The Bottom Line
Pros
- Masterpiece of world cinema with a profoundly humanistic sensibility
- Great combination of plot, character, performances, visual style
- Entertaining at 1st viewing, but enjoyment increases with multiple viewings
Cons
- Some viewers may not emotionally connect with aristocrats & servants in 1930s France
- Some viewers may not see film’s relevance to 21st-century life
- Movie is subtle and its brilliance is not of the sort most people find immediately obvious
Description
- Criterion Collection 2-disc DVD set containing French movie "The Rules of the Game" (1939)
- Movie ranks 3rd in 2002 "Sight & Sound" critics' poll of all-time greatest films
- Directed by Jean Renoir and stars Marcel Dalio
- Feature-length scholarly audio commentary written by Alexander Sesonske
- Selected scene analysis by Renoir historian Christopher Faulkner
- French TV program (1966) about the movie
- BBC TV program (1993) about Renoir
- Very good picture and sound quality (for a restored classic)
- Feature run time: 1 hour 46 minutes
- DVD release date: January 20, 2004
Guide Review - "The Rules of the Game" DVD Review
I've enjoyed watching my VHS copy of Jean Renoir's "The Rules of the Game" over the last several years, and now I'm thrilled to own the Criterion Collection DVD version. I'd characterize the film as an exploration of manners, morals, and society, where Renoir's approach is an artful blend of farce, satire, and tragedy. The movie has eight major characters, and I marvel at the ensemble acting, but the performance that stays in my mind is that of Marcel Dalio as wealthy aristocrat Robert de la Chesnaye.
The complex story is set in motion when an aviator makes remarks during a radio broadcast revealing his infatuation with Robert’s wife. These three aristocrats form one romantic triangle, while another develops involving Robert's wife's maid, a gamekeeper, and a newly hired servant. But all this plays out against the backdrop of a pheasant hunt and an elaborate party, at which the conflicts are resolved by a murder that Robert calls a "deplorable accident."
I think Renoir's deep-focus photography, unerring sense of composition, and fluid visual style are ideally suited to the film's story. But what I like best about "The Rules of the Game" is Renoir's profoundly humanistic sensibility. I find myself sympathetic towards all eight major characters, but as the film shows, it's human nature for individuals to come into conflict, both with one another and with society. As one character says, "The awful thing about life is this: everyone has their reasons."
