Sunday, February 13, 2011
The Hunt
Perhaps the most famous scene from The Rules of the Game involves the scene in which the Marquis' guests shoot rabbit and pheasant beaten from the forest by the gamekeeper. Indeed our reaction in class was fraught with emotion, from disgust to awkward laughter. What is so distinctive and striking about the scene? Why does it pack such an emotional punch? What is the deeper significance or symbolism of this scene?
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The hunting scene in "The Rules of the Game" is a metaphor for the hierarchical relationship between the upper class and the lower class. The mass slaughtering of innocent creatures by the sportsmen suggests that the lower class is tragically trapped in a wanton system with no more rights than animals. What makes the scene so distinctive is the length of the shots and the optical effects. For example the scene is spliced into smaller, rapidly shot cuts to create a sense of chaos and confusion. (The entire scene lasts approximately four minutes and is arguably the most memorable scene in the entire film because of this distinctive feature). Also the use of close ups is particularly effective in the scene. The close up shots include graphic and emotionally pulling images of woodland creatures being shot (some still twitching) to portray the callousness of the upper class. What’s even more shocking than the close up shots of dying animals is the mass quantity of animal corpses collected at the end of the scene. The wagon piled high with animal carcasses is a testimate to the over consumption of the upper class. Christine’s character plays a big role in demonstrating this idea. For example she partakes in the hunting of innocent woodland creatures but without any apparent knowledge or care about the sport. This is a commentary for how the upper class preys on the lower class with little to no justification for their actions other than their own selfish desires to guard their elevated position. (This idea also comes into play at the end of the film when Andre is shot on “accident”).
ReplyDeleteThe hunt scene in “The Rules of the Game” is one of the most legendary scenes of film history. Diverting away from the long takes characteristic of Renoir’s work, the hunt scene is comprised of nearly 50 sporadic and rapidly changing shots that results in a sense of madness and disorder. Through various film techniques present in this scene, Renoir forces his viewers to relate with the innocent prey, and ultimately compels his audience to emotionally identify with the hunted rabbits and pheasants. Through revolutionary camera movement and tactical camera angles, Murnau makes his viewer feel as though they are a part of the scene and ultimately connect with the poor animals. Once the mass slaughter begins, Murnau makes use of various camera shots. As the hunt progresses, the camera begins to portray the dying animals close up to arouse intense emotional responses from his viewers. The most renowned shot is of the final, dying rabbit. This suffering rabbit, with its legs in the air and shaking body, is filmed for multiple seconds, atypical of the other shot lengths in this scene. This heart wrenching shot emotionally touches the viewer, and leaves a significant lasting impression. Through this personal identification and relation with the innocent animals, the audience realizes the mercilessness and cruelty of the French aristocrat hunters. The wealthy hunters, representative of the general French gentry of the late 1930s and early 1940s, find amusement in the massacre of a myriad of animals, therefore employing hunting as a form of warped entertainment. Through this renowned hunt scene, Murnau paves the way for the audience’s realization of the harshness and heartlessness of the French bourgeoisie.
ReplyDeleteThe Hunt scene in The Rules of the Game is probably the most striking and memorable scene of the film. As the scene begins and the animals are being pushed out of the forest, you feel closed in by the line of men advancing through the trees. There is an ominous feeling, but nothing prepares you for the gruesome scene that follows. I think what makes the shooting so shocking is that it seems so out of place in the film. The Rules of the Game, being mostly a romance and not an action film, is not the sort of film where you would expect a gruesome hunt scene. Part of what makes it so shocking is the current regulations against animal cruelty that we have become accustomed to. We aren’t used to seeing animals really shot in films, so it’s a shock to see that this was once allowed in movies. The length of the scene also gives it more of an impact. When the scene starts, you expect the shooting to last a few seconds, and then the camera to return to the conversation between the characters. However, as the hunt scene stretches longer and longer, and more and more animals are shot, it becomes increasingly horrific. The very short shots create a lot of tension, and it seems as you’re watching that the scene will never end. I think the scene is definitely symbolic of the class differences portrayed in the film. The innocent animals are representative of the lower class, which is easily preyed upon by the rich upper class. The fact that the hunt is taken as a game by the upper class is representative of their attitude towards the lower class.
ReplyDeleteIn todays society, animal cruelty is severely looked down upon. In the beginning of each film that deals with animals, it says that animals were not harmed in order to make this film. The reason that this film is so striking and distinctive is because how we were all brought up. Many people have animals as pets and treat them like they are their own child. Throughout this whole Hunt scene the rabbits were running in fear, and suddenly shot and laid there to die. In part of the scene showed the rabbit still trying to run while it laid on its side after being shot. It has such an emotional punch to it because of the time we live in. In 1939 this may have been very common and people may not have valued nature as much as we do today. to me, this scene symbolizes an unimportance that society has on nature. Their did not seem to be a limit on how much they were going to kill, or what the use for killing them animals would be.
ReplyDeleteWhen watching the hunt scene viewers are overcome with a multitude of emotion mainly because it seems so out of place with the rest of the movie. I say that because of the different use of angles and shots used in this specific scene as well as the fact that most of the film goes on in one home but this scene takes place in a field. From the beginning, viewers are exposed to the lifestyle that all the main characters live which in a way gives an early reason as to why the film is called the rules of the game but with this scene that reason really hits home.
ReplyDeleteWhile I still do think that the scene seems very random its purpose is to expose the realtionship between those of the upper class and those of the lower class. People with money are the "shooters" and those lower on the social ladder are the animals being hunted. It is as if those in the lower class have no rights and those in the higher class have all the power. While the lower class may try to run as the animals in this scene do, it is impossible to escape the game. It is a game that the lower class does not chooose to participate in but instead are forced to play along and must realize that there is no quitting.
As I wrap up I would also like to say that the reason for the film wouldn't really hit home without this scene. Viewers get a small sense of why the film is titled the way it is but without this scene it wouldn't make as much sense. I find this scene to be the most memorable simply because of the meaning that it brings to the film.
In the scene “The Hunt”, one of the most memorable scenes from “The Rules of the Game”, represents how the upper class in France could spend their free time. The scene uses nearly a seventh of the total cuts in the film but only lasts a few minutes of the length of the film. The scene starts out slowly showing most of the Marquis’ guests with guns cocked and ready to shoot. The beaters in the forest slowly awaken the rabbit and peasant from the forest. Then finally the first rabbit is shot dead in the grass and each cut becomes shorter and shorter, flashing between the men with guns and the animals being shot and killed. The emotional punch the scene gives to most is because the pheasants are shot right out of the sky, plummeting to the ground, and the rabbits are shot dead on the spot. None of the animals had a chance after being awoken from the forest and they are all real animals, unlike how most films today are shot with the label the no animals were harmed in the making of the film. The hunters in this scene symbolize the power they have in the country. The innocent lower classes are represented by the animals that have no power and are pushed around by the upper class.
ReplyDeleteThe hunting scene from “The Rules of The Game” is one of the best-directed scenes in film history. Renoir makes this scene that seems incredibly out of place and even disturbing actually crucial and important to the film because it juxtaposes Andre and defines the rules of the game. The rules of the game or rather (to simplify and save time) rule is innocence will kill you. The rabbits were so innocent and were easily manipulated by the hunters to the point that they were slaughtered by the hunters (upperclass). Andre was innocent too in thinking that true love exists and that he could transcend class divisions and was killed and cold blood for doing so. The scene itself though is also brilliantly shot to depict the violence in its full brutality. It begins with longer cuts lasting 10-20 seconds of the hunters drawing out the innocent rabbits and gradually progresses to shorter cuts lasting 5-10 seconds long of the rabbits running away to short cuts lasting 1-3 seconds long of the rabbits being shot and killed and in these short cuts if they were over a second long it would be to show the gruesome twitching of one of the rabbits last moments alive. The scene is very gruesome and intense but is done so on purpose through it’s almost montage style of a collection of not necessarily connected images. This style builds intensity in the minds of the viewers by including these almost montage shots as if they themselves were among the confusion of the hunt and were slaughtered in vain.
ReplyDeleteThe hunting scene in "The Rules of the Game" is probably one of the most famous scenes in film from that time period. It had so many scene cuts, which was strange for this era, that it because extremely well known. This scene is also famous because it outlines the entirety of the film, proving that in this game, the innocent are the ones who suffer the most. Harmless rabbits and quails being forced out of their safe forest home and brutally shot to death, simply for the sport of it. They had no choice in the matter, but were simply swept up in it. The same thing went for the people at the party. Those who were simply attending and were true of heart were the ones who suffered, like Andre. He was one of the only faithful members of the party, and yet he was killed, whethere out of carelessness, or by fate. The Hunt scene sends a message to the people watching it, that regardless of what you are doing, even if you mean no harm to anyone, you may still pay the consequences for the actions of another.
ReplyDeleteThe hunt scene from the rules of the game is so distinctive and shocking through the use of real animals being shot on set, in order to evoke emotion from the audience. It’s kind of hard to not feel anything when watching a real creature die on camera right before your eyes, but the director is able to effectively spin this scene around to symbolize that the lower classes are methodically scared out into the open and eliminated by the upper classes for personal gain. Systematically forced out into the open and then picked off one by one till they are spent, and only then will the upper classes move on to use and extort other lower classes
ReplyDeleteWhen someone talks about the film “The Rules of the Game” the first thing that comes to mind is the hunt scene. The reason this scene stands out among all the others is because of the way it was shot. To the audience this scene comes across as striking, and when they watch it they may get a little emotional although it may be fine. This scene comes across as striking because in the film they actually shot and killed real animals. The people in our society now are not used to this because we are so used to seeing, “There were no animals hurt during the making of this film” at the end of the movies we watch that show animals being killed. This also relates to why it packs an emotional punch. In todays world we are used to having animals as pets and to shoot and kill such a small cute animal like a rabbit is very un-humane. Back when this film was made it was probably normal to see this so it did not have a real effect on the audience back then, but now as young Americans in this generation, it is rather odd to see this. I would have to agree with Kyle when saying that this scene is a metaphor for the upper class and how they treat the lower class, and I believe that this is the deeper more significant meaning of this scene.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that is most striking about the hunt scene is the fact that it’s so graphic. We are used to seeing people being killed in movies about War and and Battle, but this was different, because the animals were so innocent and helpless. This is a play on the fact that the hunters are ruthless when there is something they want. They will kill to get it. It’s so emotional because there is so much carnage and there is nothing that the rabbits and pheasants can do about it. It is a massacre. The symbolism is that, just like the bunnies, they bare being herded by a metaphorical gamekeeper and they don’t even know it. They all believe they’re at the top of the food chain, when really they’re at the bottom.
ReplyDeleteThe hunt scene is one of the most memorable scenes from The Rules of the Game because of the fast shots of the slaughter of innocent animals and of its deep symbolism. The camera focuses on shots of animal trying to escape helplessly. The servants of the household beat sticks against the trees to encourage the animals to run towards the hunters. This makes it more of a slaughter rather than a hunt, as the hunters are paying other people in order to ensure that their prey comes near them. The hunters show no emotion when killing the animals, which adds to the poignant emotion of the scene. The worst part is that the majority of the animals killed are rabbits, and the hunters have already stated that they don’t even want those rabbits.
ReplyDeleteThis scene symbolizes the relationship between the upper and lower classes. The upper classes see the lower classes as beneath them and use them for sport or entertainment. The lower classes are helpless to object as they are taken out easily by the upper class. Just as the upper classes do not feel guilty about killing innocent animals, neither do they feel guilty about abusing the rights of the lower class.
The nature of taking the life of any living organism will always come as shocking to us, especially in the modern time that we are in. But the main reason that we found this scene surprising is that the main hunted animal was rabbits. Generally seen as small, cute, furry creatures often kept as pets, we dont understand the destructiveness that they may be causing on the land. Because we only see them being hunted, there is almost a guilt felt around the class, as we see them as innocent creatures. (possible foreshadowing another innocent "creature" being killed later in the film???) We also see these animals being killed in a live format, which we aren't used to. Generally films use editing and fake attempts, to show a killing scene, but the fact that this are live footage of actual rabbits being shot, our instinct is to be appalled at the actions being taken in order to maintain the land. But as the directors are using this as an attempt to make the scene as real as possible, there is no better way than actually filming the rabbits being hunted. Without there being a common "fakeness" to it, we, as society, are unprepared to see this as a real act.
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