YMMV / The Rules of the Game

• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Julien Carette, who played Marceau, died in 1966 when he fell asleep while smoking. In the film, there's a reference to smoking in bed (though it's Christine talking about Robert).
  • The film was despised by French audiences as "unpatriotic" because it dealt with the isolationism of the aristocracy of the Third Republic who cared more about idle pursuits than the world at large. The reaction caused Renoir to leave France for Hollywood. A year later, the Nazis invaded France.
• He Really Can Act: Jean Renoir, a director who had earlier made small cameos in his films, plays a real role of substance and gives what some consider the best performance in the film, and among the best in movie history.

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