216 The Rules of the Game

[Tom Amolad]

It's obvious that it inspired more than a few films (Smiles of a Summer Night,

Smiles of a Summer Night is a film that often gets mentioned alongside Rules of the Game, and understandably so, given its subject matter, but I'm not sure there's any connection besides shared antecedents in classical theater - Beaumarchais and the like. What do you see in Bergman's version of "weekend in the country" that compares with Renoir's? Does anyone know if Bergman had seen Rules of the Game by 1955? It wasn't often screened prior to its restoration in 1959, and Bergman wasn't as avid a cinemaphile as some other directors.

I too spent a long time filing them together in my mind (I first saw both of them and also Bunuel's Diary of a Chambermaid during the same summer when I was in high school and for a while couldn't remember which scenes were in which movie), but the more I see them, the less they seem to have in common, either in style or in content.

[ellipsis7]

Bergman cites a series of soap commercials he made for the money, during a strike in the swedish film industry in 1951, as the first reason for making his comedies (whose purpose was also to make money)...

Bergman records that it was common knowledge, "Ingmar has no sense of humour", and he had difficulty raising laughs for his jokes or prompting even a smile for his attempts at theatrical skits...

He writes in 'Images' - "... i brooded a good deal over how others could so easily make people laugh. Even if my life had depended on it, I couldn't figure how they did it.

At the Gothenburg City Theatre I watched all of Torsten Hammaren's rehearsals for a production of the classic French farce Bichon. He was an exceptional comedy director with a matchless talent for knowing exactly when to push our laugh button...

...the classic French farces are not for a moment meaningful. they are built entirely around a comical situation. Everything is mathematically constructed to culminate in a precise situation designed to release the laughter."

Thus evolved SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT. Only connection with RULES OF THE GAME is their general common roots in French theatrical farce and comedy...

[ellipsis7]

Yes, David, that's a good point - there was a lot of crossover from the music and visual arts...

BTW part of the reason French farce was so finely calibrated - 5 acts, each exactly 17 minutes long - was because the bright burning candles that lit the stage lasted only 17 minutes before they burnt out!... Audiences would come to the drama, familiar with these conventions, and thus carrying some folk knowledge of the structure...

[Tommaso]

This is perfectly classical stuff. Even as writ against our favorite movies. Am I wrong to think the sensibility for all of this is disappearing these days?

You're absolutely right, I can't even think of any remotely recent film that has a similarly perfect balance and form, such an effortless (but probably very meticulously achieved) flow of monologue, duets and ensembles as these films, all coalescing in a perfect feel of sublimity. Like in the Mozart operas, you get to know every character in their individuality and personality somewhere in the course of the film, but in the end they are all united in the all-encompassing 'grand finale', taking their proper place in the greater scheme. Perhaps this is one of the techniques that cause people to say so often that Renoir never 'judges' his characters. They are all necessary for his world to function. The only newer example that in a way comes close for me is Branagh's "Much ado about nothing", but that's unsurprising given its literary source (though not everyone can handle Shakespeare this convincingly). But apart from this: nada.

[ellipsis7]

The beauty of Renoir's composition becomes really apparent when you read Curchod & Faulkner's presentation of the Scenario Original of LA REGLE DU JEU... Has all the variants, drafts, deleted scenes etc. from JR's original script files... And shows how the film is structured in some 22 sequences, and how JR built up each in script form... Several facsimile pages show extensive handwritten corrections and amendments to typescript, demonstrating JR's working method... Fascinating inspiring stuff!...

A contemporary filmmaker with something of a classical sensibility and sensisitivity? - the late Robert Altman maybe, especially in his later films like THE COMPANY and A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, which really free themselves of plot in their lightness of touch, sureness of handling and deftness of control... But still nothing close to Renoir IMHO...

[HerrSchreck]

Sarris introduces La Regle du Jeu at the MoMa:

La Regle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game). 1939. France. Directed by Jean Renoir. Screenplay by Renoir and Carl Koch, based on Les Caprices de Marianne by Alfred de Musset. With Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Roland Toutain, Jean Renoir. As ineffable as it is influential, The Rules of the Game transcends genre. Scorned by the French on the eve of World War II, Renoir's masterpiece was eventually named one of the three greatest films of all time in a 1962 international critics' poll. This print was acquired for the collection in the name of Andrew Sarris, who has championed the film and its director for half a century. Sarris, best known for his book The American Cinema, is widely considered the most influential film critic in the English-speaking world. 105 min.
Friday, March 20, 2009, 8:30 p.m., Theater 2, T2 (Introduced by Sarris)

[captveg]

So I just happened to notice that the package art on Criterion's website has the newer "wacky C" packaging. At what point did they repackage this title a la Short Cuts and the Cassavetes films?

[cdnchris]

I think it's mentioned in the packaging thread but I think they started showing up last year in stores. It's now in one of the new clear figure-8 cases that all 2-disc DVDs come in now, dumping the nice digi-pak it was released in before. Shame, actually. It's the same release otherwise.

[Foam]

If someone could direct me to a full version of this advertisement or this cartoon I'd appreciate it.

[hamsterburger]

I just bought The Rules of the game and can confirm that it now comes in a regular plastic case like cdnchris said. However, I did not receive a booklet. What are the chances that Criterion will send me one seeing as I don’t live in the US? I seem to remember hearing something about them not sending out replacement materials to other contries.

[swo17]

We will soon be announcing revised Blu-ray and DVD editions of Jean Renoir's masterpiece The Rules of the Game as part of our November lineup—we are replacing one supplement and creating new packaging.

Our original DVD edition will then be officially out of print. However, at this time we are offering it at a 65% discount from the suggested retail price at Criterion.com. (Use the promotion code REGLE at checkout.) We have a limited supply. We will fulfill orders as soon as we can.

[Tom Hagen]

I'm not even going to try to sell my copy. I'll keep the original and buy the upgrade. That original package is too cool to let go of.

[dwk]

I wonder what supplement they are replacing.

[Perkins Cobb]

Hmmm ... Should I unload mine now, or wait and see if the replaced supplement makes it a collector's item?

[ellipsis7]

November an unexpected Renoir month (with this & FRENCH CANCAN from BFI), and there was I just expecting De Santis' BITTER RICE....

[Brian C]

Hmmm ... Should I unload mine now, or wait and see if the replaced supplement makes it a collector's item?

Why unload it now when Criterion's offering their remaining stock at a huge discount?

[aox]

Why unload it now when Criterion's offering their remaining stock at a huge discount?

This is what stopped me from throwing it up for sale last night. It's only going for $12 used on Amazon anyway.

[Jeff]

Blu-ray announced for November.

[Drucker]

What new extra has been added/what's been lost? I can't figure it out without my copy in front of me.

[swo17]

What new extra has been added/what's been lost? I can't figure it out without my copy in front of me.

Comparing the specs listed in the first post here to those now on CC's site, I see no difference.

[Cinephrenic]

So..., what was the extra taken out? I couldn't tell.

[ellipsis7]

Agree - Renoir/Blu - no brainer!...

[Peacock]

Going by the dvdbeaver list of the old features, I think there is now an interview with Mila Parély, and a version comparison comparing the two endings and analyzing Renoir's shooting script? Can't see what was removed though, unless it was an essay.

[fred]

I had this delusional fantasy that they'd stop butchering the Rivette doc and include it in its entirety, instead of spreading bits and pieces out over multiple releases. Oh well.

[ellipsis7]

I think this must be the new extra (is mentioned on the Amazon page for the new Blu-Ray)...

Olivier Curchod Presents “The Rules of the Game,” a 2005 documentary comparing today’s 106-minute edit with Renoir’s original script

An extract can be found here...

"Olivier Curchod présente La Règle du jeu" (env. 27 minutes)
Thèmes abordés : l'inspiration première, le travail de préparation de Jean Renoir, le casting, les difficiles conditions de tournage, l'échec de la sortie du film en salles, les coupes, le succès retrouvé vingt ans plus tard. Entretien et réalisation N.T. Binh