Playtime (DVD)

Jacques Tati's spectacular cinematic art reached its peak in the gargantuan achievement of this film, PLAYTIME. Marking the third appearance of Tati's Mr. Magoo-like character, Mr. Hulot, PLAYTIME takes as its subject modern technology and its sometimes disastrous and always hilarious effects on the people living within it. As in most Tati films, a minimal plot (the parallel paths of Hulot and a group of American tourists), is held together by a seamless ballet of visual, aural, and conceptual gags. Tati constructed an enormous set, Tativille, rendering a high modern contemporary Paris decked in chrome, mirrors, and glass within which the surreal slapstick of PLAYTIME unfolds. Filmed in 70mm Technicolor, with sound recorded on a seven-channel stereo, the film approaches the city from a bird's eye perspective showing the complex yet abstract machinations of people and their technologies, with each character linked to the other and the whole ensemble dependant on the giant grid of the modern city. Objects, people, and sounds vie for the viewer's attention and all exert equal fascination and comedic power in the circus of Tati's modern life. From the airport to the high rise to the nightclub, Hulot weaves in and out of view, leaving a trail of bumped heads, offended sensibilities and curious glances in his wake.

SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES:

All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer

Video introduction by writer, director, and performer Terry Jones

Selected scene commentary by film historian Philip Kemp

Au-delà de "Playtime," a short documentary featuring archival behind-the-scenes footage from the set

Tati Story, a short biographical film about Tati

"Jacques Tati in Monsieur Hulot's Work," a 1976 BBC Omnibus program featuring Tati

Rare audio interview with Tati from the U.S. debut of Playtime at the 1972 San Francisco International Film Festival (Courtesy of Pacifica Radio Archives)

Video interview with script supervisor Sylvette Baudrot

Cours du soir, a 1967 short film written by and starring Tati

Alternate international soundtrack

New and improved English subtitle translation

PLUS: A new essay by Jonathan Rosenbaum