Queen
Margot - French Films - Patrice Chereau
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Queen Margot
(La Reine Margot)
France/Germany/Italy - 1994
Directed by Patrice Chereau
Based on the novel by Alexander Dumas, Queen Margot is set in 16th Century France, a time of political intrigue and religious persecution. Margot, the Catholic daughter of Catherine de Medici, is married off to Henri of Navarre, a Huguenot, in an effort to end the hostilities between the two religious groups. Margot has no love or interest in her new husband, and takes a Huguenot lover, La Mole, instead.
This film is a powerful historical epic with great attention to detail in sets and costumes. A large production, the scene that depicts the famous St. Bartholomew's Day massacre shows thousands of Protestants being killed and their corpses being thrown into mass graves.
We wonder if people with little European history in their reference banks would be able to follow the story, as there does seem to be an assumption that these historical characters are already familiar to the viewer. We also felt that it was unfortunate, with so much attention given to historical accuracy in costumes and sets, that the actors were so beautiful. Where are the missing teeth and the pox scars that we know must have been part of most 16th Century faces?
Queen Margot received nominations for Best Foreign Language Film from the Golden Globes and for Best Costume Design from the Academy Awards (1995). Cannes Film Festival bestowed the award for Best Actress to Virna Lisi for her role as Catherine de Medici (1994), the Jury Prize was given to director, Patrice Chereau (1994).
Runtime: 143 minutes.
Guest Comments
From: "Tinderella"
"An absolutely stunning film. Although not
historically accurate ~ nor is it intended to be ~ it is a beautiful (if not
completely faithfull) adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' historical novel. The
attention to detail in costume and scenery is superb and the performances beyond
reproach. Isabelle Adjani is sublime as Queen Margot ~ marvel at the fact that
this beautiful woman was 39 years old at the time of this performance! Virna
Lisi's remarkably evil portrayal of Catherine de Medicis made her more than
worthy of the Best Actress award she won at Cannes.
The rest of the cast more than do justice to their roles ~ Pascal Greggory's
performance as the Duc D'Anjou is often overlooked, yet he proves to be
every bit as watchable and delicious as Vincent Perez is as
the doomed Boniface de la Mole. Both Daniel Auteil
and Jean-Hughes Anglade (as Henry of Navarre and Charles IX respectively) are
perfectly cast, balancing subtley and menace as required. There seem to be a few
different cuts of this film around, and the longer cut (rated 'R' and runing
time well over 2 hours) helps to make sense of a plot that lost much
of the romance, drama and horror, (particularly some of the more disturbing
scenes of the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre) in the editing room.
Beautifully photographed and hauntingly beautiful. One of the most outstanding
films of the last 20 years. "
From: "Jennifer Danielle de Barbarac"
"vive la reine margot"
"This film may have been extremely gory and graphic, but it is historically accurate.
I just wonder if Catherine de Medici and Henri de Navarre were really that ugly. I feel
sorry for La Mole, he was shot three times, stabbed twice and then beheaded!!"
From: "Ninon Denise"
"I think it was excellently cast. The best charcter in my opinion was Margot's eldest brother the king. He was so delicously miserable through the whole thing and I bought every single line. Katherine's acting set my teeth on edge, however, and although I don't know his name, the actor who played le Mole has become far more impressive since Cyrano. I wonder if he's ever done a movie where he didn't die in love."
From: "maleficent"
"This is what a "period piece" should be!! All the characters are
beautifully acted, even in their malevolence they command attention. I am at a loss of
words to describe this amazing movie. If you have a high level of movie standards do not
ignore this movie!!"
From: "CR"
"I thought this movie was amazing. I saw it having little to no knowledge of that period of time in french history so I got a little confused at times. But my confusion made me want to look all the things I didn't get and to learn more about that period of time. I also bought the book and the sequel that Dumas wrote, though I haven't had the time to read either. I thought it was a remarkable movie and would love to own it. I think Isabelle Adjani is an amazing actress and I wish that she were in more movies. Queen Margot was definitely worthy of all the awards it has won."
From: "fionic"
"I love this movie. The fact that everyone is so grubby in their designer clothes is refrehing after so many films where the characters look suspiciously clean. The missing pox scars and rotting teeth I can forgive in view of the great historical accuracy and attention to detail elsewhere. I would love to read Dumas' novel, and also the journals of Margot herself. Out of all her family, her life had the most fortunate ending, as she got to live out the remainder of her live in Navarre and died a much more natural death then any of her siblings!"
From: "Aldebarous"
"I've just seen that film for the first time! Damn it was good! It's not usual for me
to stay up till 1am in the morning watching foreign films.. but this was incredible! hope
were talking about the same "Queen Margot" here."
From: "Dianne Dorsey"
"This film is excellent! Altho it was confusing to try to read the subtitles and
follow the actors, I really enjoyed everything about the film, especially Jean-Hugues
Anglade (Charles). Well worth seeing, and might make some of us get out our history
books."
From: "Miralgpa"
"This movie is simply the most moving and compelling that I have seen in years. The first time I saw it I was left fairly confused by the complex, lengthy plot. On second viewing, however, I received the full impact - a super-realistic slice of one of the most colorful and turbulent eras in European history. It was utterly like being transported back in time, but not in the hokey way they do period films in Hollywood. This film awakened me to a period of time of which I had been virtually ignorant and I was sufficiently moved to read the book and much of the pertinent history. Highest recommendation!!"
From: "Peter R."
"HBO aired this movie in the early morning hours of October 23, 1999. I couldn't stop watching though I needed to go to bed. When I finally crawled into bed at 5 am I thought, ""I regret the loss of sleep but that certainly was an excellent movie!"" Now I want to learn more about Margot and Henri. I actually prefer the subtitles because I enjoy hearing the French."
From: "?"
"I would just like to say that "Queen Margot" is an excellent film. The acting is superb, all the scenes are true to the time period, and such care in style is rare. The entire history of the deMedici family is incredible, where else can one find such conspiracy and lust for power? Certainly not in the U.S. history. The film is wonderful, a great and accurate history lesson, and a beautiful masterpiece to see."
From: "Natasha"
"where else can one find such conspiracy and lust for power? Certainly not in the U.S. history. The film is wonderful, a great and accurate history lesson, and a beautiful masterpiece to see."
From: "Kristina de Narwoysz"
"Best historical ecranization, perfectly created with a minimal decorations and savvy costumes - once again proving: the less is the better. An amazing cast - Margot, Henri and Anjou look like they stepped out of their real portraits. Haunting and passionate, especially Pascal Greggory whose savage looks (remember ironic smile of Anjou?) both attracts and scares. Loneliness and sadness in a bloody background"
From: "A. Gallion"
"An Eye Opener!","This film is one that is worth a blockbuster rental fee. You will not find any false comedy, la-la land love bonds, or unrealistic kindness in the characters. It is gruesomely REAL, from Queen Catherines favoritism in her children(to the point she almost forgets that Margot is her only daughter)to the tragic and graphic ending of La Mole. You will experience the gore, the inhumane violence of that era--but you will also experience the passion of brotherhood, justice, love and the quest for the throne of France. Queen Margot is a great educating tool for those interested in French History."
From: "Adrian Reyes"
"This film is one of the best french films of the contemporary age that I have seen. It is a wonderful example of its genre. I first encountered this movie in college while taking a french film class. All Ic an say is that it is one of the few films I remember from that class. The combination of Isabelle Adjani and Vincent Perez is breathtaking. One can see, smell and feel the vitality and sexual tension between them. This film is not only worth seeing once, but ten times over. Thank god for the french."
From: "Sarah"
"I've never watched foreign films for long, but there was just something magical about everything in this film. I literally stopped what I was doing just to see this. The characters were well defined, the scenery was exquisite, the costumes were marvelous, and everything else fit. I am looking forward to being able to see this w/o the editing (I watched it on a foreign film channel) to get the full effect. Beautiful story line, and I give my highest recommendations to even the pickiest of movie viewers. This will not disappoint anyone!"
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