Themes: Unrequited Love, Love Triangles, Self-Destructive Romance
Main Cast: Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Vincent Perez, Jacques Weber, Roland Bertin
Release Year: 1990
Country: FR
Run Time: 135 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Edmond Rostand's classic drama of inner and outer beauty is given a lavish treatment in this acclaimed French production. Gérard Depardieu portrays the title character, a brilliant, charismatic swordsman with a generous spirit and a genius for poetry. It would seem that such a man would have no trouble attracting women, but Cyrano considers himself doomed to loneliness by an unattractive face featuring an oversized nose. His feelings of inadequacy are emphasized when Roxane, the beautiful woman he adores, attracts the attention of Christian, a young cadet in Cyrano's service. Christian lacks the poetic gift, however, and he ironically turns to Cyrano for help in winning Roxane's love. What follows is a tale of deception, with Roxane falling in love with the ineloquent Christian thanks to Cyrano's words of love. The underlying narrative has become quite familiar to modern audiences through retellings and variations from the 1950 adaptation starring José Ferrer to Steve Martin's Roxanne. Director Jean-Paul Rappeneau's interpretation stresses the tragic majesty of the original, setting a vigorous performance by Depardieu against a beautifully designed reproduction of the period and an emphasis on the sound and poetry of Rostand's original language; the subtitles for the film's English release were penned by renowned British author Anthony Burgess. This attention to detail creates a particularly faithful cinematic rendering of the original work that met with positive critical responses. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
Review
Seamless, heartfelt, and imbued with rare vibrance, Rappeneau's Cyrano de Bergerac is a definitive example of what a literary film adaptation can and should be. Part of its strength lies in its endorsement of the story's unabashed romanticism; instead of downplaying it, Rappeneau celebrates it. As a result, the film is as vivid and bold as its title character, reveling in exuberant intelligence and tragic poignancy. Cyrano is well-served by Gerard Depardieu's title performance, for which he earned an Oscar nomination and a César award. Depardieu brings the larger-than-life Cyrano to the screen without devouring the scenery: his portrayal is grand without being showy, a tour de force informed as much by subtlety as by outsized emotional display. The performance is the heart of the film, setting the pulse for an extraordinary piece of work that, fittingly enough, comes across as a love letter to love. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Philippe Morier-Genoud - Le Bret; Philippe Volter - Vicomte de Valvert; Pierre Maguelon - Carbon de Castel-Jaloux; Josiane Stoleru - The Duenna; Gabriel Monnet - Montfleury; Yves Aubert - Marquis; Pierre Aussedat - First Marquis; Jean-Damien Barbin - Young Snob; Eric Bernard - Cadet; Cécile Camp - Gremoine; Christiane Culerier - Uranie; Anatole Delalande - The Child; Alain Dumas - Cadet; Nicole Felix - Matron; Catherine Ferran - Lise Ragueneau; Claudine Gabay - Naughty Sister; Philippe Girard - Officer De Guiche; Amelie Gonin - Sister Marthe; Isabelle Gruault - Sister Claire; Franck Jazede; Sandrine Kiberlain - Sister Colette; Louis Lavarre - Le Facheux; Christian Loustau - Cadet; Francois Marie - Bellerose; Madeleine Marion - Mother Superior; Louis Navarre - The Bore; Quentin Ogier - Baker's Boy; Lucien Pascal - Academy Member; Jacques Pater - Le Tire-laine; Herve Pauchon - Cadet; Alain Perez - Cadet; Franck Ramon; Alain Rimoux - The Father; Baptiste Roussillon - First Soldier; Christian Roy - Second Soldier; Ludivine Sagnier - The Little Sister; Pierre Triboulet - Jodelet; Benoit Vergne - Lysimon; Louise Vincent - Ironing Nun; Jean-Marie Winling - Ligiere; Eric Frey - Second `Precious' Poet
Credit
Ezio Frigerio - Art Director, René Cleitman - Co-producer, Michel Seydoux - Co-producer, Franca Squarciapino - Costume Designer, Jean-Paul Rappeneau - Director, Noëlle Boisson - Editor, Jean-Claude Petit - Composer (Music Score), Michele Burke - Makeup, Jean-Pierre Eychenne - Makeup, Patrick Bordier - Production Designer, Pierre Lhomme - Cinematographer, Alex Leyton - Cinematographer, Jean-Claude Carrière - Screenwriter, Jean-Paul Rappeneau - Screenwriter, Edmond Rostand - Play Author
The film is the first theatrical film version of Rostand's original play in color. It is also considerably more lavish, and has more details than previous versions of the film.
Cyrano de Bergerac is a Parisian poet and swashbuckler with a large nose of which he is self-conscious, but which he pretends to be proud of. He is madly in love with his "friendly cousin" (they were not actually related as cousins), the beautiful Roxane; however, he does not believe she will requite his love because he considers himself physically unattractive. Soon he finds that Roxane has become infatuated with Christian de Neuvillette, a dashing new recruit to the Cadets of Gascogne, the military unit of which Cyrano is the captain. Christian however, despite his good looks, is tongue-tied when speaking with women. Seeing an opportunity to vicariously declare his love for Roxane, he decides to aid Christian, who does not know how to court a woman and gain her love. Cyrano aids Christian, writing love letters and poems describing the very emotions that Cyrano himself feels for Roxane. Roxane begins to appreciates Christian not only for his good looks but now his apparent eloquence. She eventually falls in love with him and they contract a secret marriage. However, right after the wedding ceremony, Christian has been called off to fight in the war against the Spanish. The war is harsh and brutal: the Cadets of Gascogne are starving. Cyrano escapes over enemy lines each morning to deliver a love letter written by Cyrano himself but signed with Christian's name, sent to Roxane. Christian, at this time, is completely unaware of Cyrano's doings on his behalf. The love letters Cyrano writes eventually draw Roxane out from the city of Paris to the war front. She had come to visit Christian, the supposed romantic poet. However, during the battle that follows Roxane's visit, Christian is wounded and dies in battle. Cyrano fights off the attackers and the French win. Cyrano keeps his love for Roxane a secret for fourteen years, during which time he becomes unpopular because of his raucous behavior and she becomes a nun. However, during this time, Cyrano faithfully visits Roxane at her convent until a fateful attempt on his life leaves him mortally injured. (He was not wounded by a sword, but suffered a serious head injury when struck by a heavy wooden beam.) Only then does he reveal to Roxane his feelings towards her. As Cyrano dies, Roxane realizes that it was he, and not Christian, whom she had really loved all along.
The film was nominated for 13 César Awards in 1991, and received 10, which is a record, including awards for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Director.
Won: Best Actor – Leading Role (Gérard Depardieu)
Won: Best Actor – Supporting Role (Jacques Weber)
Won: Best Cinematography (Pierre Lhomme)
Won: Best Costume Design (Franca Squarciapino)
Won: Best Director (Jean-Paul Rappeneau)
Won: Best Editing (Noëlle Boisson)
Won: Best Film
Won: Best Music (Jean-Claude Petit)
Won: Best Production Design (Ezio Frigerio)
Won: Best Sound (Pierre Gamet and Dominique Hennequin)
Nominated: Best Actress – Leading Role (Anne Brochet)
Nominated: Best Writing (Jean-Claude Carrière and Jean-Paul Rappeneau)
Nominated: Most Promising Actor (Vincent Perez)
European Film Awards
Won: Best Production Designer (Ezio Frigerio (sets) and Franca Squarciapino (costumes))
This film marked the second time that an actor had been nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Cyrano; the first time was in 1950, when José Ferrer was nominated for his performance in the English-language film of Cyrano de Bergerac. Ferrer, however, won his Oscar; Depardieu did not.
