In 1939, a French film named La Règle du jeu sparked such a violent reaction from the audience that one viewer lit a newspaper and tried to burn down the theater in the middle of the show. It was received so poorly and labeled to be such a controvertial film that the director, Jean Renoir, recut the film several times. It was banned during WWII (first by the French, then by the Nazis) and Allied plans accidentally destroyed the original negatives. It was a lost picture until 1956 when followers of Renior were able to reconstruct the original version with the director's guidance (losing only one minor scene according to Renior).That is the version you can now rent and I recommend that you do so.
Intrigue, deception, sex, murder, manor homes... it's not Gosford Park, it's The Rules of the Game. It may seem tame by today's standards, but we shrug off most everything these days. This French comedy makes you understand how country home farces became so popular -- this one was so entertaining on so many levels.
1 comment:
ooh hip new poster. i had no idea r.o.t.g. was such a scandalous film back in its day!
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