The Taking of Power by Louis XIV - Criterion Collection

The Taking of Power by Louis XIV - Criterion Collection
by Roberto Rossellini

The Taking of Power by Louis XIV - Criterion Collection
List Price: $29.95
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases

Buy The Taking of Power by Louis XIV - Criterion Collection at Amazon.com
(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada

DVD Cover Information

Actor: Andr?? Dumas, Fran??ois Bernard, Maurice Barrier, Pierre Barrat, Raymond Jourdan
Director: Roberto Rossellini
Brand: IMAGE ENT.
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: French (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-01-13
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion Collection
Product features:
  • Filmmaking legend Roberto Rossellini brings his passion for realism and unerring eye for the everyday to this portrait of the early years of the reign of France's "Sun King," and in the process reinvents the costume drama. The death of chief minister Cardinal Mazarin, the construction of the palace at Versailles, the extravagant meals of the royal court: all are recounted with the same

Movie Reviews of The Taking of Power by Louis XIV - Criterion Collection

Movie Review: Fascinating, difficult, intellectual, dry, immensely watchable...
Summary: 5 Stars

This was one of Rossellini's first TV films, shot for French TV near the end of his career. Rossellini has been the least of my favorite filmmakers from Italy, not because he isn't talented, but I just never got into his films like I did the other famous Italian filmmakers. But after having viewed this film (and his subsequent TV work), I respect him much more, and these later films are my favorites of his work.

This film, shot for French television, is a cousin to Rossellini's historical films of the Enlightenment (The Age of Medici, Cartesius, and Blaise Pascal). This may be the best out of all four of those films. It's the most visually opulent of the four films, with stunning costumes and set design, and photographically it's beautiful. That's quite astounding considering it was shot on 16mm film, which doesn't age very well. Kudos to Criterion for restoring it well. While the performances in the Italian TV films were mostly perfunctory, in this film they are livelier and more interesting. It could be because Rossellini was working with direct sound (something he never did in his Italian films), and the performances are enriched because of that. Jean Marie Patte, who plays the king, is stiff at times, obviously reading from cue cards in a few scenes. Rossellini gave his actors their lines just before they shot, and had cue cards on the set if they couldn't remember, so it's not all Jean Marie's fault. It's a bit distracting, but it doesn't detract too much from the overall experience of the film.

There are some striking scenes in the film, one near the end film in a garden, and when a key rival of Louis is arrested. The courtoom intrigue is absolutely fascinating. There are also surprising parallels between today's world and the world inherited by Louis XIV. It's also fascinating to see Louis mature from a shy, spoiled, hedonisitic person to a mature, solid, and shrewd politican/king.
It's also unnerving to see doctors at the beginning of the film tend to Mazarin who leaves his fortune to Louis (the doctors, learned men of their time, bleed Mazarin in hopes of healing him. They also smell his chamber pot). The film is very dry, talky, and intellectual, so if you're expecting an HBO series that's occasionally historically accurate but shows gratuitous sex just because they can, you should skip this (even though they are funny scenes in the film dealing with sex). If you adjust to the rhythms and sensibility of The Taking of Power by Louis XIV, it's absolutely fascinating stuff.

Summary of The Taking of Power by Louis XIV - Criterion Collection

Filmmaking legend Roberto Rossellini brings his passion for realism and unerring eye for the everyday to this portrait of the early years of the reign of France s Sun King, and in the process reinvents the costume drama. The death of chief minister Cardinal Mazarin, the construction of the palace at Versailles, the extravagant meals of the royal court: all are recounted with the same meticulous quotidian detail that Rossellini brought to his contemporary portraits of postwar Italy. The Taking of Power by Louis XIV dares to place a larger-than-life figure at the level of mere mortal.
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
New, restored digital transfer
Taking Power, a multimedia essay by Tag Gallagher, author of The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini
The Last Utopia, a documentary about Rossellini s late career
Video interview with artistic advisor Jean Dominique de la Rochefoucauld and script supervisor Michelle Podroznik
Video interview with Renzo Rossellini
New and improved English subtitle translation
PLUS: A new essay by critic Colin McCabe

Art House & International DVD Video

DVD Video
Movies most talked about in Art House & International DVD Video
A Christmas Carol [Blu-ray] ImageA Christmas Carol [Blu-ray]
VCI ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $15.98
Price in other shops: $29.99
Pride & Prejudice ImagePride & Prejudice
Universal Studios; Release date: 2006-02-28; DVD
Best price: $6.32
Price in other shops: $12.98
Love Actually (Widescreen Edition) ImageLove Actually (Widescreen Edition)
UNI DIST CORP. (MCA); Release date: 2004-04-27; DVD
Best price: $6.91
Price in other shops: $12.98
Australia ImageAustralia
Twentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-03-03; DVD
Best price: $8.98
Price in other shops: $29.99
A Christmas Story [Blu-ray] ImageA Christmas Story [Blu-ray]
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-11-04; DVD
Best price: $13.89
Price in other shops: $28.99
The Secret (Extended Edition) ImageThe Secret (Extended Edition)
The Secret; Release date: 2006-10-01; Published: 2006; DVD
Best price: $7.78
Price in other shops: $24.95
A Christmas Carol (Ultimate Collector's Edition)(B/W & Color) ImageA Christmas Carol (Ultimate Collector's Edition)(B/ W & Color)
VCI ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2007-10-23; DVD
Best price: $9.75
Price in other shops: $19.99
The Professional [Blu-ray] ImageThe Professional [Blu-ray]
SONY PICTURES HOME ENT; Release date: 2009-11-17; DVD
Best price: $14.93
Price in other shops: $24.95
Slumdog Millionaire ImageSlumdog Millionaire
TCFHE; Release date: 2009-03-31; DVD
Best price: $5.41
Price in other shops: $29.98
Blood Diamond (Widescreen Edition) ImageBlood Diamond (Widescreen Edition)
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-03-20; DVD
Best price: $3.75
Price in other shops: $12.98
Similar DVD Movies
Magnificent Obsession - Criterion Collection ImageMagnificent Obsession - Criterion Collection
IMAGE ENT.; Release date: 2009-01-20; DVD
Best price: $24.44
Price in other shops: $39.95
Roberto Rossellini: Collector's Series ImageRoberto Rossellini: Collector's Series
ROSSELLINI,ROBERTO; Release date: 2008-11-11; DVD
Best price: $19.75
Price in other shops: $29.98
Z (Criterion Collection) ImageZ (Criterion Collection)
IMAGE ENT.; Release date: 2009-10-27; DVD
Best price: $24.37
Price in other shops: $39.95
The Human Condition- Criterion Collection ImageThe Human Condition- Criterion Collection
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2009-09-08; DVD
Best price: $49.00
Price in other shops: $79.95
Wise Blood ImageWise Blood
IMAGE ENT.; Release date: 2009-05-12; DVD
Best price: $21.97
Price in other shops: $39.95
The Exterminating Angel - Criterion Collection ImageThe Exterminating Angel - Criterion Collection
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2009-02-10; DVD
Best price: $24.42
Price in other shops: $39.95
Simon of the Desert - Criterion Collection ImageSimon of the Desert - Criterion Collection
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2009-02-10; DVD
Best price: $15.28
Price in other shops: $24.95
Il Generale Della Rovere - Criterion Collection ImageIl Generale Della Rovere - Criterion Collection
IMAGE ENT.; Release date: 2009-03-31; DVD
Best price: $18.32
Price in other shops: $29.95
Danton - Criterion Collection ImageDanton - Criterion Collection
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2009-03-31; DVD
Best price: $24.50
Price in other shops: $39.95
Rossellini's History Films: Renaissance and Enlightenment - Eclipse Series 14 ImageRossellini's History Films: Renaissance and Enlightenment - Eclipse Series 14
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2009-01-13; DVD
Best price: $37.30
Price in other shops: $59.95
Compare prices and read customer reviews for more than one million DVD titles.
Oscar 2005 Winners