La Règle du jeu

[yoloswegmaster]

Denigrated by the public, vilified by the critics, re-cut at the insistence of its producers, and finally banned by the French government as demoralising and unpatriotic, La Règle du jeu was a commercial disaster at the time of its original release.

On the surface a series of interlinked romantic intrigues taking place at a weekend shooting party in a country chateau, the film is in fact a study of corruption and decay within French society on the eve of the outbreak of World War II. Its reputation firmly restored, Jean Renoir's brilliant comedy is now widely recognized as one of the greatest films ever made.

Extras:

Restored in 4K in 2021 by La Cinémathèque française and Les Grands Films Classiques and presented on Blu-ray
A 42-minute documentary on the making of La Règle du Jeu, directed by Pierre Oscar Levy (1987) for the series Image par Image
Other extras TBC

[rapta]

Regular Blu-ray for this one (of the new 4K restoration).

[MichaelB]

Knowing the BFI very well indeed, I suspect they decided that the benefit of a 4K UHD release on the basis of this restoration would be very small.

I know they considered a UHD of Rashomon and rejected the idea because the improvement over their current BD would be so marginal as to not remotely justify the effort and manufacturing expense.

[tenia]

The 4k restoration is new and gorgeous, but SDR. It could definitely fuel a UHD release but would require to do a specific HDR if one really wants one (and not botch it like in France).

It's a different story than Rashomon, whose master is 2k only and now quite dated looking. Nobody sane would do a UHD with it.

[jegharfangetmigenmyg]

Isn't this especially odd if it's true that BFI created their own HDR master out of the Seventh Seal while Criterion is only SDR? Is La Règle du jeu considered a lesser selling title, maybe? Could it be that they only have the rights to release an SDR while we're waiting on a flagship HDR UHD from Criterion?

[MichaelB]

I don't think it's odd at all, especially or otherwise. The BFI's Ben Stoddart made their policy on UHD releases very clear last year - unless they offer a substantial improvement on the equivalent Blu-ray, they're not worth doing. It's a huge additional expense on the part of the label that would honestly be better invested in something else.

And it's not at all hard to believe that a film like La Règle du Jeu, whose materials situation is sadly all too well known, would fail that kind of test while the far better-preserved The Seventh Seal would pass it.

I'm also not aware of any situation whereby one label has SDR rights while another has HDR rights in the same territory. Obviously, such a thing can be engineered (it's ultimately the rightsholder's decision, after all), but I can't see either label concerned being especially happy with it.

[Gcsee]

I have the French UHD from ESC Editions and it’s mighty fine (with English subs). If the BFI has interesting extras I might add this edition to the collection as well.
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/La-regle ... ay/320067/

[Finch]

I'll be getting the French 4k myself later in the year. Even if Criterion release the upgrade in 4k, past precedent suggests it'd be SDR only as they seem reluctant to do an HDR grade if the filmmakers have passed on. I get where they're coming from as it would strictly speaking be guesswork as how the HDR should be applied, but the BFI seem to have done it tastefully on Seventh Seal. Since the ESC seems likely to remain the only English-friendly release with any HDR, I don't see any point in getting the BFI BD (and the artwork is boring, to boot).

[yoloswegmaster]

If solely going by past releases, then it would suggest that Criterion would add DV/HDR to an upcoming release of this since they have released 10 titles from dead filmmakers that have Dolby Vision and/or HDR, while only releasing 2 without it. In this case, however, then it would be likely be released without HDR, as the 4K restoration was only done in SDR and was forced into HDR by the French distributor.

[Finch]

My memory is clearly failing me then. I must confess to being confused by how some CC UHDs have HDR10/DV from dead filmmakers and others (Seventh Seal) do not (while it's clear cut that they refrain from applying it on contemporary directors' films if the filmmakers specifically ask for it as WKW and Coppola did). Did WB and Universal apply HDR10/DV to Mildred Pierce and Double Indemnity before licensing to Criterion or did Lee Kline's team carry out the work?

I guess Criterion's policy on whether a UHD title comes with HDR10 and/or Dolby Vision comes down to, 1. the benefits are substantial enough and 2. the licensor permits it and/or has already applied it anyway. Because if their only reasoning of adding or refraining from HDR10/DV on any given title is, "we can't apply it faithfully because the filmmakers are dead and can't be consulted", then they wouldn't have released the noirs with HDR10/DV playback.

While it's possible that Lee Kline and co could disagree with Ben Stoddart's assessment that the HDR10 improvements aren't worthwhile the extra expenditure, I would honestly be surprised if any forthcoming La Regle Du Jeu CC 4k release had HDR10.

[ryannichols7]

Since the ESC seems likely to remain the only English-friendly release with any HDR, I don't see any point in getting the BFI BD (and the artwork is boring, to boot).

I'll hold off on the off chance that BFI have any interesting extras, but all of their releases of "classics" within the last year or so (think the Bergman and Truffaut titles) have largely lacked any exciting supplements. British films like Get Carter and Nil by Mouth got the more loaded editions, while some surprises like Kuhle Wampe and Faithless got new commentaries. it's all a bit puzzling when The 400 Blows, Wild Strawberries, Persona et al entirely lack anything substantial. at least the Bresson titles had some stuff going on

I'll wait this out and see what the BFI go for, by the time I do we will maybe have a Criterion announcement and will be able to compare. but that's a big question mark. either way, I'm glad the new restoration of Rules of the Game is quality and is being released pretty widely

[dwk]

My memory is clearly failing me then. I must confess to being confused by how some CC UHDs have HDR10/DV from dead filmmakers and others (Seventh Seal) do not (while it's clear cut that they refrain from applying it on contemporary directors' films if the filmmakers specifically ask for it as WKW and Coppola did). Did WB and Universal apply HDR10/DV to Mildred Pierce and Double Indemnity before licensing to Criterion or did Lee Kline's team carry out the work?

I guess Criterion's policy on whether a UHD title comes with HDR10 and/or Dolby Vision comes down to, 1. the benefits are substantial enough and 2. the licensor permits it and/or has already applied it anyway. Because if their only reasoning of adding or refraining from HDR10/DV on any given title is, "we can't apply it faithfully because the filmmakers are dead and can't be consulted", then they wouldn't have released the noirs with HDR10/DV playback.

While it's possible that Lee Kline and co could disagree with Ben Stoddart's assessment that the HDR10 improvements aren't worthwhile the extra expenditure, I would honestly be surprised if any forthcoming La Regle Du Jeu CC 4k release had HDR10.

It seems Criterion's policy is if a restoration/transfer was finished in SDR, they will not be applying their own HDR pass. If they are doing the restoration/transfer themselves, they will do HDR pass unless the filmmaker says they don't want HDR.

[rockysds]

This will have some pretty interesting extras:

Special Features

Restored in 4K in 2021 by La Cinémathèque française and Les Grands Films Classiques and presented on Blu-ray
Newly commissioned commentary by film writers David Jenkins and Trevor Johnston
Image par image: La Règle du jeu (1987, 42 mins): Jean Douchet and Pierre Oscar Lévy provide a detailed analysis of La Règle du jeu
Leslie Caron on La Règle du jeu (2016, 18 mins): the actor introduces Renoir’s classic as part of the Screen Epiphanies series at BFI Southbank
La Vie est à nous (1936, 64 mins): French Communist Party election film depicting political turmoil and the threat of fascism, with creative input from Jean Renoir and Henri Cartier-Bresson, among others
Pheasant Shooting (1913, 1 min): newsreel item on the start of the shooting season in a Norfolk game reserve
Society on the Moors (1921, 1 min): newsreel footage of Lord and Lady Savile’s shooting party on the Yorkshire Moors near Hebden Bridge
Stills gallery
**FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet including essays by David Thompson, Ginette Vincendeau and Barry Nevin

[MichaelB]

Final specs announced:

LA RÈGLE DU JEU
A film by Jean Renoir

BFI Blu-ray, iTunes and Amazon Prime release of 4K restoration on 29 May 2023

See a clip here.

Jean Renoir’s 1939 film LA RÈGLE DU JEU is today widely recognised as one of the greatest films ever made. Now restored in 4K by La Cinémathèque française and Les Grands Films Classiques, it is released by the BFI on Blu-ray on 29 May 2023 with extras including a newly commissioned commentary by film writers David Jenkins and Trevor Johnston, a selection of complementary archival films and more.

On the surface, Renoir’s brilliant satire is a series of interlinked romantic intrigues that take place during a weekend shooting party in a country château. But the film is actually a study of the corruption and decay at the top of French society on the eve of the Second World War. At the time, it was denigrated by the public, vilified by the critics, re-cut at the insistence of its producers and ultimately banned by the French government as demoralising and unpatriotic.

Special features
• Restored in 4K in 2021 by La Cinémathèque française and Les Grands Films Classiques, and presented on Blu-ray
• Newly commissioned commentary by film writers David Jenkins and Trevor Johnston
• Image par image: La Règle du jeu (1987, 43 mins): Jean Douchet and Pierre Oscar Lévy provide a detailed analysis of La Règle du jeu
• Leslie Caron on La Règle du jeu (2016, 18 mins): the actor introduces Renoir’s classic as part of the Screen Epiphanies series at BFI Southbank
• La Vie est à nous (1936, 64 mins): French Communist Party election film depicting political turmoil and the threat of fascism, with creative input from Jean Renoir and Henri Cartier-Bresson, among others
• Pheasant Shooting (1913, 1 min): newsreel item on the start of the shooting season in a Norfolk game reserve
• Society on the Moors (1921, 1 min): newsreel footage of Lord and Lady Savile’s shooting party on the Yorkshire Moors near Hebden Bridge
• Stills gallery
• ***First pressing only*** illustrated booklet with a new essay by David Thompson and an essay by Ginette Vincendeau originally published in Sight and Sound; notes on the special features and credits

Product details
RRP: £19.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1486 / PG
France / 1939 / black and white / 107 minutes / French language with English subtitles /original aspect ratio 1.37:1 // BD50: 1080p, 24fps, LPCM 2.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit)

[Randall Maysin Again]

MichaelB, what happened to the Barry Nevin essay? Just curious!

[MichaelB]

Absolutely no idea, I'm afraid - I'm merely reproducing what I've been sent.

[Randall Maysin Again]

Oh ok. Thanks!