Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French
film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the
silent era to the end of the 1960s. His films
Grand Illusion (1937) and
The Rules of the Game (1939) are often cited by critics as among the
greatest films ever made. He was ranked by the
BFI's
Sight & Sound poll of critics in 2002 as the fourth greatest director of all time. Among numerous honors accrued during his lifetime, he received a Lifetime Achievement
Academy Award in 1975 for his contribution to the motion picture industry. Renoir was the son of the painter
Pierre-Auguste Renoir.