The Rules of the Game

This is a famous movie from France.

It was made a long time ago. A man named Renoir was the director. He used a moving camera to film it.

The movie tells a story about many people. It shows rich people and their workers. Some people did not like the film at first. They even banned it for a while. Now, many people think it is a great film. It is a very special part of movie history.

The Rules of the Game is a famous French film.

A director named Jean Renoir made it in 1939. It tells a story about rich people and their servants. The film takes place just before World War II. Renoir wanted to show how people acted back then. He said his characters were "dancing on a volcano." This meant life felt shaky and dangerous.

The movie was very expensive to make. It cost over 5 million francs. Renoir used new ways to film. He used moving cameras and long shots. At first, many people did not like the film. Critics and audiences were not happy. The government even banned it for a time. They thought it was a bad influence on young people. But the film's fame grew slowly over many years. In 1956, people found more of the original film. They put it back together for a big festival. Now, many experts call it a great movie. It has been named a top film for many decades. It helps inspire many new directors today.

The Rules of the Game is a famous French film from 1939.

It is a comedy-drama that tells a story about rich people and their servants. The movie takes place just before World War II starts. Director Jean Renoir wanted to show how people acted during that time. He said his characters were "dancing on a volcano." This meant life felt shaky and dangerous for everyone. Many experts now call it one of the greatest films ever made.

The story follows many different people at a country estate called La Colinière. An aviator named André Jurieux arrives by plane after flying across the Atlantic. He is sad because the woman he loves, Christine, is married to Robert. Robert is the Marquis de la Chesnaye, a wealthy man. The film shows many romantic connections between the guests and the servants. There is also a poacher named Marceau who tries to catch rabbits. These many characters all interact in a complicated way.

Making this film was a very big job for the crew.

It was the most expensive French film made at that time. The budget started at 2.5 million francs. Later, the cost grew to more than 5 million francs. Renoir used special ways to film the scenes. He used deep-focus and long shots with a moving camera. These were very advanced techniques for the year 1939. The film was meant to be a "divertissement," or a light entertainment.

Jean Renoir was at the top of his career when he started. In 1938, he helped start a company called Nouvelle Édition Française. He wanted to make films like the American company United Artists. He used ideas from old French plays and books for inspiration. One idea came from a play called Les Caprices de Marianne. He wanted to show a precise description of the people of his age. This was a very important time for French cinema.

At first, the film was not a success at all. Critics and audiences did not like it when it premiered. The French government even banned the film in October 1939. They thought it might have an undesirable influence on young people. For a long time, only a shorter 85-minute version existed. In 1956, workers found the original film pieces in boxes. They put the full version back together for a festival in Venice. Since then, it has stayed on lists of the best films ever made.

The Rules of the Game is a 1939 French satirical comedy-drama film.

Directed by Jean Renoir, the film serves as a pensive comedy of manners. It examines the lives of upper-class French society and their servants. The story unfolds just before the beginning of World War II. Renoir used the film to show the moral callousness of these characters. He famously described the situation as "dancing on a volcano." This metaphor suggested that society was living precariously near a great destruction. Today, the film is considered one of the greatest in cinema history.

The plot centers on complex romantic connections at the La Colinière estate.

It begins when André Jurieux, an aviator, lands at Le Bourget Airfield. He has just crossed the Atlantic in his plane. André is heartbroken because the woman he loves, Christine, is married. Christine is the Marquise de la Chesnaye, married to Robert, the Marquis de la Chesnaye. The film tracks many intersecting relationships between the guests and the staff. These include Lisette, Christine's maid, and Schumacher, the estate's gamekeeper. The interactions lead to a series of misunderstandings and tragic events.

Renoir employed sophisticated cinematic techniques to bring this world to life. He and cinematographer Jean Bachelet utilized deep-focus and long shots. Deep-focus is a technique that keeps both the foreground and background in sharp view. The camera was also constantly moving during these shots. These methods were very advanced for the year 1939. To allow for natural performances, Renoir only scripted one-third of the film. The remaining two-thirds were written as a detailed outline. This allowed the actors to improvise their dialogue during filming.

The production was a massive undertaking for the French film industry. It was the most expensive French film produced at that time. The original budget began at 2.5 million francs. However, the total cost eventually increased to more than 5 million francs. Renoir helped found a company called Nouvelle Édition Française (NEF) in 1938. He modeled this company after the American studio United Artists. NEF was intended to support independent artists. This film was the only production the company ever completed.

Renoir drew deep inspiration from classical French literature and art. He looked to the works of Pierre de Marivaux and Beaumarchais. He was specifically influenced by Alfred de Musset's play, Les Caprices de Marianne. The film's four main characters correlate to roles in that play. They include a virtuous wife, a jealous husband, a despairing lover, and an interceding friend. The character Octave is the interceding friend. He is described as a "sad clown" full of self-doubt. This literary connection adds layers of meaning to the characters' actions.

Despite its current fame, the film was initially a failure. When it premiered, it was met with scorn from critics and audiences. Renoir even reduced the running time from 113 minutes to 85 minutes. In October 1939, the wartime French government banned the film. They claimed it had an "undesirable influence over the young." For many years, only the shorter version was available to the public. The film's reputation only began to grow much later.

A major turning point occurred in 1956 when original film material was found.

This discovery allowed for a reconstructed version of the film. This version premiered at the Venice Film Festival that same year. It was nearly complete, missing only one minor scene from the original cut. Since then, the film has achieved incredible critical status. It is the only film to appear in the top ten of the Sight & Sound decennial critics' poll for every decade from 1952 through 2012. It remains a vital study of human nature and social structures.