Play Time

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

The escalator handrails aren't moving in the airport scene. The actors skim their hands along pretending it's moving, when you can see by reflections of its surface that it is indeed not.

The title isn't shown until the end of the opening credits. Additionally, there are no end credits. The final shot simply fades out and there is about a minute of exit music.

The first cut of the film ran 155 minutes with intermission and exit music. This version, which ran for six months, was edited down by Tati himself to 135 minutes based on audience reactions. It was released on 70 mm with 6-Track sound. In the US the film was released with a running time of 93 min. and 1-Track mono sound. Other versions ran between 108-120 min. and were released on 35 mm with 4-Track Stereo sound (quadraphonic). When the film was re-released in France of 1978, cinemas refused to screen the film if it was over two hours long so Tati edited it down to 119 minutes. In 2002 the film was restored a length of 124 minutes based on two surviving copies of the 135 minute cut. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 and is the version that is widely available since.

Edited into Damned! Daney (1991)