DVD Mini Review - The Rules of the Game
I will try and make this review short and sweet because I am rather tired. Perhaps my tiredness affected my opinion of the film but I don't think so.
The Rules of the Game has popped up on many top ten of all time list. I recently read that a prestigious group named it the best foreign film every made. I felt that I had to see it.
The Criterion DVD starts off with an introduction by director Jean Renior. He explains how he attempted to make a pleasant film about wicked people. The film was a flop when it was released in France back in 1939. It is a film that makes the ruling class look bad and they couldn't handle that.
The story centers around the affluent Marquis Robert de la Chesnaye (Marcel Dalio). He is having an affair with Genevieve (Mila Parely). But he is upset that pilot Andre Juriue (Roland Toutain) is after his wife Christine (Nora Gregor). Renoir himself has a role in the film. Chesnaye invites all of the above people plus a number of others for a party on his sumptuous property. This event is a great conduit for deceit.
I enjoyed the film but I do not think that it is the masterpiece that some say it is. I can see where is influenced the French farce films of today in a major way. It was funny but I felt that some scenes were Marx Brothers imitations (the Brothers are funnier). It makes a great statement about the phoniness of these people. And it certainly did a good job because I there was not one character that I liked. But there wasn't that much character development - or plot development for that that matter. Oh, and the white on white subtitles are very hard to read. Criterion should have done a better job than they did.
Some of the reviews that I read said that Gosford Park was greatly influenced by this film. Well, I think that Gosford Park is a better written film with better acting. Some compare its greatness to Citizen Kane. Although I like Kane it is another film that just isn't at the top of my all time favorites.
I guess that I was expecting something groundbreaking and I didn't get it. Perhaps one day it will be on the Turner Classic Movie channel and I will either watch (or tape and watch) the film again. Sometimes you have to see a film more than once to really appreciate it. But for now I will recommend the film with this comment - expect to be entertained but don't expect greatness.
The Rules of the Game has popped up on many top ten of all time list. I recently read that a prestigious group named it the best foreign film every made. I felt that I had to see it.
The Criterion DVD starts off with an introduction by director Jean Renior. He explains how he attempted to make a pleasant film about wicked people. The film was a flop when it was released in France back in 1939. It is a film that makes the ruling class look bad and they couldn't handle that.
The story centers around the affluent Marquis Robert de la Chesnaye (Marcel Dalio). He is having an affair with Genevieve (Mila Parely). But he is upset that pilot Andre Juriue (Roland Toutain) is after his wife Christine (Nora Gregor). Renoir himself has a role in the film. Chesnaye invites all of the above people plus a number of others for a party on his sumptuous property. This event is a great conduit for deceit.
I enjoyed the film but I do not think that it is the masterpiece that some say it is. I can see where is influenced the French farce films of today in a major way. It was funny but I felt that some scenes were Marx Brothers imitations (the Brothers are funnier). It makes a great statement about the phoniness of these people. And it certainly did a good job because I there was not one character that I liked. But there wasn't that much character development - or plot development for that that matter. Oh, and the white on white subtitles are very hard to read. Criterion should have done a better job than they did.
Some of the reviews that I read said that Gosford Park was greatly influenced by this film. Well, I think that Gosford Park is a better written film with better acting. Some compare its greatness to Citizen Kane. Although I like Kane it is another film that just isn't at the top of my all time favorites.
I guess that I was expecting something groundbreaking and I didn't get it. Perhaps one day it will be on the Turner Classic Movie channel and I will either watch (or tape and watch) the film again. Sometimes you have to see a film more than once to really appreciate it. But for now I will recommend the film with this comment - expect to be entertained but don't expect greatness.
posted by Film Fanatic | 8:26 PM
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