IMDb RATING
8.0/10
28K
YOUR RATING
A bourgeois life in France at the onset of World War II, as the rich and their poor servants meet up at a French chateau.A bourgeois life in France at the onset of World War II, as the rich and their poor servants meet up at a French chateau.A bourgeois life in France at the onset of World War II, as the rich and their poor servants meet up at a French chateau.
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
28K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Jean Renoir(scenario & dialogue)
- Carl Koch(collaborator)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Jean Renoir(scenario & dialogue)
- Carl Koch(collaborator)
- Stars
- Awards
- 4 wins & 2 nominations
Videos1
Lise Elina
- Radio-Reporteras Radio-Reporter
- (as Lise Élina)
- Director
- Writers
- Jean Renoir(scenario & dialogue)
- Carl Koch(collaborator)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
On the brink of WWII, the record-breaking aviator, André Jurieux, safely lands at a small airport crammed with reporters, only to come face-to-face with his worst fear: the object of his desire, Christine, a blonde noblewoman and wife of the affluent Marquis de la Cheyniest, Robert, is not there to greet him. Intent on winning her back, André accepts his friend Octave's invitation for a lavish hunting weekend at the aristocrat's palatial country estate at La Coliniere, among hand-picked guests and the mansion's servants. However, intrigue, rivalries, and human weaknesses threaten to expose royalty and paupers alike. Who will breach first the unwritten rules of the game? —Nick Riganas
- Taglines
- One of the two or three greatest films ever made in France.
- Genres
- Certificate
- Not Rated
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaDespite now being considered by historians to be one of the best films ever made, the picture almost became a lost art. Claiming that it was bad for the morale of the country (due to impending war), the French government banned the film about a month after its original release. When Germany took over France the following year, it was banned by the Nazi party as well, who also burnt many of the prints. Allied planes then accidentally destroyed the original negatives. It was thought to be a lost picture. In 1956, some followers of director Jean Renoir found enough pieces of the film scattered throughout France to reconstitute it with Renoir's help. Renoir claimed only one minor scene from the original cut was missing.
- GoofsWhen the hunting party starts, the animals (notably the rabbits) barely move. Even when the beaters are close to them, they move at the last moment. This because the animals were not wild as the plot required, but actually bred in captivity and hence used to human presence. For information, the killing is real: many animals died during the movie.
- Quotes
Robert de la Cheyniest: Corneille! Put an end to this farce!
Corneille, le majordome: Which one, your lordship?
- Alternate versionsOriginally released at 91 minutes, but quickly recut to 84 minutes after the first weekend, due to political pressure and popular outcry. Various cuts exists, ranging in length from 84 to 106 minutes.
- ConnectionsEdited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Seul le cinéma (1994)
- SoundtracksDreizehn deutsche Tänze, K. 605, No. 1
(1791) (uncredited)
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Conducted by Roger Desormière
Top review
"Rules" Rules
One of the ways in which a film of some age can be immediately identified as great is that we do not really notice that it is old. The same elements that attract us contemporarily are as quickly noted in the landmark movies of yesteryear. So it is with `The Rules of the Game', Jean Renoir's flamboyantly provocative study of class distinction and human folly.
Long heralded as one of the great films of all time, it is of such complexity and has so much great dialogue that in fairness it should be viewed several times. There are so many complex shots and methods of capturing moments that one might discover a new item with each visit. These arrangements run the gamut of half a dozen actors criss-crossing the scope of a shot or the use of mirrors to perhaps focus our attention on something Renoir wants us to appreciate or tuck away for later rumination.
As the movie opens, Lise Elena (as the on-the-scene radio reporter) is perfect in conveying the energy and attention/attraction a record-setting Trans-Atlantic flight would have attracted at the time; the drama of the moment as pilot André Jurieux (Roland Toutain) lands amid pandemonium is caught exactly as it might occur. Renoir is giving us a hero that we almost immediately find is flawed and does not stand up to close inspection, as do none of the great political figures of that time. As the film progresses the hero Jurieux is found wanting in every regard, as it turns out.
Paulette Dubost (as the maid, Lisette) is introduced early as attendant to a key figure - Christine de la Cheyniest (played by Nora Gregor) and is so heartbreakingly pretty even watching her eat an apple is a guilty pleasure. Christine turns out to be the hub of a wheel of fascination, deception, and unrequited love yet herself is only as exotic as her foreign background. This Mutt and Jeff pairing is nicely shown in drawing room scenes as the high-society semi-charmer is fawned over by the lovely Lisette.
The players intermingle primarily at the chateau of Christine's husband Robert (played by Dalio) and what unfolds is a tale that documents the excesses of both classes. We might say we see a series of interpersonal clashes amidst clueless-in-love slackers with the occasional agenda-wielding guest thrown in; but all this is recorded with just the right touch of realism. So we find that Christine's heart may well lie with the adoring Jurieux, that Lisette is not exactly pining for her gamekeeper husband Schumacher, Robert's lover is not sure of her need for him (or he of his feelings for her) and throughout poor Octave remains a stolid yet curiously uncommitted friend to all.
The only aspect of the film that does not come across well is the sometimes overly hammy acting of some of the players. But with the exception of Renoir himself (playing Octave) this over-the-topness comes in fits and starts, never overwhelming us at all. Renoir's Octave could have been played by Jackie Gleason to great effect.
Very noticeable to current viewers is the great similarity of the more recent `Gosford Park' to this 1939 Jean Renoir film. While Robert Altman's film focuses on class differences so piquantly, `Rules' is actually more sublime. But that hanky-panky and its inevitably hurtful consequence knows no class despite `Rules' could not be more fascinating than the depiction given it by Renoir in this film.
Rating: Four Stars.
Long heralded as one of the great films of all time, it is of such complexity and has so much great dialogue that in fairness it should be viewed several times. There are so many complex shots and methods of capturing moments that one might discover a new item with each visit. These arrangements run the gamut of half a dozen actors criss-crossing the scope of a shot or the use of mirrors to perhaps focus our attention on something Renoir wants us to appreciate or tuck away for later rumination.
As the movie opens, Lise Elena (as the on-the-scene radio reporter) is perfect in conveying the energy and attention/attraction a record-setting Trans-Atlantic flight would have attracted at the time; the drama of the moment as pilot André Jurieux (Roland Toutain) lands amid pandemonium is caught exactly as it might occur. Renoir is giving us a hero that we almost immediately find is flawed and does not stand up to close inspection, as do none of the great political figures of that time. As the film progresses the hero Jurieux is found wanting in every regard, as it turns out.
Paulette Dubost (as the maid, Lisette) is introduced early as attendant to a key figure - Christine de la Cheyniest (played by Nora Gregor) and is so heartbreakingly pretty even watching her eat an apple is a guilty pleasure. Christine turns out to be the hub of a wheel of fascination, deception, and unrequited love yet herself is only as exotic as her foreign background. This Mutt and Jeff pairing is nicely shown in drawing room scenes as the high-society semi-charmer is fawned over by the lovely Lisette.
The players intermingle primarily at the chateau of Christine's husband Robert (played by Dalio) and what unfolds is a tale that documents the excesses of both classes. We might say we see a series of interpersonal clashes amidst clueless-in-love slackers with the occasional agenda-wielding guest thrown in; but all this is recorded with just the right touch of realism. So we find that Christine's heart may well lie with the adoring Jurieux, that Lisette is not exactly pining for her gamekeeper husband Schumacher, Robert's lover is not sure of her need for him (or he of his feelings for her) and throughout poor Octave remains a stolid yet curiously uncommitted friend to all.
The only aspect of the film that does not come across well is the sometimes overly hammy acting of some of the players. But with the exception of Renoir himself (playing Octave) this over-the-topness comes in fits and starts, never overwhelming us at all. Renoir's Octave could have been played by Jackie Gleason to great effect.
Very noticeable to current viewers is the great similarity of the more recent `Gosford Park' to this 1939 Jean Renoir film. While Robert Altman's film focuses on class differences so piquantly, `Rules' is actually more sublime. But that hanky-panky and its inevitably hurtful consequence knows no class despite `Rules' could not be more fascinating than the depiction given it by Renoir in this film.
Rating: Four Stars.
helpful•2818
- gcrokus
- Jun 24, 2004
Details
Box office
- Budget
- FRF 5,500,500 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $273,641
- Gross worldwide
- $273,641
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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