The Rules of the Game
The Rules of the Game • 1h 47m
Directed by Jean Renoir • 1939 • France
Considered one of the greatest films ever made, The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu), by Jean Renoir, is a scathing critique of corrupt French society cloaked in a comedy of manners in which a weekend at a marquis' country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois acquaintances. The film has had a tumultuous history: it was subjected to cuts after the violent response of the premiere audience in 1939, and the original negative was destroyed during World War II; it wasn't reconstructed until 1959. That version, which has stunned viewers for decades, is presented here.
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Jean Renoir on THE RULES OF THE GAME
This segment of Jean Renoir discussing his film THE RULES OF THE GAME was filmed in 1961.
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Michael Cunningham on THE RULES OF TH...
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THE RULES OF THE GAME Commentary
Recorded in 1989, this commentary features writer-director Peter Bogdanovich reading text by Jean Renoir scholar Alexander Sesonske, author of “Jean Renoir: The French Films, 1924–1939.”