La Révolution française (film)
 |
| La Révolution française | |
|---|---|
| File:La Révolution française (film).jpg | |
| Directed by | Robert Enrico, Richard T. Heffron |
| Screenplay by | David Ambrose, Daniel Boulanger |
| Music by | Georges Delerue |
Release date | 1989 |
Running time | 360 min |
| Countries | France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada |
| Languages | French, English |
La Révolution française is a two-part film, co-produced by France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada. The first part, titled La Révolution française : les Années lumière was directed by Robert Enrico. The second part, La Révolution française : les Années terribles, was directed by Richard T. Heffron. The full movie runs at 360 minutes, but the edited-for-television version is slightly longer.
The film was produced in 1989 for the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. It purports to tell a faithful and neutral story of the Revolution, from the calling of the Estates-General to the death of Maximilien de Robespierre. The film was high-budgeted and boasted an international cast. It was shot in French and English.
Cast
- Klaus Maria Brandauer : Georges Danton†
- Andrzej Seweryn : Maximilien Francois Marie Isidore de Robespierre†
- Jean-François Balmer : King Louis XVI†
- Jane Seymour : Queen Marie-Antoinette†
- Peter Ustinov† : Honoré de Mirabeau†
- François Cluzet : Camille Desmoulins†
- Marianne Basler : Gabrielle Danton†
- Marie Bunel : Lucile Desmoulins†
- Vittorio Mezzogiorno† : Jean-Paul Marat†
- Claudia Cardinale : Madame de Polignac
- Sam Neill : Lafayette
- Christopher Thompson : Louis de Saint-Just†
- Raymond Gérôme : Jacques Necker
- Christopher Lee : Charles Henri Sanson
- Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu : Charlotte Corday†
- Jean-François Stévenin : Louis Legendre
- Marc de Jonge : Santerre
- Michel Duchaussoy : Jean Sylvain Bailly†
- Henri Serre : M. de Launay†
- Serge Dupire : Billaud-Varenne
- Jean Bouise : Maurice Duplay
- Dominique Pinon : Jean-Baptiste Drouet
- Gabrielle Lazure : Princess Marie-Louise de Savoie-Carignan†
- Jean-Pierre Laurent : François Hanriot†
- Yves-Marie Maurin : François Alexandre Frédéric de La Rochefoucauld, Duke of La Rochefoucauld
- Hanns Zischler : Goethe
- Michel Galabru : Abbot Jean-Sifrein Maury
- Massimo Girotti : The Pope's envoy
- François-Éric Gendron : Bertrand Barère
- Georges Corraface : Jacques-René Hébert†
- Edgar Givry : Jean-Baptiste Cléry
- Michel Melki : Jacques Alexis Thuriot de la Rozière
- Samy Naceri
Reception
The film was generally considered rather historically accurate. Among the few departures from the historical facts, the executioner Charles-Henri Sanson was shown executing both Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. The elder Sanson actually only executed the King, while his son executed the Queen. Some critics pointed, however, that the film suffered from its neutrality, which resulted in a lack of point of view and in some incoherences. The first part, which dealt with a rather complex historical subject, was also criticized for its disjointed pacing. The second part was considered more gripping and dramatic. Jean-François Balmer received great praise for his portrayal of a rather sympathetic Louis XVI and Andrzej Seweryn was considered very convincing as Robespierre.
The film was not a box office success in France, as the celebrations for the Revolution's bicentennial were not attracting much audience.
.jpg){kind=link}