‘The Rules of the Game’

The spirits of Mozart and Beaumarchais hover over this intricate, brilliant sex roundelay set at a sumptuous chateau and peopled by an assemblage of marquises, aviators, generals, mistresses, murderous gamekeepers, a butler named Corneille and a randy little poacher with quick tongue and feet. It all ends sometime before dawn, with the crack of a rifle shot, and the moral is: “Everyone has his reasons.” Jean Renoir’s (left, with Nora Gregor) 1939 indisputable masterpiece (though a commercial and critical failure at its first release) is one of the cinema’s greatest, most profound and beautiful works (Bravo Friday at 12:30 p.m. and Saturday at 8 a.m.).

Other four-star films airing this week:

The Day the Earth Stood Still / Showtime, Monday, 4:15 p.m.

The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek / AMC, Wednesday, 2:15 p.m.

Sunset Boulevard / Cinemax, Friday, 9:30 a.m.

Rebecca / Bravo, Saturday, 11:45 a.m.

Notorious / Bravo, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Casablanca / KCET, Saturday, 9 p.m.