IMDb RATING
7.0/10
40K
YOUR RATING
A medieval knight and his servant ask a familiar wizard to move them back in time to prevent father-in-law's accidentally killing. Instead, they fly away to the 20th century.A medieval knight and his servant ask a familiar wizard to move them back in time to prevent father-in-law's accidentally killing. Instead, they fly away to the 20th century.A medieval knight and his servant ask a familiar wizard to move them back in time to prevent father-in-law's accidentally killing. Instead, they fly away to the 20th century.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 1 win & 8 nominations total
Arielle Sémenoff
- Jacqueline
- (as Ariel Séménoff)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
I admit I haven't seen more than probably 40 or 50 "foreign" films, but of those, this is still the funniest one I have watched. The major problem I had with it was that the dialog (and the humorous lines) came so fast I barely had time to read the subtitles. It gets a little tiring after awhile trying to keep up with the reading and viewing at the same time, at that pace.
As with all comedies, you get smart and stupid scenes. You get more stupid when you have more slapstick, but you also have more laugh-out-loud moments. Such is the case here, as Jean Reno and Christian Clavier portray clownish 11th-century men who suddenly find themselves in modern-day France. Time-travel films almost always are fascinating, whether it's sci-fi or comedy.
Most of the jokes center around the guys trying to figure out today's modern conveniences, such as toilets, and the problems they have trying to figure them out. Also, there are big problems with the men's relatives, who are trying to figure out who these strange-acting guys are all about!
As for family viewing: not suitable. There is no sex and no nudity, but there is rough language which is why it's rated "R."
As with all comedies, you get smart and stupid scenes. You get more stupid when you have more slapstick, but you also have more laugh-out-loud moments. Such is the case here, as Jean Reno and Christian Clavier portray clownish 11th-century men who suddenly find themselves in modern-day France. Time-travel films almost always are fascinating, whether it's sci-fi or comedy.
Most of the jokes center around the guys trying to figure out today's modern conveniences, such as toilets, and the problems they have trying to figure them out. Also, there are big problems with the men's relatives, who are trying to figure out who these strange-acting guys are all about!
As for family viewing: not suitable. There is no sex and no nudity, but there is rough language which is why it's rated "R."
I'm Chinese who reside in Sydney, Australia, and was fortunate to have a government operated television studio to show foreign programs in its original language with English subtitles.
More fortunate isn't because of the showing of the Hong Kong Kung-Fu films but the funniest film in anyone's language Les Visiteurs'. As the English subtitles has already provided so much enjoyment to the film, I would assume most of the French would have laugh until they start coughing, to the extended of suffering from a sore throat.
OOOKAY!! Which was frequently used in the film deliverers the impact to some the comic relief, but from my point of view, it is not a simple comedy to make. Some research was properly done to imagine someone who had lived in the middle ages, not forgetting their customs and habits from that era, then place them to the present day, you will end up witnessing similar chaos and disasters that is far worse than Mr. Bean.
My favorite is when they call the car a chariot', also the subtitles is presented with Medieval English, I would imagine the same in French.
This is not doubt the funniest movie I have seen in my lifetime, the way they mess up the bathroom made me though it was stupid at first, but then I realize it actually make sense, as this is how they clean themselves back in the middle ages. This film beats my funniest English film, which is Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' directed by Yoda (i.e. Frank Oz)
More fortunate isn't because of the showing of the Hong Kong Kung-Fu films but the funniest film in anyone's language Les Visiteurs'. As the English subtitles has already provided so much enjoyment to the film, I would assume most of the French would have laugh until they start coughing, to the extended of suffering from a sore throat.
OOOKAY!! Which was frequently used in the film deliverers the impact to some the comic relief, but from my point of view, it is not a simple comedy to make. Some research was properly done to imagine someone who had lived in the middle ages, not forgetting their customs and habits from that era, then place them to the present day, you will end up witnessing similar chaos and disasters that is far worse than Mr. Bean.
My favorite is when they call the car a chariot', also the subtitles is presented with Medieval English, I would imagine the same in French.
This is not doubt the funniest movie I have seen in my lifetime, the way they mess up the bathroom made me though it was stupid at first, but then I realize it actually make sense, as this is how they clean themselves back in the middle ages. This film beats my funniest English film, which is Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' directed by Yoda (i.e. Frank Oz)
When I saw the low rating on this movie, I knew I had to submit a vote because, in my opinion, it make discourage many others from watching one of the funniest movies ever. The plot is very original, a knight and his servant, who were supposed to return in the past only several hours to correct a fatal error in judgment, mistakenly get zapped to modern times. Imagine medieval eyes seeing asphalt and a horse less steel chariot (a car of course) rolling towards them. The men, used to witches and sorcerers, believe it is some sort of devil machine. When the car stops, they promptly attack it. A black man exits and the medievals yell: "A Saracen, a Saracen!". I saw this movie in its original language: French. If you can understand French, I very strongly recommend it. This is slapstick at its best. You will want to buy the movie and watch it over and over because you will always discover something else you missed. It is a jewel!
I watched this film late at night on Channel 4 while not being able to sleep, not knowing what on earth to expect. In fact it turned out to be a delightful film, which really made me laugh and was unashamedly silly while not being specifically aimed at kids. I ended up getting it on DVD and making my friend watch it: she also thought it was great. Neither of us can speak French and while we knew the subtitles probably weren't getting all of the humour across we still found it very enjoyable. Shame it had to be remade, although I never saw the English version I'm sure it wasn't as good. Recommended!
(P.S. We were also shown some of it in French class - the teacher and I giggled throughout and no one else in the class did! So maybe an acquired taste, but I loved it!)
(P.S. We were also shown some of it in French class - the teacher and I giggled throughout and no one else in the class did! So maybe an acquired taste, but I loved it!)
Valerie Lemercier is outstanding in this farce in which the French, unusually, laugh at themselves. Jean Reno is as always a solid presence. But Lemercier is that most unusual of creatures, a female clown of genius. Her voice -A Montpellier accent- her walk and gestures as a BCBG aristocrat caught up in ridiculous adventures are perfect and endlessly funny. Lemercier is a woman of high intelligence and varied talents--always the best type for a clown
Did you know
- TriviaMel Brooks was hired to write and record English-language dialogue for the U.S. release. But the version did not test well with audiences, and co-writer/director Jean-Marie Poiré hated it, saying Brooks had turned it from a comedy about a French knight into a parody with French accents so thick it was almost impossible to understand. So Miramax held up U.S. release until the summer of 1996, with standard subtitles. Brooks was paid $500,000 for his efforts, however.
- GoofsWhen Godefroy arrives at Béatrice's, he complains that "there's no longer any hectare of forest". Hectare is a surface area unit that was invented during the French Revolution.
- Quotes
[repeated line]
Jacquouille la Fripouille: OKKKKKKKKKKK!
- Crazy creditsAfter the final credits role, stick around for a "Hello to all you credits-lovers!" accompanied by a waving medieval knight.
- ConnectionsFeatured in CinéMagique (2002)
- SoundtracksSymphonie Ecossaise
(Extraits)
Composed by Felix Mendelssohn (as Félix Mendelsshon)
Performed by The Czech Symphony Orchestra
- How long is The Visitors?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Les visiteurs - Ils ne sont pas nés d'hier
- Filming locations
- Carcassonne, Aude, France(mediaeval castle)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- FRF 50,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $659,810
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $24,792
- Jul 14, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $659,810
- Runtime1 hour 47 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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