FILM 2187: PLAYTIME (1967)

TRIVIA: The film's failure at the box office kept Jacques Tati in debt for several years.

The elaborate set of Tativille had its own roads, electrical systems and - in one of the office buildings - a fully working elevator.

One reason for the film's commercial failure may have been Jacques Tati's insistence that the film be limited to those theatres equipped with 70 mm projectors and stereophonic sound (he refused to provide a 35 mm version for smaller theatres). For another, audiences worldwide had come to love Tati's films for the character of M. Hulot; his reduction to an intermittent, occasionally supporting role in the new Tati film came as a disappointment to many (Tati himself lampooned the phenomenon in an early scene when a rain-coated pedestrian whose back is turned to the audience is mistakenly hailed as Hulot). Others disliked its nearly plotless story line, while those who only saw a single showing frequently missed the intricate, sometimes simultaneous comic sight gags performed in the various group scenes. A final reason for the film's poor reception may have been its release date; while the film's satire of modern life may have been cutting-edge when first conceptualized in 1959, by the end of 1967 such themes were old-hat to film audiences.

For the restaurant sequence, Jacques Tati had to work out each part and direct each character separately. It took him seven weeks to shoot it. First he'd set up all the different movements in the background, then he'd set up each action in the foreground, looking through the lens while composing each shot so he could see everything at once. He had to shoot it all in sequence.

Jacques Tati observed, perhaps correctly, that the cost of building the set was no greater than what it would have cost to have hired Elizabeth Taylor or Sophia Loren for the leading role.

According to Jacques Tati, the star of the film is the decor.

It has been said that Jacques Tati had one red item in every shot.

This film has a 100% rating based on 44 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Was added to Roger Ebert's "great movies" list in August, 2004.

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

I’m making my way through the book "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider. See my blog post about my copy of the book here…

You can buy an updated version (which I will get after I’ve made my way through this edition) here…

I really hope you can come on this journey with me – if you do I’d love to know which films you’ve enjoyed the most!

Watch this here…