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 something official from Criterion soon.
I hope so too. It's a crime that this film -- the only movie to consistently make Sight & Sound's best films of all time list for the past 50 years -- hasn't been given the full-out treatment yet.
I've heard that a restored 35mm print is making the rounds; let's hope this was in preparation for a DVD release.
Oh, I am salivating!
This is a for-sure must have. Criterion did such a great job with Grand Illusion, I can only imagine what they would do with this one.
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 available in English. I don't really like yellow subtitles though, especiallly on B&W movies.
I was under the impression that the camera negative had either disintegrated over time or was destroyed. Presumably, the leap in quality in the fine-grain element was great enough for Criterion to throw out a presumably very costly high-definition digitally restored master, so I'm on tenterhooks waiting for this one!
If ever there was a movie that wanted to be released by Criterion, this is it. Good timing on the master find! These folks lead charmed lives, it would seem.
One of my favorite films of all time will be released this month in a 4K restoration with Janus Films. I think it will have a limited theatrical run and i hope a 4K release by Criterion?