frfilmtv1-3, Exercise 3: Renoir's two films

Model answer:

La Grande Illusion (1937) is about French prisoners of war in the First World War, with Jean Gabin and Erich von Stroheim, and treats officers of both sides as members of a class that is passing. It was a major international success. La Règle du jeu (1939) is a comedy of manners at a country house party in which the upper classes and their servants both behave badly.

The second film was a commercial failure on release, was cut and banned, and was later reconstructed and acclaimed; it now appears near the top of lists of the greatest films. This shows that reputations change: "the greatest film ever" is a judgement made later by a particular group of people, not a verdict delivered when the film came out.

Check the claims about awards and rankings.