Sight & Sound Poll 2012: The Rules of the Game
October 18, 2012
Considered one of the greatest films ever made, The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu), by Jean Renoir, is a scathing critique of corrupt French society cloaked in a comedy of manners in which a weekend at a marquis’ 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 premiere audience in 1939, 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.
| Marquis Robert de La Chesnaye | Marcel Dalio |
| Christine de La Chesnaye | Nora Gregor |
| André Jurieux | Roland Toutain |
| Octave | Jean Renoir |
| Geneviève de Marras | Mila Parély |
| Charlotte de La Plante | Odette Talazac |
| The general | Pierre Magnier |
| M. de Saint-Aubin | Pierre Nay |
| La Bruyère | Richard Francœur |
| Mme La Bruyère | Claire Gérard |
| Jackie | Anne Mayen |
| Lisette | Paulette Dubost |
| Schumacher | Gaston Modot |
| Marceau | Julien Carette |
| Corneille | Eddy Debray |
| Cook | Léon Larive |
| Radio reporter | Lise Élina |
| English domestic | Henri Cartier-Bresson |
| Director | Jean Renoir |
| Producer | Claude Renoir Sr. |
| Screenplay | Jean Renoir |
| with the collaboration of | Carl Koch |
| Dialogue | Jean Renoir |
| Assistant director | André Zwobada and Henri Cartier-Bresson |
| Director of photography | Jean Bachelet |
| Cinematography | Jacques Lemare, Jean-Paul Alphen and Alain Renoir |
| Production design | Eugene Lourie and Max Douy |
| Editing | Marguerite Renoir |
| Assistant editor | Marthe Huguet |
| Sound | Joseph de Bretagne |
| Still photography | Sam Lévin |
| Music | Mozart, Monsigny, Salabert, Saint-Saëns and Chopin |
| Music arranged by | Roger Désormière and Joseph Kosma |
| Production manager | Pillon |
| Administration | Camille François |
| Costumes | Chanel |
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