Cyrano von Bergerac

The subtitles in this movie are done so well, one almost forgets the movie was done in French. The words seem to glide effortlessly off of Gerard Depardieu's tongue, as if only he were meant to speak them. It almost makes you jealous of Cirano's eloquence. Even those with no appreciation of poetry whatsoever can still find this movie entertaining. The action is enthralling; the cinematography, endearing; the movie, entertaining. A must see film if you enjoy poetry, romance, humor, action, suspense, period pieces, aesthetically pleasing images, theatre, French, English, other languages, large noses, good movies, or any combination of the above. In short, rent it, buy it or steal it. Just make sure you watch it. And don't blame me if you get caught stealing it.

If you are a hopelessly romantic guy like me, you will love this movie. :) It is very poetic and moving. The english sub-titles forces you to really pay attention to the words, which are the best part of the movie. French IS the language of love, so they say. I bet your girlfriend will like it too! (In case you don't have a girlfriend, you can watch it and think of yourself as a diamond in the rough, romantic, poetic and underappreciated, just Cyrano. :p

No, no, my dearest love... I don't love you!

I was just a teenager when I first saw this film. I really didn't know what to expect of a French movie with unknown actors (at least to me by then), with a story I didn't previously know and with the only reference of some Cesar awards. After all, it was an european movie, it was French, it was based in a classic book and with a romantic theme. But something attracted me.

I was shocked.

Actually it was the first movie I ever went to see to the cinema more than once. I purchased it on VHS as soon as I could, and I am getting it on DVD now that it's available in Spain. After all this time, I know by heart almost every scene of the movie, and it keeps on bringing tears to my eyes in the final scenes, no matter how many times I've seen it.

The movie has so many things so nicely put together, it's almost impossible not to be hooked on some of them.

To begin with, I was very surprised with the fact that the whole movie is spoken in verse. I think it was the first time I had ever seen something like that, and it is probably also the last since I can't remember any other movie like this! I don't know how well it was done in English, but I can say it was translated into Spanish awesomely. I can only wonder how beautiful it is in the original French version. Everything is so musically coherent and adequate, that you really enjoy watching the movie spoken in verse. I loved it.

Then there is the absolutely magnificent performance by Gerard Depardieu. He perfectly resembles at every moment the personality of the eager and sometimes naive but at the same time extremely intelligent, romantic, desperate and vulnerable Cyrano. His physical look, his facial expressions, his voice... everything makes him the perfect Cyrano de Bergerac. You really share his suffering and at the same time you admire its strong personality and determination. He makes Cyrano an admirable man, an enjoyable human being. Wonderful.

Apart from that, there is many more things in this movie that make it absolutely enjoyable. The humor. The sets and props, all the environments created. The music. And the story is an absolute classic that many people will feel related to; the struggle of a man than, even though not physically gifted, wants to live and love with no limits... to the person who is not ready to correspond him. Maybe it's the reason why it was so touching for me when I was a teenager, and maybe that's why it still brings tears to my eyes even today :)

All in all, a beautiful romantic tale with great sets and performances and that will touch almost anyone's hearts. My favourite movie of all time, and definetly a classic.

WARNING - YOU WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS FILM

This is the ONE film that made Gérard Depardieu a world-wide superstar. Although he was a star in the french cinema for years, Gérard Depardieu was an un-heard-of unknown in the United States prior to the success, and critical acclaim of this french language film. This film also won 2 Academy awards in 1990(best foriegn film, and best costume). If you have ever seen this film then you know that this was the role that Gérard Depardieu was born to play. After seeing this I cannot imagine another actor in the world playing this role but Gérard Depardieu. This movie will make you laugh, and it will make you cry. You cannot help but to experience all of Cyrano's passions and his lust for life, as well as his heartache for never getting Roxanne to fall in love with him,and his anger and embarassment he feels about his self-contiousness about his large nose. As the film moves foward you grow to love the Cyrano de Bergerac charactor as you experience his emotions with him.There is some good battle scenes and some action scenes and even some killing(but what little bloodshed is done in this film -is done with good taste and relavence to the story instead of a bunch of meaningless killing like as seen in other films in this genre). This is about as well done as any film will ever get. I give it 5 out of 5 stars, a perfect film- A masterpiece

I love films of all kinds, and since liking Gerard Depardieu and being familiar with Rostand's classic play, I knew it was going to be good. But I wasn't expecting it to be this brilliant, I can't think of a film recently that struck me with how beautiful and poignant it was as much as Cyrano De Bergerac did.

There were three major assets that really blew me over. One was how beautifully translated and subtitled it had been, I have not seen subtitles or dialogue this lyrical or poetic in a while. Two was how Cyrano De Bergerac was made. The costume design and scenery are truly sumptuous, as is the cinematography.

Gerard Depardieu's performance is truly exceptional and I don't think he has been better, though Jean De Florette comes close. Depardieu is passionate, witty and very moving. The support cast with Anne Brochet and Vincent Perez particularly notable do a fine job matching him.

Cyrano De Bergerac's story is one that is timeless, and for those who haven't yet seen it, it is most likely to emotionally resonate with you like it did with me. The music is both rousing and quietly understated too.

Overall, I have nothing bad to say about Cyrano De Bergerac, it is the very definition of beauty and poetry on film, complete with an exceptional lead performance. 10/10 Bethany Cox