The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu): I rented this because Billy Wilder refers to it as a touchstone in Conversations with Wilder. Gosford Park may as well be a remake of this -- a group of aristocrats gather at a country estate for a week of hunting, merry-making, and partner-swapping. But I found it tedious and uninvolving -- whatever social commentary it is meant to make ceased to be novel or relevant decades ago -- and I didn't really see why it's considered a classic.
The French Connection: It looks rather dated now, but it's still a good cop thriller. Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider have great chemistry. The famous chase scene -- Hackman driving underneath the elevated tracks as his quarry rides the train above -- holds up well.
The Seventh Seal: I have no fucking idea what was going on here. I really just wanted to see the chess game with Death -- after all, I'd seen Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, so I thought I should see the inspiration -- but it goes on throughout the movie, which, frankly, put me to sleep.
La Notte: Depressing story, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, about a lifeless marriage amid the beautiful people of Milan. Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau are very good as the couple who take each other for granted, but the movie is rather mundane and disheartening.
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