Rating: 
Summary: Yes, a DVD should be issued for this amazing film.
Review: "The greatest film ever made" is a difficult phrase to fling. I agree that "Rules of the Game" must be one of them. At the start, it seems merely dressed up and ordinary. You won't be disappointed, however. And if you are not impressed by the Stooge-like freneticism and theatricality of the climactic scenes, well, you've missed the point. We can only endure so much critcism and shock -- at some point we have to enjoy life, all of us. Note the "comme les autres" line as the party ends and also instances of the proverbial offering of cigarettes. The enjoyments in life are to be shared.And, YES ! I researched the net about this film : nearly every comment includes a statement professing that this is a contender for the greatest film ever made. So, why no DVD ? I didn't like the shooting scene in "Gosford Park" either. It's true, times change. What was uncomfortable 70 years ago seems shocking to us today. It's the idea of showing it, too. Why ? Whatever is to be accomplished by showing scenes of animal mistreatment can surely be done in some other way. Especially considering the resourcefulness required in making a movie in the first place. [Not to complain, but, I don't know why you can't do home editing of DVDs. We should be able to edit out what we don't want to see. I'd certainly remove the killing in the hunting scene for personal viewing. I've seen it once. That's plenty.] By the way, I've long wished I could lift my favorite scenes and make some personal DVD's showing just my fondest cinematic memories. That should be okay for personal use and not infringe on the rights of the film people. I mean, I already own the film in its entirety, right ? There are more things to laud and applaud in "Rules of the Game" than can be comfortably mentioned in any review. Many great moments. Great script, great directing, great acting, tremendous pacing, wonderful cinematography, tremendous window into the times, etc., etc. So, you'll just have to see it, I guess.
Rating:
Summary: The Game Rules
Review: "The Rules of the Game" directed by Jean Renoir is now ranked #1 on many film critic lists. Renior built a comedy of manners around old stories. When this film was viewed in Paris in 1939 there was a near riot. The critics hated it for political reasons, but also because characters were walking about the Chateau at amazing speed and angles. If you don't understand the history of the beginnings of WW2, then all will be lost on your Philistine soul. Somehow in an upstairs-downstairs comedy, Renior has described the failed French society. I'll describe the plot concept using English names. Randy, the aviator loves the rich lady, Christine. She's not French; she's Viennese (the only outsider). He's a romantic fool, she's an innocent compared to the Parisian women like Clair, the sophisticated lover of Christine's husband, the Count. Renior plays Alph, a court jester character and friend of Christine from the old days. He's a failed musician. He's also Randy's best friend. The French Count is played by a Jewish actor (which was a scandal in itself considering the anti-Semitism in Europe) So they all leave Paris and go to the country estate of the Count where we meet the servants of the Chateau. Christine's maid, Crystal is playing around with Alph and the newly hired rabbit poacher Jimmy. The gamekeeper, the cuckold Paul chases the amorous Jimmy around the Chateau with a gun for the next forty minutes. All the lovers and friends switch partners amidst declarations of love, slaughter of animals, and fist fights. In the end, noone is in love with anyone and all of society is concerned with the game, which is where he or she were in the first place. Truth is not a concern and the masterpiece is complete.
Rating:
Summary: Challenge Accepted
Review: ...Everyone praises this movie, but no one can ever tell you why they liked it, unless it's to repeat Truffaut's opinion that Renoir's work is to be praised for having sympathy for every humanly possible point of view. But isn't that opinion contradicted by the fact that the movie is a social satire in which no character escapes looking like a fool? We root for Octave right up until the end, but in the end even he disappoints us. Jean Renoir was the most philosophical of all filmmakers and this is probably his least accessible film. The film shows human society with cold detachment and no small amount of disgust. In it, people are cynical, bigotted, blind to the casual cruelty and murder upon which their civilization is built, and trying to fight off the boredom of their existences by pursuing one meaningless entertainment after another. All to no effect. They're all damned. And Renoir shows it all with a bloody and frightening irony that is worthy of Sophocles.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring Film
Review: After hearing how great this film was, I thought I would see for myself if it could hold up to the standard. What a waste of time, this is an incomplete film that invests no interest for an educated viewer. The French do not know how to entertain us, they are overtly too serious and pompous. In my opinion, the film is quite over-rated and Luis Bunuel does a better job at attacking the upper-classes and he makes us laugh as well. Grade: F
Rating:
Summary: Something at play
Review: Almost inevitably I saw this movie as a result of its stature. Try to ignore any illustrious statements that might sit printed on the box. This is not a movie to set on lie back and enjoy. Renoir was very much a natural behind and in front of the camera, and it is evident in this film that he wanted a certain seamlessness to carry through the process. But here as happens in another of his films, 'The River' (though in a different fashion), his poetics are often bisecting the "pure cinema" in surprising ways. There is something arresting about the visuals in this film, as opposed to the more transparent dialogue of a film like 'The Grand Illusion'. Add this element X to splendidly individual performances and you begin to wonder what exactly Renoir saw when he set it all down.
Rating:
Summary: A classic.
Review: Beautiful packaging, very clear and stable transfer, nice bonuses/extras. It'll impress your friends... Don't forget Grand Illusion, also on Criterion!
Rating:
Summary: DVD?
Review: Considering that this is the best film ever made, shouldn't it be on DVD?
Rating:
Summary: I again can not think of a title
Review: Corruption of the French aristocracy and their "Rules of the game" that they abide by in order to remain where they are, it revolves around a central plot of this pilot who flies to France for the woman he loved but she is marries and the husband is trying to end the affair and they are all with a bunch of members of the aristocracy, it is truly a great film. Criterion collection is growing to my liking quite a lot, the picture and sound are great for a movie made in 1939. Good movie, watch it you fiend.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, Great DVD
Review: Don't listen to the people who badmouth this film. The context of the time and place have to be taken into account. But even so, it is not an irrelevant or dated film. The camerawork and choreography of the action are still impressive. The transfer is good and the supplements are extensive. Criterions are expensive because of their limited audience and the amount of work they put into them. Rules of the Game won't be selling Bad Boys II numbers. For the film buff this DVD is worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: There Are No Better Films
Review: Everything one needs to know about life. There is no better film. If you want to sit back and learn about humanity, then this is for you. Caution: Not for action-film, thriller-addicted.
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