The Rules of the Game (original French title: La Règle du jeu) is a 1939 French film directed by Jean Renoir about upper-class French society just before the start of World War II. He originally adapted the story from Alfred de Musset's Les Caprices de Marianne, a popular 19th-century comedy of manners: "My first intention was to film a transposition of Caprices de Marianne to our time. It is the story of a tragic mistake: the lover of Marianne is taken for someone else and is bumped off in an ambush". He was also inspired by Jeu de l'amour et du hasard of Marivaux, by Molière, and took some details from Beaumarchais: the quotation at the beginning of the film comes from Le Mariage de Figaro
The Rules of the Game is often cited as one of the greatest films in the history of cinema. The decennial poll of international critics by the Sight & Sound magazine ranked it #10 in 1952, moved it up to #3 in 1962, and #2 in 1972, 1982, and 1992; in 2002 it fell back to #3, behind Citizen Kane and Vertigo and in 2012, it dropped to #4, behind Vertigo, Citizen Kane, and Tokyo Story.
Read more about The Rules Of The Game: Plot, Cast, Production, Initial Release and Reception, Later History and Reputation, Style
Famous quotes containing the word rules:
“This was Pharaoh, direct descendent of our deity Amon, god of the sun, who rules the heavens as Pharaoh rules the earth. Again, he brought treasure, gold, and precious jewels taken from our enemies. For to Pharaoh riches were power and power was to be desired. And also again he brought many captives. For is it not by slaves that one becomes even richer and then has even more power?”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)