Wordiezett So much average

GazerRise Fantastic!

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

morrison-dylan-fan A fan of the dazzling Film Noir La Bête Humaine,I was thrilled when my dad gave me auteur Jean Renoir's The Rules of the Game for my birthday,which I decided to save for a special viewing. Learning of an ICM poll taking place for the best films of 1939,I decided that this was the perfect time to play the game.The plot:Getting out of his plane, aviator André Jurieux learns from his friend Octave that lover Christine de la Cheyniest has not come along to greet him. Hearing Jurieux makes this statement as she is cared for by maid Lisette, Christine affair with Jurieux is joined by her husband Robert having secret mistress Geneviève,and Lisette being more devoted to Christine than her husband Schumacher (who works as gamekeeper on the Cheyniest estate.) Planning just to invite Geneviève to stay at the estate over the weekend so he can end the affair, Robert ends up getting pulled to invite André, Octave and Christine to the estate! All meeting up at the estate,the rules of the games in their relationships start to get played.View on the film:Carrying the title of being one of the greatest films ever made, co- writer/(with Carl Koch) co-star/producer/ directing auteur Jean Renoir (whose son Alain Renoir was one of the cinematographers)gives the film a surprisingly lively atmosphere,with lavish tracking shots spanning the closed-off bourgeois lifestyle. For what was then the most expensive French film of all time,Renoir puts every penny on screen,with a rich depth of field vision highlighting how detached the guests are from the oncoming shadow of WWII. Never openly mentioning WWII, (which did not stop the movie from getting banned for "Demoralising" the public) Renoir casts an atmosphere of anxiety across the entire film,from a soulless hunting party shown by the camera running over the grounds as if they are a battlefield,to a chillingly covered in shadows being unable to hide the emotionless state the guests have towards death and murder.Starting the writing with the play Les Caprices de Marianne a major influence in the background, the screenplay by Renoir and Koch retains stage origins in the dialogue having the smoothness of a Comedy stage play that has turned sour,as the razor sharp punch- lines are turned into arrows dissecting the bourgeois life. Only writing a third of the screenplay fully (with the rest being a detailed outline that allowed the cast to come up with their own dialogue)the writers and cast mercilessly tear apart the dying days of the bourgeois, in the coiled state that all the characters only care about their own affairs, leaves disruption from the outside world being something they can all dismiss out of hand.Taking the role after Pierre Renoir had to leave to work on stage and Michel Simon was unable to find a gap from his projects lined up, Jean Renoir gives a marvellous performance as Octave,with a welcoming manner Renoir uses to capture the wickedly satirical mood of the piece. The woman of every man (and woman's) dream on the estate, Nora Gregor (who sadly died age 47 in 1949) gives a magnetic performance as Christine,whose masculinity Gregor uses to make Christine the dominate bourgeois on the estate,as the games begin.

Jason Mason The Rules of the Game is not like any other film that I know of. It can only be evaluated as a historic work of art - it certainly transcends its medium. It is so untheatrical, despite a riveting finale and a luscious script, that it can hardly be described as entertainment. But in terms of powerful cinema it is fireworks. Renoir really outdid himself with this film, which will always be relevant because it reveals such basic truth and says the unthinkable.One particularly interesting quality of this film is the dynamics of its character development. The characters, as Renoir describes them, are simple, yet they are developed to their furthest conclusions. It shows the harsh reality of private life in comparison to public persona as well as the harsh reality of fate and judgment."Sensitive hearts, faithful hearts Who shun love whither it does range Cease to be so bitter Is it a crime to change? If Cupid was given wings Was it not to flitter?"

st-shot Every bit the major player in film that his illustrious father Auguste was to Impressionism Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game may well be his finest work in a filmography (Boudu saved from Drowning, La Chienne, Grande Illusion, The Crimes of Monsieur Lange, La Bete Humaine) studded with classics. Made on the eve of Europe going dark for the war's duration it failed to catch on in it's initial release with the public or critics but eventually grew in reputation over the years where it consistently finishes near the top in annual critics polls as one of the finest films ever made. They'll get no argument from me.Aviator Andre Jurieux has just pulled off a remarkable and dangerous Trans Atlantic flight but rather than bask in the adulation chooses to lash out at no show Christine, a married aristocrat, who he claims inspired him to risk all for her. Even with the scandal flashed across the airwaves her gadget loving Marquis husband Robert (Marcel Dalio) is forgiving and for good reason since he has been carrying on an affair for some time with a family friend. Realizing what a fool he has made of himself Andre imposes on close friend Octave (Director Renoir) to get him an invite to the country estate of the Marquis and his wife to make up for his indecorous behavior and mingle with the upper crust at leisure for a week. The result is one tragic comic fiasco not only upstairs but also downstairs among the help who will inadvertently contribute mightily to the disaster. Rules of the Game is a magnificent parody of both dry wit and Feydeau farce. Renoirs jabs at present day upper class society and foibles are not slashing but subtle, his characters clueless and self absorbed but not cruelly malicious or overtly snobbish with both the Marquis and Christine confiding in a poacher and a maid respectively. It is this callous nature though that sets the stage for tragedy not just among the players but also as microcosm to events that will unfold within the year.Renoir mingles characters and relationships with casual precision moving the story along at a healthy pace with lengthy choreographed scenes involving a myriad of characters, all with healthy opinions and a touch of comic nuance to go along with it. He avoids overt caricature and humanizes the most egregious of his characters reserving judgment to make observations ("every man has his own reason") and in doing so holds up a mirror to a society on the verge of going over the edge with this remarkably perceptive testament of the times.

tomgillespie2002 The 'one of the greatest films ever made' tag is a lot for a film to carry. There seems to be two sets of these 'greatest films ever made' - the audience's films (the likes of The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Star Wars), and the critics' films (Ozu's Tokyo Story, Murnau's Sunrise, Hitchcock's Vertigo). Without wanting to sound snobbish or pretentious, I do tend to lean my preference to the critics' films. Jean Renoir's truly great film belongs in the latter category, and it's one of those films that regardless of its popularity amongst cinephiles, seems to sadly get lost on a mainstream audience.Heroic pilot Andre (Roland Toutain) touches down after a record-breaking flight to find out that the woman he loves, Christine (Nora Gregor) is not there to greet him. He is, however, greeted by his friend Octave (Jean Renoir), who, determined to cheer his friend up, arranges for Christine and her husband Robert (Marcel Dalio) to invite Andre to their lush party at their country estate. Robert knows about Christine and Andre, but is having an affair himself with Genevieve (Mila Parely), which he promises to break off. Also, Christine's maid Lisette (Paulette Dubost) finds herself more devoted to her madame than to her groundskeeper husband Schumacher (Gaston Modot), who notices her flirting with the new servant Marceau (Julien Carette).The film was sighted as such a despicable and savage mockery of the bourgeoisie upon its release that it was hit with a ban after a public outcry. The upper classes are seen as uncaring in their actions, and relatively passive upon unearthing adultery. When Robert discovers Andre and Christine together after the former promises that it is over, the two begin a lengthy and highly comical fight. At the end, the two compliment each other on their fighting styles. It seems they fought because that was what they were supposed to do. But it seems that Renoir isn't just attacking the upper classes - the maids and servants are just as bad. Lisette repeatedly flirts with Marceau, even though she knows Schumacher will ultimately kill him, and again they seem unconcerned with the consequences of their actions. French society was rotten to the core, apparently.Social commentary aside, the film is a technical marvel. Renoir deploys slow and creeping camera-work that looks in on its strange characters with an air of curiosity, as if an onlooker at a zoo. It's a film that every self-respecting film student will have studied (even though I found myself studying Erin f*****g Brockovich at college) as it is a masterclass of mise en scene. Large rooms are full of objects, yet are noticeably empty. They surround themselves with expensive crap, and fill their country estate with people, but these people are ultimately alone and out for themselves. They are going through the motions of the game, and Renoir cleverly uses black and white tiling on the mansion floor, making the characters appear like pawns on a chess board.It is a real shame that 99% of people I will meet in my life will never have heard of this film and will never watch it, even though it is one of the giants of cinema and is often cited as 'the greatest film ever made'. It is hilarious, poetic, beautiful, disturbing, and frustrating. It breezes by like Shakespeare mixed with slapstick comedy with some French farce thrown in for good measure. Make of that what you will.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com