Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

PlayTime Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 28, 2009

Jacques Tati's "PlayTime" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The disc contains all of the supplemental features found on the DVD release of the film: Jacques Tati and Nicolas Rybowski's short film "Cours du soir"; BBC's "Jacques Tati in M. Hulot's Work"; selected scene commentary by film historian Phillip Kemp; video introduction by Terry Jones; the biographical film "Tati Story"; a discussion with Jacques Tati; and more. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Lost

Gallic director Jacques Tati’s PlayTime is an outrageously hilarious film. It is also seriously disturbing. PlayTime follows the story of a mid-age man, Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati), who some may say looks a bit like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous character Sherlock Holmes. The most obvious difference between the two is the fact that Holmes is a man of logic while Hulot isn’t.

PlayTime opens up with Hulot’s arrival at Orly Airport. Shortly after, we see him in a giant ultramodern office building in downtown Paris, where he attempts to arrange a meeting with an important businessman. This proves to be an incredibly challenging task as Hulot gets lost in the building. He also ends up causing some serious confusion amongst the people who work there. Eventually, he decides that enough is enough and leaves.

The outside world, however, proves just as challenging to Hulot. Together with a group of American tourists, he ends up in a chic night club where everything that could go wrong goes terribly wrong. In fact, things get so out of control that the club literally begins to fall apart. Of course, its guests love the show, and by the wee hours of the night most of them are having the time of their lives. Hulot does not. He attempts to help as many of the guests as possible.

It is a well known fact that PlayTime bankrupted its creator. It took director Tati nine years to complete it, which proved to be his most expensive project. When Play Time was finally released, however, it collapsed with a bang at the box office. Director Tati ended up selling its rights in order to pay off at least some of the money he owned to his creditors.

Criterion’s Blu-ray release of PlayTime contains the film’s 124-minute version. In the leaflet provided with it, renowned critic Jonathan Rosenbaum mentions a different version, a 152-minute one, which was apparently used for the film’s premiere in France. Unfortunately, however, director Tati was asked to recut PlayTime to its current 124-min version, before prints of it were sold to different French and international distributors. Mr. Rosenbaum also points out that a lot of the missing footage from the 152-minute version of PlayTime has been lost.

Filmed in 70mm, PlayTime is a grandiose spectacle. Detail, color and camera movement have to be seen to be believed. I know that this is a terribly overused cliche, but PlayTime truly deserves it.

PlayTime is structured as a giant collage of episodes in which there is a lot more happening than one could possibly follow. On addition to Monsieur Hulot, there are a number of other characters in PlayTime whose eccentric behavior is just as fascinating to behold -- an American woman on a mission to take pictures of the real Paris, a very confused porter, a rich American man who wants to party hard, a miserable waiter, a helpless drunk, a very pretentious French woman, etc. Often these characters are involved in hilarious gigs which one could easily miss because there are two, three, occasionally even four of them happening at the same time.

I do not wish to discuss PlayTime's message; this would be inappropriate. I believe that attempting to explain how to deconstruct PlayTime would only spoil its magic. One must experience the confusion, amusement and awe Tati’s vision of the future usually causes unprepared. Then, in order to truly grasp PlayTime, one must see it again.

PlayTime Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Tati's Play Time arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

This high-definition digital transfer has been created on a Spirit Datacine from 35mm reduction internegative made from the restored 65mm interpositive. Plenty of debris, scratches, flecks and stains have been removed. Stability has been improved tremendously. Contrast, clarity and detail are notably stronger. When blown through a digital projector, PlayTime looks exceptional. The color-scheme is fantastic. The prominent grays, metallic silver, blues, greens, blacks and whites are rich and well saturated. Frankly, next to the Blu-ray transfer, the DVD transfer of Play Time looks pale. Edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern; neither is macroblocking. There is no color-bleeding to report either. As expected, heavy DNR has not been applied. During the opening 3-4 minutes (where the title appears), you will notice a few scratches and flecks, but throughout the film dirt, debris, stains, large scratches and flecks are not present. To sum it all up, the Blu-ray release represents a very serious upgrade over the existing R1 DVD release. Well done, Criterion! (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, unless you have a native Region-A or Region-Free player, you will not be able to access the disc's content).

PlayTime Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: French (with portions of English) LPCM 2.0 and International Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. (Tati created two soundtracks for Play Time: one for France and one for international audiences. Though the latter incorporates more English, both contain multiple languages, as Tati believed that the dialogue was secondary and that his film could be understood visually by any viewer).

The film's soundtrack has been remastered at 24-bit from the original 4-channel stems. A number of pops, hissings, clicks, and hum have been manually removed with Pro Tools HD. Crackle has been attenuated using AudioCube's integrated audio workstation. Audio supervisor and restoration: Ryan Hullings.

Once again, I have absolutely no reservations whatsoever. The French lossless track is crisp and clear. There are no balance issues. Francis Lemarque's score is very effective; the dynamics are more prominent. I have not watched the entire film with the international track, but did compare a few scenes with it. My impression is that it is adequate, but most definitely not a match for the French LPCM 2.0 track -- clarity and depth are lacking. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

PlayTime Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Terry Jones introduction - this is the same short introduction by writer, director, and performer Terry Jones offered on the Criterion DVD release of PlayTime. (7 min, 1080i).

Selected scene commentary - a commentary by film historian Phillip Kemp, which was recorded for the British Film Institute. Mr. Kemp discusses the history of PlayTime, the film's complex narrative, and the legacy of its creator, and deconstructs a few of the film's more prominent scenes. (47 min. 1080i).

Au-dela de "PlayTime" - a short film, with a script by Jacques Tati scholar Stephane Goudet, exploring Tati's hugely ambitious production. (7 min. 1080i)

Tati Story - a biographical film tracing Jacques Tati's life and work. The film features clips from the French director's films, as well as rare photos and archival materials. In French with optional English subtitles. (21 min. 1080i).

"Jacques Tati in M. Hulot's Work" - in this 1987 BBC Omnimus program, Gavin Millar interviews Jacques Tati at the Hotel de la Plage, made famous in M. Hulot's Hioliday. Tati discusses his work as a comedian and filmmaker and the films featuring his beloved Hulot. In English. (50 min. 1080i).

Tati at the San Francisco Film Festival - the 1972 San Francisco International Film Festival hosted the U.S. premiere of PlayTime. Jacques Tati attended the event and participated in a discussion about the film, moderated by Albert Johnson. Presented here is a collection of audio excerpts from that discussion. (17 min).

Sylvette Baudrot - Sylvette Baudrot has been a script supervisor for more than five decades and worked with Jacques Tati on three of his films. In this featurette, she recalls her participation in PlayTime. In French, with optional English subtitles. (13 min. 1080i)

Cours du soir - in this 1967 short film, written by Jacques Tati and directed by Nicolas Rybowski, Tati plays the instructor of a class studying the art of mime. In French, with optional English subtitles. (28 min, 1080i).

Leaflet - for the Blu-ray release of PlayTime, Criterion have reprinted and added the same leaflet they offered with the R1 DVD release of the film. The leaflet features Jonathan Rosenbaum's essay "The Dance of Play Time".

PlayTime Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Criterion's Blu-ray release of Jacques Tati's Play Time is a very serious upgrade over the existing DVD release of the film. Furthermore, the distributors have also transferred all of the supplemental features from the DVD to the Blu-ray release. Frankly, I cannot think of a single reason why you should not upgrade. Very Highly Recommended.