Playtime

This film was shot in 70mm, so it seems particularly outrageous to post it in this postage-stamp format on here. But at least watch it full-screen (er... it's nearly 2 hours long):



Don't worry about French sub-titles -- it's effectively a silent film, with maestro Jacques Tati like a modern-day Keaton (there can't be more than a dozen or so lines of dialogue in the whole film). It's a visually stunning movie, and a damning indictment of much of modern urban living. And it's very witty.

Dedicated to my lovely friend Tom, who is having bureaucracy problems at the moment.

Oh, one other thing (going from the sublime to the ridiculous) -- the Playtime theme music, composed of typewriter noises, reminds me of the opening credits of appalling British 1970s sit-com Are You Being Served? Set in a department store, the music is a combination of ringing-up noises from old-fashioned cash registers and the patter of a floor announcer in a lift:



I think that's brilliant. Quite brilliant.