern world, Jacques Tati attempted nothing less than a complete reworking of the conventional notions of montage and, amazingly, he succeeded.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
My all-time favorite movie, this 1967 French comedy by actor-director Jacques Tati almost certainly has the most intricately designed mise en scene in all of cinema.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Playtime is a peculiar, mysterious, magical film.
Elliott Stein, Village Voice
With Playtime's monumental decor and complex choreographed gags taking place simultaneously in a constantly mutating space, Tati explored the possibilities of 70mm as they had never been utilized before.
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Bravo, M. Hulot! (And watch that umbrella!).
Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
This film delivers exactly what its title promises. It's a panoramic frenzy of elaborate sights and sound design.
Bryant Frazer, Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus
Tati is constantly fiddling with his images, constructing sets and placing his camera in exactly the right place to execute a visual transformation of space.
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
Jacques Tati's glorious film folly inches that much closer to the 70mm ideal in Criterion's new Blu-ray.
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
Sure, Tati's script may have been small, but there's such depth of content in each setup.
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
Utterly unconventional and strikingly unique; it begs not to be watched in the same manner as a conventional narrative film. Like a great painting, it is meant to be savored, pored over, observed from different angles and revisited in time. [Blu-ray]
Tom Dawson, Film4
An extraordinary combination of observational comedy and technical virtuosity.
Nathaniel Rogers, Film Experience
Comic choreography, nimble filmmaking and trenchant jokes. A masterpiece.
Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies Online
A film comedy directed with the grace of a ballet, the painstaking detail of an action painting and the affection of a love song...
David Parkinson, Empire Magazine
Comedy has rarely been so intricate, incisive and inspired.
Jake Euker, Filmcritic.com
One of cinema's truly unique visions... animated with a new kind of screen life.
Derek Adams, Time Out
This jewel of Tati's career is a hallucinatory comic vision on the verge of abstraction.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's much like a silent movie, following in the giant footsteps of Chaplin and Keaton.
Derek Smith, Cinematic Reflections
'It is a new way of seeing the world around us, both life affirming in its vision and brilliant in its satire'

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bob S

So I watched this on my laptop and not at the Ziegfield. Bad move. Still... I think I can pretty confidently say - I did not enjoy this very unique but totally aimless film. The pleasures of M. Hulot elude me once again. Zut!
Jonathan H

Not only one of the most famous French films of all time, but also a definitive example of a film challenging its viewers to look beyond plot and character to discover its meaning. Utilizing 70mm to its full advantage, and truly clever sound design help propel Tati's masterpiece… More
Not only one of the most famous French films of all time, but also a definitive example of a film challenging its viewers to look beyond plot and character to discover its meaning. Utilizing 70mm to its full advantage, and truly clever sound design help propel Tati's masterpiece to "must see" status. You'll be hard pressed to find a better satirical statement on the effects of an impersonal, technologically advanced, but ultimately culturally bankrupt and dehumanized society. A perfect message for the times we live in.
Bruce B

This Film is from the Criterion Collection and like most movies from that collection they can be somewhat strange and this one is. Its supposed to be a comedy but I really didn't see much comical about this one. 2 stars
Ken S

Tati's epic "comedy" is truly a feast for the eyes. Full of delightful little moments and the occasional giggle, Playtime isn't so much a story as it is a world put up on screen. Like the cinematic lovechild of Altman, Chaplin and Jarmusch I must admit seeing… More
Tati's epic "comedy" is truly a feast for the eyes. Full of delightful little moments and the occasional giggle, Playtime isn't so much a story as it is a world put up on screen. Like the cinematic lovechild of Altman, Chaplin and Jarmusch I must admit seeing this at home and alone is probably not the optimal viewing experience. Hence a mere 3 1/2 rating. I will seek to see this projected, in which case my rating is likely to go up dramatically.
Eric B

When is a black-and-white silent comedy neither black-and-white nor silent? Actor/director Jacques Tati's ultimate statement was "Play Time," an extravagantly staged satire that has gained acclaim with passing years. It's easy to see why this droll look at… More
When is a black-and-white silent comedy neither black-and-white nor silent? Actor/director Jacques Tati's ultimate statement was "Play Time," an extravagantly staged satire that has gained acclaim with passing years. It's easy to see why this droll look at metropolitan life was a box-office disappointment -- it has almost no plot or dialogue of consequence, and its meticulous jokes are dry, abstract sight gags. The intentionally sterile color scheme is all pale blues, whites and grays, and the film's use of language is uniquely strange -- lines appear in both English and French, but they function as background chatter so trivial that no one even bothered to add subtitles. Discernible lines usually sound like post-production looping, and there are so few close-ups that matching words with mouths is barely an issue. The effect is like watching reels from a company security camera. Only a few characters stand out as recurring presences. Of course, the most important is Tati's raincoated alter-ego Mr. Hulot. But Tati is more interesting as a filmmaker than an actor -- Hulot's rather limited repertoire depends on lumbering around with an awkward, theatrical gait that soon grows tiresome (imagine a hesitant combination of stretching to see over a high fence and checking for squeaky floorboards). Other repeat faces include a visiting woman who ends up playing piano in a chaotic restaurant, a busy little man trying to keep a meeting with Hulot and an endearing doorman who's forced to perform his duties in useless pantomime after a glass door is shattered. "Play Time"'s influence on both Benny Hill and Roy Andersson is unmistakeable. I'm rounding up my rating as an act of faith, because I can't think of another movie I've seen that was so grossly damaged by a small-screen viewing. Given a film that's almost entirely composed of wide shots, the steady parade of subtle visual jokes demands intense attention on mere inches of the TV image. Hopeless. I felt as if 75% of the humor eluded me.
Lesley N

I was alternatively bored and intrigued by this mostly dialog free Tati film about a day in the life of a bunch of people in Paris. The characters were unengaging, but it's so crammed with original ideas, I reckon you could make a lifelong career as a film director by nicking… More
I was alternatively bored and intrigued by this mostly dialog free Tati film about a day in the life of a bunch of people in Paris. The characters were unengaging, but it's so crammed with original ideas, I reckon you could make a lifelong career as a film director by nicking bits from it. I loved the merry-go-round roundabout piece at the end. <img src="http://www.cineclubmunicipal.org.ar/contenidos/2010_07/images/072010_ciclos_tati_playtime.jpg">
William G

A marvel of direction and design.
cody f

Behold 70mm in all it's glory! This film is amazing and Tati is a genius. The time, effort and composition he put into this film is flabbergasting. Playtime does drag for about 15 minutes in the middle, but once the restaurant scene begins it really picks up. I had the rare… More
Behold 70mm in all it's glory! This film is amazing and Tati is a genius. The time, effort and composition he put into this film is flabbergasting. Playtime does drag for about 15 minutes in the middle, but once the restaurant scene begins it really picks up. I had the rare opportunity to watch a great 70mm print of this and it was my 1st time to see the movie. I was told that if you haven't seen this film on the big screen then you haven't seen it at all. There is so much action on the screen that watching this on a small screen would be a sin and the film would also be pretty boring. Criterion will probably have this on Blu-Ray at some point and when they do watch it on a 50 inch or bigger T.V. Do Not Watch This on a small screen ever!

Read all 8 featured audience ratings

Cast

Jacques Tati
as Monsieur Hulot
Barbara Dennek
as Young Tourist
Georges Montant
as Giffard

Henri Piccoli
as An Important Gentleman
John Abbey
as Lacs
Reinhard Kolldehoff

See full cast