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Licensor Information
Janus Films
Directed by: Jean Renoir
Featuring: Marcel Dalio, Nora Grégor, Roland Toutain, Jean Renoir, Mila Parély, Odette Talazac, Pierre Magnier, Pierre Nay, Gaston Modot
Considered one of the greatest films ever made, Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game is a scathing critique of corrupt French society cloaked in a comedy of manners in which a weekend at a marquis’s country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois acquaintances. The film has had a tumultuous history: it was subjected to cuts after the violent response of the audience at its 1939 premiere, and the original negative was destroyed during World War II; it wasn’t reconstructed until 1959. That version, which has stunned viewers for decades, is presented here.
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Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Format:
4K UHD
Blu-ray
Discs:
UHD-66 (1 Disc)
BD-50 (1 Disc)
Total: 2 Discs
Regions:
None (4K UHD)
A (Blu-ray)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37:1
Audio Options:
French PCM Mono 1.0
Resolution:
2160p/24
1080p/24
Subtitles:
English
HDR:
None
Supplements
Types of Supplements Included: Introduction, Audio Commentary, Video Presentation, Video Essay, Television Program, Documentary, Interview, Booklet
- Introduction to the film by director Jean Renoir
- Audio commentary written by film scholar Alexander Sesonske and read by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich
- Comparison of the film’s two endings
- Selected-scene analysis by Renoir historian Chris Faulkner
- Excerpts from a 1966 French television program by filmmaker Jacques Rivette
- Part one of Jean Renoir, a two-part 1993 BBC documentary by film critic David Thompson
- Video essay about the film’s production, release, and 1959 reconstruction
- Interview with film critic Olivier Curchod
- Interview from a 1965 episode of the French television series Les écrans de la ville with Jean Gaborit and Jacques Durand
- Interviews with set designer Max Douy; Renoir’s son, Alain Renoir; and actor Mila Parély
- Booklet featuring an essay by Alexander Sesonske; writings by Jean Renoir, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bertrand Tavernier, and François Truffaut; and tributes to the film by J. Hoberman, Kent Jones, Paul Schrader, Wim Wenders, Robert Altman, and others
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Supplements
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Restoration Information
The Rules of the Game
Restoration by:
The Criterion Collection
Year: 2003
Scanned at: High-Definition Digital
Restored at: High-Definition Digital
Sources:
35mm Fine-grain master positive
The Rules of the Game
Restoration by:
Hiventy
Year: 2021
Scanned at: 4K Digital
Restored at: 4K Digital
Sources:
35mm Nitrate duplicate negative
Release Notes on Restoration
The original negative for The Rules of the Game was destroyed during a World War II bombing raid. In 1959, with Jean Renoir's approval, the movie was reconstructed by Jean Gaborit and Jacques Durand, resulting in the 106-minute version.
This new 4K digital restoration was undertaken in 2021 by the Cinematheque francaise and Les Grands Films Classiques, in collaboration with the Criterion Collection/Janus Films and Cinematheque suisse, with additional funding from CHANEL. The image was restored by Hiventy from the mostly nitrate composite dupe negative. The sound was restored by L.E. Diapason from the nitrate optical soundtrack negative and sound negative from the 1959 mix. Additional audio restoration was completed by the Criterion Collection.
The HD master from 2003, presented on the Blu-ray, was created by the Criterion Collection from a 35mm fine-grain master processed directly from the reconstructed negative pieced together by Gaborit and Durand at the French lab GTC. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm magnetic audio track.
This new 4K digital restoration was undertaken in 2021 by the Cinematheque francaise and Les Grands Films Classiques, in collaboration with the Criterion Collection/Janus Films and Cinematheque suisse, with additional funding from CHANEL. The image was restored by Hiventy from the mostly nitrate composite dupe negative. The sound was restored by L.E. Diapason from the nitrate optical soundtrack negative and sound negative from the 1959 mix. Additional audio restoration was completed by the Criterion Collection.
The HD master from 2003, presented on the Blu-ray, was created by the Criterion Collection from a 35mm fine-grain master processed directly from the reconstructed negative pieced together by Gaborit and Durand at the French lab GTC. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm magnetic audio track.