Depardieu towers over the production like some benign sorcerer. Perez and the other members of the supporting cast are good, Mr. Much of what happens in between is the stuff of fustian operetta. Most unexpected of all, however, is the emotional weight of the play's final scene, even though Cyrano takes longer to die than any unbudgeable Violetta in "La Traviata." The play's balcony scene in which Cyrano, masquerading as Christian, woos Roxane, also works through the skill of Mr. Cyrano stops the performance by insulting the leading actor, and follows with the monologue in which he lectures a nobleman who has feebly made fun of his nose. Depardieu brings astonishing humor and pathos to the play's big set-pieces, including the tumultuous opening sequence in a Paris theater. When Christian confesses that he can't meet Roxane's expectations as a poet and wit, Cyrano agrees to be Christian's voice, to write his letters and even to feed him dialogue. Depardieu is such an arresting presence that he makes the hoary tale not only acceptable, but also, on several occasions, genuinely moving.Ĭyrano, as loud and overbearing as he is shame-faced about his looks, agrees to act as the go-between for his cousin, the beautiful Roxane (Anne Brochet), whom he loves, and Christian (Vincent Perez), his fellow soldier beloved by Roxane.
#CYRANO DE BERGERAC FILM 1990 MOVIE#
The subtitles are, in fact, so good that watching the movie becomes a series of continuing decisions on whether to read or to look and listen. Much of this, but certainly not all, is translated with a lot of wit by Anthony Burgess's English subtitles. Rappeneau and Jean-Claude Carriere, the movie is really memorable, though, only for the Depardieu performance, and for the chance it gives us to hear the original French verse. With its screenplay adapted from Rostand by Mr. Seventeenth-century France is re-created in grand sets, magnificent costumes and the kind of crowd scenes in which everybody roisters heartily on cue. The new film, one of the most expensive in the history of the French cinema, is a physically elaborate period spectacle.
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