Rules of the Game, The

Hailed as one of the greatest films of all time, director Jean Renoirs infamous La Regle du Jeu (The Rules of The Game) is a scathing indictment of French society on the eve of WW II. Heavily censored, and then banned outright (both by the French and the Nazis), Renoirs country house comedy of manners utilizes a labyrinthine plot and virtuoso deep focus cinematography to depict amorous intrigue, and tragedy, among a group of French aristocrats oblivious to a disastrous war.

La Regle du Jeu unfolds at a weekend shooting party at the chteau of Robert de la Chesnaye and his wife Christine, where the guests include Roberts mistress Genevieve, and Andre, an aviator who is in love with Christine. An upstairs downstairs bedroom farce ensues, with lovers and adulterers, masters and servants, playing out the morally bankrupt rules of the game. While the original negative was destroyed during the War, this fully restored print finally allows cinema lovers to savour the genius of Jean Renoirs cinematic masterwork.