Altman's "Gosford Park" is similar to "The Rules of the Game" in many of its plot elements, including the relationship between wealthy people and their servants as well as the hunting sequence. Italian film critic Francis Vanoye stated "The Rules of the Game" has influenced numerous films that feature a group of character who spend a short time together at a party or gatheringoften while hunting animalsduring which their true feelings about each other are revealed. Along with "Gosford Park", these films include Jean Grémillon's "Summer Light", Ingmar Bergman's "Smiles of a Summer Night", Carlos Saura's "The Hunt", Peter Fleischmann's "Hunting Scenes from Bavaria", Nikita Mikhalkov's "An Unfinished Piece for a Player Piano", Theo Angelopoulos's "The Hunters" and Denys Arcand's "The Decline of the American Empire". "The Rules of the Game" has also been compared to Paul Bartel's "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills" and Lawrence Kasdan's "The Big Chill.