Title: The rules of the game /
Authors: Renoir, Jean, 1894-1979,; Renoir, Claude, 1914-1993,; Carette, Julien, 1897-1966,; Cartier-Bresson, Henri, 1908-2004,; Koch, Carl, 1892-1963,; Dalio, Marcel, 1900-1983; Grégor, Nora, 1901-1949,; Toutain, Roland, 1905-1977,
Publisher: La Nouvelle Edition Francaise,
Year: 1939
Subjects: Married people Drama.; Women Sexual behavior.; Men Sexual behavior; Man-woman relationships Drama; Married men.; Satire, French; Adultery Drama; Love; France Social life and customs.
Abstract: In order to retain control over the production of his masterpiece The Rules of the Game, the great French director Jean Renoir formed his a production company using his own funds and the support of friends. Nevertheless, Renoir's masterful commentary on the decadence of the French aristocracy at the eve of the second world war, ran over budget half way through production. Gaumont came to the rescue providing the necessary funds, however the films new investors insisted that Renoir cut the film from 113 minutes to 100 minutes in order to make the film profitable. The film's audience at its premiere in the Aubert Palace did not appreciate Renoir's humanistic yet critical perspective of the French ruling class, as a result the premiere was a disaster. The appearance of a Jew (Dalio) as part of the storyline was used as a pretext by French anti-semites to attack the film. Renoir's humorous critique of French society takes place during a weekend hunting party in which amorous escapades abound among the aristocratic guests, behaviour which is mirrored in the activities of the servants downstairs. The film was attacked in the press as an example of moral decadence, and caused a riot at one of the first screenings. Five days after its release the film was cut again, this time to 85 minutes. Even with these changes the film was banned by French military censors as "demoralizing". In 1942 Allied bombing destroyed the negative. The film was restored to its original version in 1956.