One of cinema's most monumental achievements.
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01/01/00
The Rules of the Game (1939)
97
%
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Reviews Counted:37
Fresh:36
Rotten:1
Average Rating:9.1/10
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: Widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, Jean Renoir's masterpiece THE RULES OF THE GAME is a devastating satire of the pre-WWII French aristocracy. Starring Marcel Dalio as wealthy... [More]
Starring: Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Jean Renoir, Mila Parely
Director: Jean Renoir
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Reviews for The Rules of the Game
Like the very greatest artists in all media, Renoir was able to transcend his own perspective, his own prejudices, and glimpse something of the terror and wonder of human life, the pain of misapplied or rejected love, for rich as for poor.
11/02/06
Top CriticYes, there is the director's perfect and unobtrusive technique...and, yes, there's his extraordinarily good-natured, generous attitude toward his characters. But the whole is much greater than the sum of these elements.
12/28/06
A scathing attack on the show of feeling by a murderously superficial elite . . . the more you watch it, the more Renoir's masterwork reflects the cold, hard truth%u2014The Rules of the Game still apply.
03/25/07
Banned by the Nazis, and destroyed before being discovered and restored, "The Rules of the Game" influenced iconic directors like Orson Welles, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Robert Altman. It is one of best films ever made.
04/15/09
Snarky, biting, hilarious: Equal parts Calvin Ball and Catch-22.
04/04/04
The film was withdrawn, recut, and eventually banned by the occupying forces for its "demoralizing" effects. It was not shown again in its complete form until 1965, when it became clear that here, perhaps, was the greatest film ever made.
11/08/06
Top CriticPerhaps the greatest film ever made.
04/07/04
The mobile camera seems to be a member of the party, as it follows the almost balletically choreographed movements of the cast. The effect for the audience is transcendental. We are watching life at its messiest, unfolding at its most beautiful.
04/26/07
Top CriticOne of the films most despised (and butchered) when released, only to become one of the most valued ones, and Renoir's undisputed masterpiece, a decade later
06/29/05
Embracing every level of French society, from the aristocratic hosts to a poacher turned servant, the film presents a hilarious yet melancholic picture of a nation riven by petty class distinctions.
06/24/06
A classic cinematic party.
07/10/03
A deeply personal statement of unusual richness and complexity.
11/04/03
Defined a style of filmmaking as surely as Potemkin did. Renoir's lucid style manifests itself in a seemingly effortless craftsmansip still unequalled today.
01/20/04
Jean Renoir's classic 1939 satire hasn't lost any of its ability to both shock and enlighten.
12/30/06
Its art lies in what Renoir chooses to exclude rather than what he includes.
02/20/04
No review available.
10/17/02
No review available.
08/03/02
A disaster when initially released, the movie's reputation has only grown since.
02/16/07
Renoir's masterpiece
07/30/02
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