the rabbit shooting is the best part, which says a lot really

Well-made but nowhere near as good as its reputation. I found it neither funny nor particularly interesting.

Technically this film is average as others during this time period were moving the camera much more fluidly with better editing and cinematography. The story, characters and almost everything else are totally dull. It also feels like a stage play, which is one of my biggest pet peeves in film. The fact that some people say that this is the greatest film of all time is truly unbelievable to me. Very overpraised.

While the brilliant script of this film is set in interwar France, the question of our specific role in society is timeless. Renoir's Octave, Dalio's Chesnaye, and Toutain's Jurieux all come to accept different truths about their beloved, Gregor's Christine, while Carette's Marceau and Modot's Schumacher battle humorously over Dubost's Lisette. These antics are entertaining, but are also insightful observations about power, indulgence, and love.

the subtle humor, the drama, jean renoir the actor - what a wonderful film.

Renoir's masterpiece. The film was banned by the French government, pulled from distribution by the Nazis, and not restored to its original form until 1959, when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. A great, subtle, ominous film landmark. Heavily copied and poorly remade in 1989 as "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills."

A rich, complex tragicomedy featuring many levels of French society, from the nobility to the servant class. Dalio and Renoir himself, and Nora Gregor Dubost give memorable performances. This is the rare film that aims for both the head and the heart, and it succeeds completely.

An enjoyable farce. It's not the kind of film you can make much of an emotional connection with, and although it's a quality production for its time I don't revere it as a classic like many people do.

The film left like an unfinished product, part of an unseen bigger picture. Much to my dismay, Renoir's stab at satire was really disappointing, no wonder this film was met with a lukewarm reaction during its initial release. It should've poked fun at its subject while taking the audience aback, rather than repulsing them. In other words, I expected a sharp mockery rather than an uninvolving portrait.

Well-crafted and enjoyable, but I didn't love it. Couldn't quite connect with its satirical tone or themes. Had a similar reaction to Discreet Charm. And not to get too nitpicky, but many of the character developments felt rushed & unbelievable. Still, Renoir's fluid camerawork is outstanding. As well, the script is humorous and clever, employing a host of sympathetic characters in an elegant story that spans the emotional gambit (from romantic tragedy to slapstick comedy).

very funny, smart

class film from jean renoir. a biting look at the french bourgeoisie, that wonderfully blends satire, madcap humor and twisted love affairs that only the french can dream up!

Excellent film but I think it only falls short for me because I do not really get into costume dramas.

Simultaneously tragic, comic, and satiric, this film is a beautiful, intricate web of characters, desires and romances.

#3

Widely regarded as one of the greats, and deservedly so. Renoir excels both behind the camera and in front. This scathing tragic comedy established a lot of techniques we see used in many films today. The elegant roaming shots and a masterful use of depth-of-field immediately come to mind. Renoir's on-screen turn as Octave is but one magnificent performance in a film with a brilliant ensemble cast where no one gets lost. The writing is sharp, dry, and a joy to behold. A masterpiece, no doubt.

A mildly entertaining satire with some subtle absurdity and interesting characters. Good, but not great.

Very entertaining, every interaction between characters is gold. Still immensely impressive after all these years.

A really sophisticated and modern film, not just for 1939. Snappy satire and romantic farce over an expertly-drawn, almost operatic story arc. I think the absence of incidental music contributes to the film's longevity - no matter how sentimental or tragic, it never descends into melodrama.

I just didn't get it. Everybody talks about this film as if it is this magnificent masterpiece, and while I'm not saying it's bad, it has to have gone straight over my head. I just didn't get it, it bored me and I didn't find anything particularly funny in it. I picked up on some of the social commentary but I still don't see what makes this movie stand so tall as one of the greatest ever made.

Depending on your interpretation, the pilot either followed the rules or broke them throughout, and that is the crux of the film. The moment he stepped off the plane and started to publicly air his laundry, it became a question of when this public intrusion into the game of hush-hush bourgeois thrill-seeking would become his undoing. Examples of Renoir's disgust for the upper class are ubiquitously evident and, in the case of the rabbit-hunting scene, often brilliantly rendered.

There´s a prescient Buñuelian Hitchcockness to this.

The first 20 minutes suggested a film I wasn't going to like, but its necessary set-up for the film, a ripping into the French bourgeoisie which, in its greatest virtue, still portrays them as very flawed people capable of virtue, balancing the comedy and the seriousness very well. The extended play sequence, with its swooping cameras keeping track of all the characters around the main house, is a text book example of how to make such a complicated scene work and make sense to the viewer.