The Rules of the Game - Criterion Collection (1939)

Jean Renoir's 1939 classic is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, and Criterion is very proud to present the film in a special two-disc edition. Cloaked in a comedy of manners, this scathing critique of corrupt French society is about a weekend hunting party at which amorous escapades abound among the aristocratic guests-which are also mirrored by the activities of the servants downstairs. The refusal of one of the guests to play by society's rules sets off a chain of events that ends in tragedy.

Good not great

French filmmaker Jean Renoir's 1939 black and white classic, The Rules Of The Game (La Règle Du Jeu), routinely shows up on Top Five lists for best films ever, along with classics like Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story. But, it's not in a league with any of that tercet. In fact, while it's a good film, and a quite enjoyable one, it's not even close to being a great film. There are two basic reasons why: first is that, despite some kudos given by technical experts, the film is not nearly as visually compelling nor stunning as the Welles film, and its oft-claimed camera innovations and cinematography are not anything that wows a viewer. Of course, there are some interesting moments, and some of the nature photography is first rate, but anyone expecting to see the 1930s equivalent of The Matrix or 2001: A Space Odyssey, will be disappointed. This is, of course, not so much the fault of the film itself as it is the critics and champions who gush over every scene in the film. The second, and more important, reason this film fails to touch greatness is the manifest- its screenplay by Renoir and Carl Koch. While a slight twist, and improvement, on the screwball comedies of the day- by mixing it with the comedy of manners format (adapted from a 19th Century stage entry in that genre: Alfred de Musset's Les Caprices De Marianne, the film fails to develop a single compelling, sympathetic, or even remotely interesting character. In fact, the film fails to develop characters, period. They are all caricatures, which is not bad, in itself, if the film is solely intended as a satire. After all, is there a single realistic character in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb? Unfortunately, The Rules Of The Games clearly tries and succeeds at being more than mere satire, and that little success is why the film's overall arch to greatness fails.
While The Rules Of The Game is certainly a film landmark, it is clearly not a great film. Its time has long since passed, on many levels, the least of which is its provincial ideas (note the casual bigotry in the `toy Negress' Robert plays with and the anti-Semitic caricatures the bourgeoisie portray in one of their musical numbers). In a sense, its overrating mirrors that of the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which, despite its flaws, has tireless champions who likewise, identify with the characters to such a degree that they are inoculated to any technical flaws within, much less the fact that they are that book's targets. To the rest of the audience, however, is left a solid comedy that tries a little too hard to be deep, instead of what it is- entertainment. Thus I repeat, and lament, where is the French Groucho when you need him?
September 21, 2008

[4.5] House Party With No Kid but Everybodys Playing. Criterion Features Below.

On the back of the Criterion dvd it says the The Rules of the Game is a scathing critique of corrupt French society cloaked in a comedy of manners. I would agree. For the average film viewer picture a classier artier version of the Nichols directed movie Closer (Superbit Edition) with more underlying messages of society and less a character study on love and sex. They are similar because in both movies there is deception and this person is hooking up with this one and so on but there is no real love. Whether they do it out of boredom or pure animal instinct and try to use love as an excuse for their actions. The movie also takes some shots at the media as one character points out how all these important people on television lie why shouldn't the simple people. The movie says a lot and could generate a different perspective to each viewer which makes it great by transcending being pigeonholed into a genre. Simply giving a plot description would be cheating it. All this funny business takes place at a weekend hunting party where the only thing separating the guests from the game they're hunting are the rules.

TONS of Criterion Features (from the back of the dvd)
Disc 1 - New HD transfer with restored image and sound
-Intro to the film by Jean Renoir
-Audio comment written by film scholar Alexander Sesonske and read by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich
-Version comparison side by side analysis of the two endings of the film, along with an illustrated study of Renoir's shotting script
-Selected scene analysis by Renoir historian Christopher Falkner

Disc II
Excerpts from Renoir, le patron: La regle et l' exception (1966) a french tv program dir. by Jacques Rivette
-Part I of Renoir, a II part 1993 BBC doc by David Thompson, featuring reflections on Renoir from his family, friends, collaborators, and admirers.
-New video essay about the films production, release, and later reconstruction
-Jean Gaborit and Jacques Durand discuss their recon and re release of the film
-New interview with Renoir's son, Alain, an assistant cameraman on the film
New Int with Rules set designer Max Douy
-1995 int w/ actress Mia Parely
-Written tributes to the film and Renoir by J. Hoberman, Kent Jones, Paul Schrader, Wim Wenders and Others

*24 Page booklet featuring writings by Jean Renoir, Francois Truffaut, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bertrand Tavemier, and an essay by Alexander Sesonske. June 13, 2008

The Rules of Renoir.

The Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, 1939)

As I'm only approaching forty, I find it quite difficult to look at this film from the historical perspective with which most critics frame it; after all, I wouldn't be born for almost thirty years after the film's initial release. But, unlike a number of movies for which historical context seems important, I can't say, after reading a number of reviews and articles about it, that missing all that context seems to have damaged my perception of the film; as I see it, the movie stands on its own, historical context or no. Why? Because it's blamed funny, that's why.

Renoir's satirical look at class warfare in pre-WW2 France holds up because, well, there will always be class warfare, and the haves will always see themselves as superior to the have-nots, and from that standpoint, it's universal. In this case, the haves are going to a weekend hunting party at the country estate of Cheyniest (Marcel Dalio), and bringing most of the have-nots, their servants. The catalyst to everything that follows is Cheyniest's impulsive hiring of Marceau (Julien Carette), a local who is caught poaching rabbits on Cheyniest's land. He refuses to play by the unwritten rules of the haves and the have-nots, and anarchy ensues.

Renoir, of course, had a flair for the absurd a mile wide, and even in his most subtle moments, he's painting with it. ("It breaks my heart, but I cannot expose the guests to your firearms.") And this is where The Rules of the Game, in my estimation, differs from its far more recent heir, Robert Altman's Gosford Park-- that film takes itself far too seriously on every level, where Renoir always leavens his deeper, angrier meanings with laughter. Where Altman sprawls, Renoir focuses in with laser precision, turning away from nothing, examining every detail of every scene. (The unveiling of the clockwork calliope, it is revealed in the DVD extras, took two days of shooting because Renoir wanted to get Dalio's expression perfect; Renoir says it was the best scene he ever shot.)

A fine, fine piece of work, whether you recognize the historical significance or not. **** May 30, 2008

Rules of the Game

Director Renoir's scathing critique of French social conventions and hypocrisy caused quite a stir on release, and it's not hard to see why. A bit too clever and close to home for its time, the film's sublime satire has a cutting edge, as both masters and servants fixate on trivialities and behave foolishly, while all around them, Rome burns- or is it Paris? (Only a year after the film's release, the Nazis would occupy France). This is one game still worth playing. June 21, 2007

quick note on the subtitles

The folks at "Criterion Collection" sure do go out of their way to tout their products -- such as this release of Renoir's immortal "Rules of the Game" -- as being the alpha and omega of DVD releases.

This two-disc set sure has a lot of extras bundled in, but I'm disappointed in one major category: although you can get the English subtitles off the screen, you cannot have it display French subtitles, in case you're passable at French or would like to clarify or improve something.

There is quite the literate commentary track in English, however, although the movie has not been dubbed into English on any audio track. Be aware that the commentary is not "live:" it's someone reading an academic essay. (Peter Bogdanovich reading an appreciation by Alexander Sesonske.) May 6, 2007

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