That's the version I just traded (on this forum). That version was hard to find for some time, and now it's being re-released, Paul.
The French dvd is not fully restored, Ali. In this case, restored refers to the 1959 reconstruction of the film (link)
Still a good release, even the menus are...
I e-mailed Criterion concerning this title in November, and Jon Mulvaney replied:
Dear Mark,
THE RULES OF THE GAME is a real possibility for 2003. However,
nothing definite has been determined at this time.
Best,
JM
I just traded my (pretty good) R2 copy, and hope we'll hear...