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I went yesterday to see its restored form at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, where some forty years ago, still in school, I saw it the first time. I selected the 4:45 matinee and the house was comfortably full -- how great to live in a civilized city! And with a comedy it's always better to watch with an appreciative audience.In the interim I had forgotten what an immense work of art this is. Also I had forgotten several important elements (not the cinematography), especially the whole character of Shumacher and the business around him. The pillow-throwing aristocrats, I remembered, and Jean Renoir's own vital performance.
Another thing that surprised me was Monsieur le Marquis's obvious Jewishness, which I think had eluded me the first time. (I'm betting he was modeled after Baron Rothschild.) Also I had not registered the remarkable non-pc dialog -- people talking about yids, Negroes, Arabs (favorably, because they have harems...).
Also at one point Madam Christine is weeping about all the lies we tell, and Octave (Renoir) comforts her with this line: Lies are what we live on. The government lies, the radio lies, the newspapers lie... A murmur of appreciative amusement swept over the Cambridge audience; one hopes they realize that the newspapers in question are not, for instance, the Sioux City Journal, but the NY Times, the Washington Post and le Figaro.
After that movie, the day astonishingly went on to get even better.
clark
Follow Ups:
Wish I could find a theatrical experience like clark's where I am! I love "The Rules of the Game" and try to catch it whenever it comes on TV.Wonder how many of the audience that booed it and demanded cuts and finally succeeded in getting it withdrawn in 1939 France saw it after its restoration in the late 50s? And what was their opinion of it then?
...one of the top 3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679
Chicago is what passes for civilization in easy driving distance of Indianapolis. Lord, what a joy to see Rules of the game on the big screen with a large audience!The Music Box Theater was nearly full for the 2pm matinee, a nice mix of fans as well as people who were seeing it for the first time. There was applause at the end, very gratifying. Even more gratifying was the fact that two friends I dragged with me (people who would never go to a subtitled film on their own) were quite impressed: "that was a really good film" and "this one is the template isn't it" and "I want to buy this on DVD).
There's no question in my mind that RotG is one of the greatest films ever made - it happens to be my personal favorite - but I doubt that there is any such as animal as "the best movie ever made". (If there were, RotG would probably get my vote.) I have the Criterion DVD - I've been waiting for years for it and it's one of my movie treasures.
I noticed many of the same things about ROTG as you - I had noted, of course, many years ago that the character Robert Cheyniest looked Jewish, but this time I was quite struck by the way his character is written and the comments other characters make about him. Sitting amid people new to the film, I was struck again (as were you) by the frank dialogue and its power to bite. Octave's remark about lies induced a twitter of laughter in the Chicago audience - I give them credit for knowing which institutions are culpable.
One thing I had quite forgotten about RotG seeing it on the small screen for so many years are the exquisite and dead-on costumes by Coco Channel. Interestingly, friends picked up on this right away ("the characters are dressed like their parts").
s
Certainly in the top ten. Lots of tough competition out there.BTW, how/why did the day get better?
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I caught that nashvile broadcast. In Dolby Digital 5.1 to boot. Gret show.
I know it would have made MY day!
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