Renoir, Jean, and Leo Braudy. "Renoir at Home Interview with Jean Renoir." Film Quarterly 50.1 (1996): 2-8.

Leo Braudy conducts an interview with Jean Renoir in the filmmaker's Beverly Hills home in 1970. The published interview gives insight into Renoir’s mentality and reflection on his films. Braudy asks questions regarding the influence of Renoir’s father. For example, he asks whether the director had considered the possibility of using his father’s priceless paintings to fund film projects; even further, the two discuss the filmmaker and his father’s existentialist philosophies. Along with explanations of various Renoir films, such as the meaning behind the title Le Caporal épinglé (and the equivalent English misnomer), or the role of costumes in his films, there is also a discussion on the idea of epic versus pastoral films, during which Renoir comments that his epic films came when there were contemporary epic topics to portray in his films, rather than on a whim.

This interview provides key insight into the opinions and philosophies of Jean Renoir. Though it does not provide direct commentary on the influence of political events on his films, there is useful evidence of personal inspiration for and influences on Renoir’s films. Obviously, Renoir’s films, La Règle du jeu included, were not solely motivated by political events or ideologies. This source in particular offers direct information and dialogue with the filmmaker, which makes it more insightful and honest than others. Incorporation of Renoir’s own words and his own perspectives provides another angle from which to build my case and analyze the approach to the creation of La Règle du jeu during such a turbulent political era.