Cyrano de Bergerac
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Movie Reviews of Cyrano de Bergerac
Movie Review: Sentimental, but also captivating
Summary: 5 Stars
Depardieu is a brute in life, but a sublime actor. His interpretation of Cyrano is faultless. A wonderful film.Movie Review: One of the high water marks of French cinema
Summary: 5 Stars
Jean-Paul Rappeneau's wonderfully cinematic version of Cyrano De Bergerac is one of the genuine high water marks of modern French cinema. Rappeneau is a director who really understands movement, and his far from static approach revitalizes the piece and frees it from the tyranny of the wonderful words to give it wings, while Gerard Depardieu's magnificent Cyrano keeps the film's emotions beautifully grounded. For once the supporting characters aren't played as idiots: Christian is no fool, merely an inarticulate man increasingly aware that his is a false victory, and the Comte De Guiche is allowed more dignity than you'd expect from a part that's usually reduced to mere comedy villainy.
Almost everything about the film is perfect, from Rappeneau and Jean-Claude Carriere's superb screenplay to Jean-Claude Petit's restrained score, which subtly underlines the emotions rather than play up the pathos (a shame his action cues use a thinly-disguised version of Danny Elfman's Batman theme: someone obviously fell in love with the temp track). Wonderful stuff, even if Cyrano takes longer to shuffle off this mortal coil than Brando did in Mutiny on the Bounty.
Sadly, there's still not a particularly satisfying English-friendly DVD release for the film - MGM/UA's Region 1 disc is disapppointing while even Arrow's UK PAL release only has brief interviews with Rappeneau and Depardieu as extras. One for Criterion to get round to, surely?
Movie Review: "We All Have Our Wounds"
Summary: 5 Stars
Note: Will require a multi-region DVD player to view in the America's.
This French language film adaptation of the classic 'Cyrano de Bergerac' released in '90 is without question the most enjoyable 138 minutes in front of the television screen I've experienced in quite some time. Everything about this production is absolute perfection; cinematography, settings, music, screenplay and of course acting.
Gerard Depardieu is an unstoppable force of nature as the eloquent but hot-headed Cyrano. He thunders and rages about one moment only to suddenly turn ethereal and wax poetic the next. The lovely Anne Brochet is a wonderful compliment to the blustering Cyrano as his unattainable Roxane and Vincent Perez delivers a strong performance as the handsome but slow tongued Christian.
The dialogue is crisp, textured and witty, however if you're French impaired as I am you'll probably have trouble keeping up. But that's OK, you'll just catch the missing parts the next time you watch and you will definitely watch again and again.
Movie Review: Superb Depardieu
Summary: 4 Stars
Edmond Rostand's 19th play is brilliantly adapted here by director Jean-Paul Rappeneau, and perhaps when I watch the film again I may give it 5 stars like the other reviewers.
Depardieu dominates the film with a stunning performance. This is most evident in the first half of the film where he does everything with a style and feeling that is missing from so many films these days. The acting overall is of a very high standard and the script, even allowing for translation and subtitle misinterpretations is beautifully done.
The reason I have not awarded it five stars is for one main reason. After the brilliant first half of the film, the second half just seemed a little less focused to me and overall I felt the film was a little too long. The ending in particular dragged a bit. Its probably exactly as per the original play, but for me this didn't work on film and it felt a bit hammy.
However this is a minor criticism and overall I strongly recommend the film.
Movie Review: One of the great romance stories...
Summary: 4 Stars
I was excited to see this as the original classic with Jose Ferrer remains one of my all-time favorite films. This one is brilliantly made, and Depardieu does not disappoint.
This film was produced well, and the sets are beautiful. The acting is also very good, and the actors are well chosen for their parts. The female lead is perfect as she is a stunning beauty with the kind of beauty that grows on you the more you see. I imagine that she is the type that would completely bewitch someone as Cyrano was.
The story itself is well known. An brilliant "deformed" man in love and a beautiful "idiotic" man in love combine their talents to woo a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, the end result is tragic for every party, but this is an undeniably romantic story that can start your heart racing at times. It feels almost like one of Shakespeare's great tragedies, and I don't know that it is an exxageration to suggest it is almost as brilliant.
The reason that I give this magnificent story only four stars is because some of the impact of this story was lost on me due to the subtitles. I really don't have a problem with movies that have subtitles, but with this particular story it hurt the impact for English-speaking people. Cyrano was a great poet, and one aspect of the story that touches the viewer is the poetry. Unfortunately, when you are hearing French words at a mile a minute and seeing english rhymes on the screen, it just isn't very poetic. I'm sure for the French this is an absolute masterpiece, and I truly wish I could feel the same about it myself.
Overall, I am thrilled to see this, and I would watch it again. Just be warned--if you, like me, find the poetry to be one of the great aspects, you may be slightly disappointed. The poetry is still there and is still beautiful, but you have to work to get at it.