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Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Georges Montant, Henri Piccoli, John Abbey ... see more see more... , Reinhard Kolldehoff , Yves Barsacq , Billy Kearns , Valerie Camille , France Delahalle , Erika Dentzler , Leon Doyen , Yvette Ducreux , André Fouché , Ketty France , Jack Gauthier , Jacqueline Lecomte , Rita Maiden , Laure Paillette , Colette Proust , Nicole Ray , Douglas Read , France Romilly , Francois Viaur

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 s... read more read more...een 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

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90% liked it

6,293 ratings

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100% liked it

34 critics

Unrated, 2 hr. 25 min.

Directed by: Jacques Tati

Release Date: December 16, 1967

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DVD Release Date: May 22, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (578)

  • brooklynspo
    April 17, 2007
    brooklynspo
    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!
  • JonathanHutchings
    May 31, 2011
    JonathanHutchings
    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 ... read moreto "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.
  • bbcfloridabound
    May 3, 2010
    bbcfloridabound
    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
  • kenstachnik
    June 24, 2008
    kenstachnik
    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 a... read morelone 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.
  • fb1142797643
    November 12, 2011
    fb1142797643
    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 ... read morea 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.
  • ryguy4738
    August 2, 2011
    ryguy4738
    9.2/10

    Brilliant is the only word that can truly describe one of the only films I've ever seen to lack the ability to be labeled with a genre. Jacques Tati's "Playtime", his third Mr. Hulot feature, is not within a genre. It mixes comedy with drama with sheer indivi... read moreduality. It is a film about conformism that refuses to conform, and for that, I admire its freakish charm.

    However, the film is something much, much more. Like "Mon Oncle" and "Mr. Hulot's Holiday", I suppose the film is intended as a satire of modern technology and how we'd probably suffocate ourselves if we couldn't apply it to everyday life. There are some people in "Playtime" who question the advancements in technology, while everyone else just stands there and lets it take control of their existence. Mr. Hulot, however, isn't neither of those kinds of people. He does not mind technology; he does not mind anything. He just doesn't know how to apply technology to HIS life; although he's sure not afraid to try.

    The film is essentially broken up into a few prolonged scenarios. The first one involves Hulot (Jacques Tati) arriving in a futuristic Paris along with a couple Americans on a tour. I guess Hulot isn't new to the place, but he's surely confused when an office feels more like a maze and apartments are reduced to the size of cubicles. Hulot means well, but that doesn't matter; the world doesn't feel the same.

    What surprised me here was the fact that Hulot isn't there for the entire film. The film takes its precious little time in introducing us to the modernized city and how it has changed for the better or for the worse, as well as the people who are visiting the area. The tourists, in particular, are an interesting group; confused, but nevertheless conforming.

    The film is a happy, satirical, often times funny one. I felt good while watching it. But reading about the production and aftermath of it made me somewhat sad. This was Tati's most expensive production; the most expensive in France at the time of its production and release. It had little success in France and America alike; thus forcing Tati to file for bankruptcy. Poor guy. He just wanted to make a fun, big-budget movie with tall buildings and impressive gadgetry; and he succeeded. But others, I guess, didn't see the appeal in the film. At least now they can, because we are accustomed to the world that Hulot never was.

    They say that this film is the director's masterpiece. I do not, in any way, beg to differ; but I think they are somewhat false when they say that. I have loved every single Jacques Tati/Mr. Hulot film so far. And I don't think that I will ever NOT love them. They are delightful, intelligent, witty and satirical comedies that are as relatable as they are, in their satire, sadly true. "Playtime" is indeed a bigger, far more epic film; but it's just as great as the other Hulot misadventures. This one may be more appealing to a wider audience, yes, but really; there's not much of a difference. But that is what I love about it.

    Paris is not beautiful in "Playtime". It is mechanical, and completely so. There are many skyscrapers, and people seem to have lost the feeling of the magic that accompanied the place one day, but that was in the past, and people are in the present/future, and they don't exactly want out. What I liked about the film, when it came to Paris, was the fact that people often stopped to talk about what they thought of this "new Paris". I'd much rather go to the current one than this electronic hell-hole. I don't suppose it's a bad place, and Jacques Tati neither loathes technology nor loves it, as I would presume; but the place just feels boring and even bland after a while. But as I thought more and more about the film, I came up with a theory; that was the intent. With Tati being the cinematic magician that he is, I'm not surprised; I'm spellbound.
  • lesleyanorton
    March 25, 2011
    lesleyanorton
    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 bit... read mores from it. I loved the merry-go-round roundabout piece at the end.

  • wbgoose13
    September 8, 2007
    wbgoose13
    A marvel of direction and design.
  • louioupsmith
    May 22, 2012
    louioupsmith
    There's no plot, and the scenes don't add up to anything but, regardless, I enjoyed this movie very much.
  • codyfranklin2
    January 7, 2009
    codyfranklin2
    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 oppo... read morertunity 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!

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Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
March 26, 2009
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. Full Review

Dave Kehr
December 4, 2006
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. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
December 4, 2006
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. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 20, 2006
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Playtime is a peculiar, mysterious, magical film. Full Review

Elliott Stein
December 28, 2004
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. Full Review

Michael Wilmington
August 26, 2004
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

Bravo, M. Hulot! (And watch that umbrella!). Full Review

G. Allen Johnson
July 16, 2004
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

Tati's attempt to answer this question: In the midst of an increasingly impersonal world, how do we keep our humanity? Full Review

Desson Thomson
March 16, 2004
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

At a time when most comedies seem created for knuckle-trailing sensibilities, we can use as much sophistication as we can get.

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Jacques Tati's most brilliant film, a bracing reminder in this all-too-lazy era that films can occasionally achieve the status of art. Full Review

Jeffrey Overstreet
May 18, 2010
Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer

This film delivers exactly what its title promises. It's a panoramic frenzy of elaborate sights and sound design. Full Review

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