In mid-1959 Renoir saw the reconstructed version of the film for the first time and left the theatre in tears . He said " there is only one scene missing in this re-construction , a scene that is n't very important . It 's a scene with me and Roland Toutain that deals with the maids ' sexual interest . " The restored version premiered at the 1959 Venice Film Festival , where it was called a masterpiece . Claude Chabrol , Alain Resnais and Louis Malle were all in attendance and publicly called Renoir their master while praising the new version of the film . In 1961 Howard Thompson of the '' New York Times '' said the film " completely justified its European reputation ... it is a memorable experience . " Archer Winsten of the '' New York Post '' praised the film for " showing the corruption of French society from top to bottom " and a '' New York Herald Tribune '' review called it " a satire on French society ... a sharp criticism of social pretenses . " The reconstructed version of the film was exhibited in France on April 23 , 1965 . It won the 1966 Bodil Award for Best Non-American Film/Best European Film ( Bedste europæiske film ) in Denmark
1959 Venice Film Festival
20th Venice International Film Festival
The Rules of the Game