The Rules of the Game
1939 · Movie · NR · 110 min · ★ 7.5 · 97% critics
A country-house weekend at a marquis’ château turns into a whirlwind of flirtations, jealousies, and shifting loyalties among wealthy guests and their servants. As everyone tries to keep up appearances, the polite social rules start to crack, exposing vanity, cruelty, and uneasy truths beneath the laughter.
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Details
- Original title
- La Règle du jeu
- Years
- 1939
- Release date
- 1939-07-09
- Language
- French
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Critic score
- 97/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.5/10 (666 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a biting, often funny look at upper-class manners and romantic entanglements in a country-house setting; Not for you if you dislike farcical chaos, cynical characters, or animal-hunt scenes—try Grand Illusion for a different Renoir tone.
Pros: sharp social satire; lively ensemble chaos; memorable country-house setting | Cons: unlikeable characters; hectic, talky pacing; upsetting hunting sequence
Themes
- jealousy
- paris, france
- upper class
- servant
- pilot
- bourgeoisie
- satire
- social satire
- black and white
- hunting
- direct
Cast & crew
Jean Renoir
as Octave
Marcel Dalio
as Robert de la Cheyniest
Nora Gregor
as Christine de la Cheyniest
Julien Carette
as Marceau, le braconnier
Roland Toutain
as André Jurieux
Paulette Dubost
as Lisette, sa camériste
Gaston Modot
as Edouard Schumacher, le garde-chasse
Mila Parély
as Geneviève de Marras
Anne Mayen
as Jackie, nièce de Christine
Eddy Debray
as Corneille, le majordome
Directed by Jean Renoir