Still Life by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Still Life

Page 117

85 minute version was found in a box, and a new print was made from it. This version was occasionally screened at film clubs, cinematheques and film festivals, and its reputation slowly began to grow. It finally premiered in New York City in April 1950, but it was critically unsuccessful. A review in The New York Times called it ‘one for the buzzards’ and stated ‘the master has dealt his admirers a pointless, thudding punch below the belt.’ In 1952, the 85 minute version was included in Sight and Sound's inaugural list of the 10 greatest films ever made.

In 1956, film enthusiasts Jean Gaborit and Jacques Maréchal founded the Société des Grands Films Classiques, a film restoration company focused on neglected films. ‘The Rules of the Game’ was one of the company's early restorations. Gaborit and Maréchal persuaded Camille François to sell them the rights to the film. With François' help, they discovered records that led to 224 boxes that had been found at the bombed G.M. Film Lab site. These boxes included negative prints, duplicated prints, and sound mixes of the film. With the help and advice of Renoir and Jacques Durand, Gaborit and Maréchal restored most of the cut footage from Renoir's original version and assembled a 106 minute version of the film.

In mid-1959, Renoir saw the reconstructed version of the film for the first time and left the theater in tears. He said ‘there