Cyrano de Bergerac

I saw the first adaptation of Edmond Rostand's novel, the 1950 version with José Ferrer. Despite Ferrer's good acting, it had some things going against it. First it was in English, and the thing is that the whole play is written in verses that rhyme. Of course, you just cannot do that in English. Second, Rostand's story was seriously altered.

Now, with this version we finally get the real Cyrano de Bergerac, a man whose nose is as great as his courage and skill at sword play, his talent at writing beautiful love poetry, and his will to resist all temptation to become the servant of higher powers. We get to follow his adventures, to feel his wonderful love for beautiful Roxane, his attempt to win her love in ways that nobody would ever consider, and his struggle to keep the freedom of his spirit.

I admired the acting, the direction, the lighting, and the costumes. There is so much in this movie to applaud. But the best of it all is that it keeps so close to the original text. I read the play and I just couldn't believe how good this adaptation is. Watch this movie if you have the heart of both a lion and of a lover, and you can appreciate excellent French poetry.

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

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

All I have to say is wow! I think it's safe to say that these French don't mess around when it comes to acting. Gérard Depardieu was absolutely brilliant as Cyrano himself and it was such a refreshing pace from the garbage I've seen recently. This was definitely one of the most brilliant performances in late film history. Yes the acting was theatrical but that was the only real way to carry it out...it would've stunk if they modernized it just for the cameras, I'm sure other versions have done this and that's why you don't hear too much about them. I thought it was funny that Vincent Perez was such a proper performer in this and then they made him Eric Draven in "The Crow" sequel which was far from good. Just everything about this movie was well done and while it was very romantic it didn't do it in a mushy kind of way that'd turn off guys that aren't really big on that stuff such as myself. There was some decent swashbuckling but it's not one you'd choose for the action itself per say. Just watching this made me really want to read the book because the script was simply genius and nothing less.

The poetic lines sounded like silk feels and I highly recommend this to any couples out there that are looking for a little revitalization!

Final Gesture:

Movies: It's long but I think I'd make it through just to give it due credit.

DVD Purchase: The idea is gnawing away at the back of my mind.

Rental: YES!

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.