Les rois maudits

When you see the names of Maurice Druon, Marcel Jullian and Claude Barma you can expect something clever and good ! You are right, this one is great. Not much more to say. 6 of the 7 books written by Maurice Druon were adapted for this TV series. Jean Piat, a major french actor, is the main character, Robert d'Artois, and the series is about this character, beginning with the sad "affaires des brus du roy", to his death during the premises of the "guerre de 100 ans". It's probably the most difficult part of France and England history and some clues are given here about the usurpation of the crown of St Louis by the family of Valois against the more legitimate heirs, Edward III of England and Charles d'Evreux ( Charles le mauvais, Roi de Navarre). Well, about this the film is quite confusing, but Caveat ! It is not historically accurate, it is a novel about Robert D'Artois, and must be taken as a novel featuring real historical characters in an historical background. It is very interesting, but some events are inaccurate, or wrong. The talent of Maurice Druon is to make all this realistic, and he did quite a job of historian and writer ! Chapeau bas !

Anyway, it is wonderful for any foreigner (or even any french student). I don't like TV, and I don't own one myself, but when I see such a pure jewel, I must admit sometimes TV can be clever and even brilliant. I am very glad to own a copy to watch on my computer, it was not easy to get even here in France. If they are available in your country, read the books, too ! don't hesitate to write me to exchange ideas, opinions or informations about the 14th century. I'd like to get some other TV series about the same period : Gaston Phebus and even more Catherine. It seems they are completely unavailable anywhere, even at the INA.

Ok, ok, I know its a bit old, it looks more like theater than a real movie but, man, what an incredible performance from the actors ! I've rarely seen such acting. And the story was so great, I mean, I've read the book 5 times (and its about 1620 pages long) and the TV series are as great as the book. A must

(Please forgive my spelling mistakes, English is only my second language ;)

In 1302, king Philip the Fair of France staged a coup against the mighty order of the Templars, which he considered to be a state within the state. The Grand Master was accused of sacrilegical practices and burnt at the stake. According to the legend, from the stake the Grand Master cursed the king and all his descendants. In fact, the king himself would soon die, and all his three sons would succeed him, but each only for a couple of years and each dying without issue. Therefore, these kings are often called "Les rois maudits", the "cursed kings".

The series describes the lifes of some common people during the reign of these kings, when France was struck, inter alia, by a terrible famine and by plagues. It is beautiful pageant of Medieval Life. The video, if it existed, would be an ideal educational tool for the teaching of French and European history.

The 1972 version of Les Rois Maudits still stands up among the best TV series ever produced. In France and Canada, it is mentioned in the same breath as the Prisoner!

The adaptation is remarkable. The cast is absolutely perfect. The producers picked theater actors and have chosen to simplify the sets as much as possible in order to bring even more punch to an already powerful text.

It's a shame the DVD box set doesn't come with English subtitles. It would certainly help English-speaking viewers understand the whole story, even though people can get a clear idea as to what is going on.

Les Rois Maudits is a must in any DVD collection!

Every one agrees this is one of the best TV series ever made, on a par with "I, Claudius". Furthermore, this is the version purists should prefer over the recent blood-and-guts remake, which preserves most of its dialogs but serves it à la Quentin Tarantino with plenty of gore, violence and CGI. What made the original interesting is that they skimped on the sets (which were mostly painted backgrounds, projection screens, simplified architectural elements and other theatrical tricks) in order to put the emphasis on the spoken word, the acting, the characters, the costumes (which were part of this character) and the story, all of which is lost in the remake. The original version is available from Québec's imavision.com in a 3-DVD boxset - unfortunately without subtitles of any kind. But, still, it's the kind of series that makes the learning of the French language fun.