Trivia / The Rules of the Game

• Banned in China: The French government in 1939 banned the film for "having an undesirable influence over the young".
• Deleted Scene: The film was restored to a 106 minute length in 1959 using negative prints, duplicated prints and sound mixes of the film. According to Renoir, only one scene was unrestored, a brief scene of Octave and André talking about a flirtatious maid.
• Descended Creator: Jean Renoir played Octave. He took the role after his brother Pierre, who was originally cast, had to back out due to other commitments.
• Dueling Works: The Rules of the Game and Citizen Kane often fought for #1 on Greatest Films Of All-Time by Sight & Sound. Lately, Vertigo and Tokyo Story have gotten in on the battle (though upstart Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles was the surprise winner in 2022).
• Reality Subtext: Renoir harbored an unrequited crush on Nora Gregor (Christine) during filming, just like Octave does in the film.