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La règle du jeu
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - British Film Institute Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (7th July 2023). |
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The Film
 "La règle du jeu" (1939) Pilot André Jurieux (played by Roland Toutain) receives a hero's welcome by the media and the public on his return to France after his solo flight across the Atlantic. Unfortunately, the one person he was waiting for, Christine (played by Nora Grégor) is not there to greet him. She may have love for him, but she is married to aristocrat Robert (played by Marcel Dalio) and was not willing to test her heart against her marriage. Meanwhile, Robert is having an affair with Geneviève (played by Mila Parély). André's friend Octave (played by Jean Renoir) is willing to help him with his complicated heart by taking him to Robert's estate where a party is to take place. But Octave also has other plans of his own... Filmmaker Jean Renoir was at the top of the French film industry by the mid-1930s with critical and commercial successes with films such as "Grand Illusion" (1937) and "La Bête humaine" (1938). With an auteur approach to his films and now able to have full creative control with his newly established production company La Nouvelle Edition Française, his next production would be another defining work, though the reception would be incredibly divided on its initial release, and that was "La règle du jeu", or "Rules of the Game". 1939 was a tumultuous year in France and much of Europe. Hitler's forces in Germany as well as Mussolini's forces in Italy were mobilizing their forces toward neighboring nations. The Spanish Civil War comes to an end but it places Franco as the dictator in rule. There were political divides within France and an uncertainty within the atmosphere, but there was also a nonchalant attitude towards some that were not taking the world issues seriously as they should have been. Renoir's feature film would not be a direct attack politically but instead a metaphorical one disguised in a comedic story. The story itself is simplistic in nature with basically a singular location but made complex with multiple characters, differing intentions, and a series of differing relations between each character that can make some details hard to follow. Inspired by the French play "Les caprices de Marianne" which has four main characters - the wife, her lover, her husband, and a mutual friend, all appear in form in "La règle du jeu". Renoir would expand the scenario with more characters, such as with the estate's maid Lisette (played by Paulette Dubost) and her husband and gamekeeper Schumacher (played by Gaston Modot), plus the poacher Marceau (played by Julien Carette) and his heart being caught by Lisette. It might be easier to follow the film with a diagram of the characters, though the intentions of lust should not be too hard to see. With an ensemble piece and having a singular location that can lead to awkward encounters and discoveries, there are similarities with the film and some of MGM's early 30s ensemble extravaganzas such as "Grand Hotel" (1932) and "Dinner at Eight" (1933). While those features played on slapstick humor, awkward tension as well as class structure, they were basically major entertainment pieces at surface level and without much in terms of depth. Renoir would instead place it in context with France of its day: The upper class folk turning away from the serious issues at hand and instead going on with their silly games. One of the most memorable if not also shocking scenes in the film is the rabbit hunting sequence, in which the men shoot a number of rabbits for real and is captured on film. Renoir being an animal lover could not direct the sequence himself, but was a striking scene to point the massacres that were happening across Europe metaphorically, as the upper class were playing with the lives of the lower in their games of war. There are others such as the play within the film which Renoir also seemingly gives directions while also directing himself for a metaphysical sequence and is quite entertaining on its own. Production was not a particularly smooth one. Many of Renoir's initial casting choices such as Simone Simon and Jean Gabin declined their offers for roles. Renoir wanted Nora Gregor in a role which was not a liked decision by the rest of the production company as she was Austrian and couldn't speak French fluently for the role. His brother Pierre Renoir who was cast as Octave had to drop out and Jean reluctantly took the role himself while also having to direct. Though filming was to start in February 1939, bad weather delayed production. Filming itself took longer than expected as Renoir encouraged improvisation which resulted in multiple takes of many sequences. In addition, there were multiple rewrites and changes to the script by Renoir accordingly, resulting in what was seemingly a disjointed and inconsistent feature that evolved during the production, with scenes being cut and added, roles being shortened and extended. Production also had setbacks with the French military mobilizing and some crew members being drafted and in addition to that Renoir filmed some additional reshoots. The budget more than doubled to more than 5.5 million Francs by the end of the production. Considering how seemingly disastrous the filming was, the reception was possibly even worse than Renoir could have imagined. The preview screenings held in June 1939 with a runtime of 113 minutes and the reception was poor. When it opened theatrically on July 7th, 1939, the film was edited down to 100 minutes, but this time there was harsh backlash from right-wing viewers and publications calling it unpatriotic and critical of the characters and actions. Renoir tried to improve the film again by removing more scenes that audiences did not like, ending up with an 85 minute shortened version which did not change reactions at all. With German's invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939, the world was at war and unpatriotic activities were censored and suppressed, including "La règle du jeu" being banned by the government for having "an undesirable influence over the young". Facing uncertainty of his career in his home country as well as the dangers of war, Renoir moved to the United States to continue his career as a director in Hollywood. During the war, the original negative for the film was destroyed during allied bombings. Fortunately, a print of the 85 minute version survived and was rediscovered in 1946 following the war. From thereon the film started to be reevaluated by critics in a postwar environment, seeing the film not as a scathing attack on the upper class who were blinded by reality, but as a stern warning for its people as well as being an intricately constructed work with characters and technical challenges with the camera. In Sight & Sound's inaugural list of the greatest films of all time, "La règle du jeu" was placed in the top 10. In 1956, the newly established Société des Grands Films Classiques started a project to restore the film to its original state by extensively going through film materials discovered at the bombed film lab. Discarded sequences and duplicate film materials were discovered, and with the help of Jean Renoir himself were able to reconstruct the film to a length of 106 minutes, which was only missing one sequence. The restoration's premiere at the 1959 Venice Film Festival was a mirror opposite to that of the original premiere, where it was praised as one of the greatest films of all time and a misunderstood masterpiece. Over the years its stature has only grown, with its structure and large cast of characters inspiring a large number of filmmakers including Robert Altman and Wes Anderson as well as many younger French filmmakers of the new wave period. It may have its flaws with the balance of characters and some of the reveals, but it's an intensely rewatchable film by going through the viewpoints of each character one at a time. It's densely layered yet absurd with many of the unlikeable posh and ditsy characters and that may be one of its many appeals. In 2021 the film underwent a 4K restoration with festival and theatrical reissues, and this new Blu-ray release from the BFI utilizes the new restoration. Note this is a region B Blu-ray
Video
The BFI presents the film in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The transfer comes from a 4K digital restoration by La Cinémathèque française and Les Grands Films Classiques, in collaboration with The Criterion Collection/Janus Films and La Cinémathèque suisse in 2021. A 35mm nitrate element of the reconstructed and restored version from 1959 held at CNC was the basis for the new restoration. Though it is the best element available, it is not the original and therefore some weakness to the image is to be expected. Film grain is quite thick and so it the greyscale, so detail is not too sharp. On the other hand, damage has been cleaned extensively, wobble has been stabilized, and there is very little flickering to the grey levels. Considering its history and its age, it is a miracle that the film can actually be seen in this fairly great state, but one should not have extremely high expectations with the 4K tag attached, as there was only so much that could have been done. The film opens with some restoration text, and the film's full runtime is 107:27.
Audio
French LPCM 2.0 mono The film's audio is presented in uncompressed mono, which was restored from a 35mm magnetic sound element and an incomplete nitrate print held at FEMIS. Like the image, the restoration does have its positives and negatives. On the brighter side, dialogue is fair and well balanced throughout. Due to its age and condition, there is a bit of hiss that can be heard, and the limited fidelity does have issues with music cues. There are no particular issues with major damage such as crackle and pops, leaving a fairly clean track throughout. There are optional English subtitles for the film in a white font. They are well timed and easy to read.
Extras
Audio commentary by film writers David Jenkins and Trevor Johnston (2023) This newly recorded commentary has David Jenkins and Trevor Johnston together discussing the film, in which they talk about the class structure depicted, biographical information on some of the cast and crew, the soap opera aspect of the story, the hunting sequence, the film's tumultuous history from failure to praise, reactions and more. While it does have a lot of information included, it is not a structured and researched commentary but closer to a conversation between two critics. in English DTS 2.0 stereo without subtitles "Image par image: La Règle du jeu" 1987 documentary (42:34) This vintage French documentary is an excellent visual essay on the feature which was written by Jean Douchet and directed by Pierre Oscar Lévy. It discusses the film's themes, the time period in history, the use of comedy, the intricate framing and camera movements, and a lot more with visual examples provided against the narration. As it comes from a vintage standard definition source and the clips of the film itself is quite dated, there is some weakness to the image but entirely watchable. Note that there are burned-in English subtitles for this extra also coming from a dated translation. There is one moment that the subtitles say "carrried" with three Rs, but other than that there are no other of spelling errors to be found. in 576i MPEG-2, in 1.33:1, in French LPCM 2.0 with burned-in English subtitles "Leslie Caron on La Règle du jeu" 2016 introduction (17:40) This on stage Q&A from July 6th, 2016 has French actress Leslie Caron interviewed by critic Justin Johnson at the BFI Southbank in which she talks about her career, working with Jean Renoir on stage, plus an introduction of "La Règle du jeu" for the audience with some non-spoiler information. in 1080i50 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 stereo without subtitles Stills Gallery (5:15) An automated silent slideshow with original posters, promotional stills, on set stills. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4 "La Vie est à nous" 1936 film (64:16) This 1936 propaganda film, which the title translates as "Life Belongs to Us" was produced by the Communist Party of France in response to the growing tension of the Third Reich's rise in power in Germany and increasing influence on its neighboring countries, including France. The film has newsreel footage of France's strengths in economy and culture, as well as having enacted portions showcasing its people and also the troubles with political division. The film was made with a number of notable contributors including Renoir himself, plus Jacques Becker, Henri Alekan, Henri Cartier-Bresson and more. The film was long out of circulation but rediscovered in 1969, and in 2016 given a 2K restoration. The film was restored by the CNC from a film print held by Gosfilmofond and the image and sound are good, though there are noticeable flaws with the mix of footage. The documentary footage has noticeable wear and tear while the enacted portions are much better. There is still flickering of the black and white and there are damage marks to be found, especially with a fairly thick tramline in the middle of the frame around the 25 minute mark. But for the most part things are quite clean. In addition there seem to be a few frames missing here and there and there are minor jump cuts to be seen. The sound has its issues with fidelity, though there are no pops or crackle to be found. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in French LPCM 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles "Pheasant Shooting" 1913 Topical Budget newsreel (1:11) "Society on the Moors" 1921 Topical Budget newsreel (1:17) Presented here are two British silent newsreels, with the first showcasing pheasant shooting in Norfolk, and the second at Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire again at a pheasant shooting party. The first short has more damage and some blurriness to the black and white image, but is still in a fairly watchable state. The second is surprisingly in great shape with its image with good detail to be seen, though some damage can still be found. Both feature library tracks from Audio Network, with the first short having "Days of Splendour" (1576/79) by Paul Mottram (PRS) and Bob Bradley (PRS) and the second having "Regal Splendour" (1003/22) by Ian Hughes (PRS). in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, Music LPCM 2.0 stereo with English Intertitles Booklet A 28 page booklet is included with the first pressing. First is the essay "The Rules of the Game" by writer and documentary filmmaker David Thompson which looks at the film, its themes, its reception, and where it stands in Renoir's filmography. Next is "La règle du jeu and 1930s French Cinema: The Exception and the Rule" by film professor Ginette Vincendeau on the film's themes and its legacy. The original version of the essay was featured in Sight & Sound in December 1992 and has been updated with some information including the film's most recent position in Sight & Sound. There are also full film credits, special features information, transfer information, acknowledgements and stills. The film has been released multiple times on DVD, Blu-ray and most recently on 4K UltraHD, each having the 1959 reconstructed version in a restored form. This is the only version available on home video. Each has included differing extras and this BFI has a few exclusives as well as some overlapping ones. This is a major upgrade from the older BFI DVD which had burned-in subtitles and only had the 1987 documentary as the main extra. A clip of the film, courtesy of the BFI An introduction to the film by Jean Renoir The "Danse Macabre" sequence from the film Professor Kristin Thompson on the staging in the film 4K restoration trailer by Janus Films/The Criterion Collection
Overall
"La règle du jeu" has a backstory from being absolutely hated to becoming a masterpiece which is fascinating on its own, though the film itself is also something undeniable. Quotable and rewatchable with a warning against ignorance through comedy, Jean Renoir's misunderstood masterpiece gets a fine Blu-ray release from the BFI with a great transfer and a wealth of great extras. Highly recommended.
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