Considered one of the greatest films ever made, The Rules of the Gameby Jean Renoir, is a scathing critique of corrupt French society cloaked in a comedy of manners in which a weekend at a marquis’ country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois acquaintances. The film has had a tumultuous history: it was subjected to cuts after the violent response of the premiere audience in 1939, and the original negative was destroyed during World War II; it wasn’t reconstructed until 1959. That version, which has stunned viewers for decades, is presented here.
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This film screening is presented in conjunction with the Barnes Foundation’s Renoir: Father and Son/ Painting and Cinema, a major exhibition examining the artistic exchange between the renowned impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and his son, celebrated filmmaker Jean Renoir–on view at the Barnes May 6 through September 3, 2018.
