Rating: 
Summary: 50's and Beyond ...
Review: A film for many viewings. Light years ahead of any other film portraying "modern" life. Hasn't dated a bit. Unfortunately the DVD doesn't pay the necessary compliments... the correct aspect ratio for this 70mm film is not there,... and unfortunately anywhere!!!... The transfer is good (video and sound), so better to have it as it is,and wait for a future release of a good 70mm version.
Rating: 
Summary: Not what it seems
Review: Both the introduction (by Terry Jones) and the blurb on this DVD talk about Tati's "70mm" epic. The original (1967) was in 70mm (aspect ration 2.2:1) and had stereo sound, but what has been restored here is the American version (which Tati authorised in 1972) which is in mono and widescreen (aspect ratio 1.85:1).This not made at all clear on the packaging.
Rating:
Summary: Jacques in Wonderland
Review: How fine to have a splendid new digital transfer from Criterion of Tati's masterwork! The humor, while brilliant, is often subtle; no comedian ever found more humor in inanimate objects (and, as here, design) than Tati. Mr. Hulot isn't front and center in PLAYTIME; the main character's Paris, denatured and dehumanized by modernism. (One of the picture's funniest, and most poignant, images is the rapid, lonely reflection of the Eiffel Tower in a quickly-opened skyscraper door.) Viewers will have fun finding the abundent sight gags on display, frequently somewhere on the periphery of the action; this is one movie that should richly repay repeated viewings. (Keep an eye peeled for the travel posters!) Pleasant, if somewhat unilluminating, intro from Terry Jones. An essential disc.
Rating:
Summary: What are their criteria, exactly
Review: I don't propose to write lengthing about Tati's masterpiece; I shall merely reiterate that Playtime is the 2001 of comedies.My issues are with the quality of presentation on the DVD. The transfer of the mono mix of the 35mm print of the film is as good as can be expected, and the subtitling adds another dimension over the International version, picking out "key" bits of dialogue (although none is essential). The sleeve notes explain that the location of the original elements, and thus the 65mm negative and stereo (or quadrophonic!) soundtrack have been lost, for the time being, but I urge you not to be put off by this. It has already been discussed that some 4:3 material has been flagged as anamorphic, such that a television will stretch out images that should never have been stretched, causing some problems with subtitles being distorted. This is annoying and sloppy, requiring a manual correction when viewed each time; a moron in a hurry should have spotted this error, and I am very diappointed that Criterion have not been more punctilious. Further, the very end of the film is supposed to be a fade to black while the music keeps playing to the end; there is about 30s overlap there. However, on this transfer, the music fades out as soon as the film is over. This gives the film an abrupt ending which has a very different effect to the proper version, as released by the British Film Institute on VHS in the UK. Having said that, I urge you still to buy this disc, as it is good enough to get a high quality of this great film into your home. I am just disappointed at Criterion.
Rating: 
Summary: Aspect ratio vs. aspect ratio
Review: I have not had the opportunity to see this film and ,sadly, it is now OOP (Out Of Print) from Criterion and the gougers of OOP's are licking their chops... However, this is in reference to "PUBWEBMASTER from LONDON" lambasting Criterion for what is claimed as a 4:3 aspect ratio transfer. 1. If you lookup this film at imdb.com and click on "TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS"
you will see that it was filmed in 1:85:1 aspect ratio 2. If you lookup this film at imdb.com and click on "DVD DETAILS"
you will notice it was TRANSFERRED at 1:85:1 aspect ratio ANAMORPHIC CONCLUSION: Either believe the "PUBWEBMASTER from LONDON" or Criterion ADVICE - don't support the GOUGERS!! - wait for Criterion to re-release this film
Rating:
Summary: Aspect ratio vs. aspect ratio
Review: I have not had the opportunity to see this film and ,sadly, it is now OOP (Out Of Print) from Criterion and the gougers of OOP's are licking their chops... However, this is in reference to "PUBWEBMASTER from LONDON" lambasting Criterion for what is claimed as a 4:3 aspect ratio transfer. 1. If you lookup this film at imdb.com and click on "TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS"
you will see that it was filmed in 1:85:1 aspect ratio 2. If you lookup this film at imdb.com and click on "DVD DETAILS"
you will notice it was TRANSFERRED at 1:85:1 aspect ratio ANAMORPHIC CONCLUSION: Either believe the "PUBWEBMASTER from LONDON" or Criterion ADVICE - don't support the GOUGERS!! - wait for Criterion to re-release this film
Rating:
Summary: A meticulous creation of a proto-reality...
Review: I haven't reviewed a film on Amazon.com (or anywhere else, for that matter) in years, but I absolutely had to respond to the writer of the critique who issued the idea that "Playtime isn't a comedy... would prefer a Coen Bros flick... etc."
I'm as big a Coen Bros fan (sans the last few movies, of course) as anyone else, but to compare Tati to Joel and Ethan is downright nonsense, no matter if you're a film student, filmmaker, or miscellaneous! Derf!
PLAYTIME, much like the rest of Tati's oeuvre (especially the Hulot series) isn't so much about comedy (at least not the ha-ha-hehe comedy... if anything, it's a more subtle Keaton/Chaplin comedy-of-manners type of trip), as it is the magnificent SPECTACLE of his creation of a whole reality based largely in our own.
If anything, compare PLAYTIME not to a Coen Bros flick, but maybe Altman's NASHVILLE. What makes Tati's masterwork such an awe-inspiring experience for the senses is that he has developed and cultivated his very own Paris... and not the silly "this is a movie" dreamy, etherial romanticized Paris of AMELIE, but rather a more grounded-still-beatific-at-its-best Paris that could exist with the right set of eyes (as opposed to the right set of CGI, filters, etc.)
Yes, Tati used his own visual trickery and the like, but again, it was more of a playful jaunt in contrast to a simple click of a button.
This movie is amazing in that you are watching a reality constructed, almost as it seems, just for you (yes, YOU!!) It's a strange feeling, to be sure. And, yes, you might not be falling off your chair with laughter, but you smile and know that, "Hey, that's pretty nifty."
Then you kinda shut your mouth and gaze in a rather lackadaisical, halcyon fashion at the wonder of "huh..."
Rating:
Summary: Astonishing Masterpiece of Visual Comedy
Review: In Playtime, Jacques Tati makes some of his sharpest commentary on urban alienation, but does it with a such a singularly light and subtle form of visual comedy that it often borders on the banal. Exquisitely so, though; this is both a broad fable and a complex film that rewards attention to its details.
Rating:
Summary: anamorphic image does not seem cut off played on computer
Review: In response to the comment ("tragic") below, I want to say that, when played back on the dvd drive on my pc, the movie doesn't seem to be cut off on the margin: the opening credits appear complete throughout. However played on a standalone dvd player connected to regular TV (4:3) the far extremes of the credits are indeed invisible. I think a widescreen TV will definitely help.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: It's a pity so many people bicker about this transfer. It is pristine, beautiful and properly framed (I have a 'second edition' copy). We should be thankful to Criterion for releasing Tati's marvellous work of art - and trust their judgment with the format that has been presented. As with all Criterion titles, a lot of effort has clearly been made to track down the finest source elements and to present them in a worthy transfer. Don't delay is acquiring this title before it becomes very scarce.
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