La Révolution française (film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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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 birthday 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 de Robespierre
- Jean-François Balmer : King Louis XVI
- Jane Seymour : Queen Marie-Antoinette
- Peter Ustinov : Honoré de Mirabeau
- François Cluzet : Camille Desmoulins
- Vittorio Mezzogiorno : Jean-Paul Marat
- Claudia Cardinale : Madame de Polignac
- Sam Neill : Lafayette
- Georges Corraface : Jacques Hébert
- Christopher Thompson : Louis de Saint-Just
- Raymond Gérôme : Jacques Necker
- Christopher Lee : Charles Henri Sanson
Reception
The film was generally considered rather historically accurate. Among the few departures from the historical truth, 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.
