Marat/Sade

You do not need to know the details of French history to enjoy (?) this most astonishing and confrontational movie. Remember that this is a cinematic version of a play, and that Director Peter Brooks never loses sight of the physical presence and power that his original stage version was renowned for. Unlike many cinematic treatments of stage drama, this film is essentially theatre - the camera in fact intensifies the claustrophobic setting and puts the viewer in the front row. The performances are uniformly excellent : the intensity and conviction of the cast in their roles is exceptional. This is an emotionally draining, bravura movie that once seen, can not be forgotten.

I just watched the MGM DVD, which is a fine letterboxed transfer. (I also saw the movie a few years after it was released.)

Marat/Sade is an amazingly original and stunningly powerful philosophical and psychological descent into one of the most complex periods of recorded history, the French Revolution, the Terror that ensued, and the rise of Napoleon and his empire. The multi-layered ideas come thick and fast; I had to watch the movie over two nights because there's so much to think about, and some of the words and images are so overwhelming.

Of the Royal Shakespeare Company actors in the film (little known at the time), Glenda Jackson had the most notable subsequent career, but Ian Richardson (Marat) has also done remarkable things (and he's so young here, you may not recognize him).

This is not a movie for casual entertainment, but if you care about history and the deepest questions of good and evil and free will, you'll find much of value here.

In an insane asylum, the Marquis de Sade directs Jean Paul Marat's last days through a theater play. The actors are the patients.

Did something like this actually happen? I could imagine the Maquis de Sade putting this sort of thing together, because what else is he going to do with his time? But did they actually allow this? And, of course, the real inmates could not possibly have been such good actors and singers... could they? As others have noted, this film can be enjoyed by anyone but probably has much more significance for those who grasp the politics and philosophy of the French Revolution. To try to fully comprehend the class distinctions and other angles without some background would be a challenge. To say I fully grasped the competing views of the inmates, Sade and the warden would be a lie.

This takes place in 1808 in an insane asylum. The Marquis de Sade (Patrick Magee) puts on a play of an assassination for an audience. He uses the other inmates as actors. Things slowly get out of hand leading to a truly horrifying ending.

I first caught this way back in 1980 at a center for adult education. It was a video of the movie shown for free. The picture was murky and the sound was terrible. Still I sat through it. I just caught it again (over 20 years later) on cable. This time I could see and hear it clearly. I'm not going to pretend that I understand what this is about, aside from the basic premise about a bunch of inmates putting on a play, and I do know it was based on a stage play. Still, I watched all 2 hours. The acting is great across the board but Magee, Ian Richardson and Glenda Jackson (in her major film debut) are exceptional. The movie is disturbing--I realize these are all actors playing roles but they're so good that you believe everything you're seeing. The direction also is masterful--it opens up the play cinematically. It has an R rating but that's mostly for subject matter and a brief nude scene with Richardson. This isn't for everybody--some people will be bored silly by it--but for those who like challenging movies this fits the bill. The ending is very disturbing. I give it a 7.

I was hooked on this movie the minute I laid eyes upon it... bought the video and meticulously transcribed every word onto my copy of a transcript. I found the Shakespearean troupe to be excellent in their portrayals of madmen performing a play. The French Revolution being the main theme, echoed by various inmates' views of it, as well as several forays into philosophical thinking of man's condition. Plenty of symbolism, hard to draw a line where reality ends and madness begins (is it history, the play, the actor, the character, the madman, the script, etc.). Bears repeated watchings well, if one is interested in terrific character portrayal, philosophy, history, mental illness in general, etc. Asks that you pay close attention at all times, however... some of the extended debates between De Sade and Marat are absolutely riveting to watch. The interplay of several levels of perception is fascinating, and the overall effect is definitely one of a real insane asylum, disturbingly so at times. There is much humour here as well, again on multiple levels... this is definitely an intellectual movie, a thinking man's movie... all action takes place in the single bathouse of the asylum. Many aspects both of history and the philosophies of revolutionary leaders and their antagonists are explored. Highly recommended watching.