| Cyrano de Bergerac | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Jean-Paul Rappeneau |
| Written by | Jean-Claude Carrière Jean-Paul Rappeneau |
| Based on | Cyrano de Bergerac 1897 play byEdmond Rostand |
| Produced by | René Cleitman Michel Seydoux André Szots |
| Starring | Gérard Depardieu |
| Cinematography | Pierre Lhomme |
| Edited by | Noëlle Boisson |
| Music by | Jean-Claude Petit |
| Distributed by | UGC |
Release date |
|
Running time | 137 minutes |
| Countries | France Hungary |
| Language | French |
| Budget | $15.3 million |
| Box office | $41.3 million[1] |
Cyrano de Bergerac is a 1990 Frenchperiodcomedy-drama film directed byJean-Paul Rappeneau and based on the 1897play of the same name byEdmond Rostand,adapted byJean-Claude Carrière and Rappeneau. It starsGérard Depardieu,Anne Brochet andVincent Perez. The film was aco-production between companies in France and Hungary.
The film is the firstfeature film version of Rostand's original play in colour, and the second theatrical film version of the play in the original French. It is also considerably more lavish and more faithful to the original thanprevious film versions of the play. The film had 4,732,136 admissions in France.[2]
The film and the performance of Gérard Depardieu won numerous awards, notably 10 of theCésar Awards of 1991.
Subtitles are used for the non-French market; the English-language version usesAnthony Burgess's translation of the text, which uses five-beat lines with a varying number of syllables and a regularcouplet rhyming scheme, in other words, asprung rhythm. Although he sustains the five-beat rhythm through most of the play, Burgess sometimes allows this structure to break deliberately: in Act V, he allows it to collapse completely, creatingfree verse.
In 2010,Cyrano de Bergerac was ranked number 43 inEmpire magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema".[3]
In1640, theGascon poet and swashbucklerCyrano de Bergerac is self-conscious about his enormous nose, but pretends to be proud of it. He is admired and respected by many people for his bravery and good swordsmanship. He madly loves his cousin, the beautiful Roxane; however, he is sure that she will reject him because of his appearance. To elevate himself in her eyes, he interferes with a play being staged at the Hôtel du Bourgogne, in Paris, and wins a duel with a marquis.
In the second act of the play and film, Cyrano meets with Roxane at her request. He is crushed when Roxane tells him she is infatuated with Christian de Neuvillette, a handsome and dashing new recruit to theCadets de Gascogne (the military unit in which Cyrano is serving). However, Cyrano learns that Christian is tongue-tied when speaking with women. Seeing an opportunity to vicariously declare his love to Roxane, Cyrano approaches Christian with a proposal: Cyrano will write the love letters, and Christian will woo Roxane with them. Christian agrees.
Cyrano aids Christian, writing heartfelt love letters and poems. Roxane begins to appreciate Christian, not only for his good looks but also his apparent eloquence. She eventually falls in love with him. But the Comte de Guiche, an arrogant and exceptionally powerful older nobleman, also has designs on Roxane. Roxane and Cyrano thwart De Guiche's attempt to visit Roxane by arranging a quicksecret marriage between Roxane and Christian. In revenge, De Guiche orders his company of cadets—including Cyrano and Christian—to report immediately for military duty in theSiege of Arras against theSpanish.
The siege is harsh and brutal: the Cadets de Gascogne are starving. Christian does not know that Cyrano escapes over enemy lines twice each day to deliver a love letter written by Cyrano himself but signed with Christian's name, sent to Roxane. These letters draw Roxane out from the city of Paris to the war front to bring food to the troops. Although she has come to visit Christian, she admits to him that she has fallen in love with the author's soul, and would love the author even if he were ugly. Christian tries to find out whether Roxane loves him or Cyrano, and asks Cyrano to find out. However, during the subsequent battle, Christian is mortally wounded. The scene ends with the French returning to the battle.
In the final scene of the play and film, in 1654, Roxane has entered a convent and retired from the world. Cyrano has made many enemies with his writings; he is still free, but now poor. During this time, Cyrano has faithfully visited Roxane every week, never declaring his love. On this day, his enemies attack and mortally injure him. Cyrano nevertheless visits Roxane at the convent. When she mentions Christian's last letter, sensing his own mortality, Cyrano asks if he can read it. Roxane gives him the letter, which he reads movingly. Just before Cyrano dies, Roxane realizes that she has loved him all along.
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on30 reviews, with aweighted average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Love and hope soar inCyrano De Bergerac, an immensely entertaining romance featuring Gerard Depardieu at his peak."[4] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 79 based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]
Roger Ebert from theChicago Sun-Times awarded the film three and a half stars out of four. In his review on the film, Ebert wrote, "Cyrano de Bergerac is a splendid movie not just because it tells its romantic story, and makes it visually delightful, and centers it on Depardieu, but for a better reason: The movie acts as if it believes this story. Depardieu is not a satirist - not here, anyway. He plays Cyrano on the level, for keeps."[6]
Author and film criticLeonard Maltin awarded the film three and a half out of four stars, calling it "the definitive screen version of the Edmond Rostand perennial". In his review, Maltin praised the film's staging of scenes, while also noting that the film somewhat faltered during the finale by being overextended.[7]
The film was nominated for fiveAcademy Awards at the1990 ceremony. It marked the second time that an actor had been nominated forBest Actor for his portrayal ofCyrano de Bergerac. (The first time was in1950, whenJosé Ferrer won the award for his performance in the English-languageversion of the film.)
Cyrano de Bergerac was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in May 2005 as part of a collection with the 1950 version. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as the theatrical trailer, Umbrella Entertainment trailers, talent biographies, an interview with Gérard Depardieu and aRoger Ebert review.[21] In February 2009 an Academy Award edition was released by Umbrella Entertainment.[22]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
