The office set for Jacques Tati's Playtime anticipated the dominance of office cubicle arrangements by some 20 years.
Hulot and the American tourists are introduced to the latest modern gadgets, including a door that slams "in golden silence" and a broom with headlights, while the Paris of legend goes all but unnoticed save for a flower-seller's stall and a single reflection of the Eiffel Tower in a glass door. In 2012, Playtime was 43rd in the British Film Institute's critics' list and 37th in their directors' list of " Top 100 Greatest Films of All Time." The film was judged a financial failure at the time of its release. Playtime is considered Tati's masterpiece, as well as his most daring work. Shot in 70 mm, the work is notable for its enormous set, which Tati had built specially for the film, as well as Tati's trademark use of subtle yet complex visual comedy supported by creative sound effects dialogue is frequently reduced to the level of background noise. Playtime was made from 1964 through 1967. By 1964, Tati had grown ambivalent towards playing Hulot as a recurring central role he appears intermittently in Playtime, alternating between central and supporting roles. In Playtime, Tati again plays Monsieur Hulot, the popular character who appeared in his earlier films Mon Oncle and Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot. Playtime is a 1967 comedy film directed by Jacques Tati.