"Playtime" (1967) written and directed by, and starring, Jacques Tati
124 minutes 27 seconds Colour 1.85:1 audio: French, English subtitles: English, Chinese, Japanese
Jacques Tati's gloriously choreographed, nearly wordless comedies about confusion in the age of technology reached their creative apex with "Playtime". For this monumental achievement, a nearly three-year-long, bank-breaking production, Tati again thrust the endearingly clumsy, resolutely old-fashioned Monsieur Hulot, along with a host of other lost souls, into a bafflingly modernist Paris. With every inch of its superwide frame crammed with hilarity and inventiveness, "Playtime" is a lasting testament to a modern age tiptoeing on the edge of oblivion.
EXTRAS on Disc 1
- video introduction by writer, director, and performer Terry Jones
- selected scene commentary by film historian Philip Kemp
- booklet scan (four TIF files)
EXTRAS on Disc 2
- "Au-delà de 'Playtime'" (2002) - a short documentary featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the production (7m)
- "Tati Story" (2002) - a short biographical film (21m)
- "Jacques Tati in Monsieur Hulot's Work" (1976) - BBC Omnibus program featuring Tati (49m)
- audio interview with Tati from the U.S. debut of Playtime at the 1972 San Francisco International Film Festival (17m)
- video interview with script supervisor Sylvette Baudrot (12m)
- "Cours du soir" ("Evening Classes") (1967) - short film written by and starring Tati (28m)