Cyrano von Bergerac

If you are a hopelessly romantic guy like me, you will love this movie. :) It is very poetic and moving. The english sub-titles forces you to really pay attention to the words, which are the best part of the movie. French IS the language of love, so they say. I bet your girlfriend will like it too! (In case you don't have a girlfriend, you can watch it and think of yourself as a diamond in the rough, romantic, poetic and underappreciated, just Cyrano. :p

I saw the first adaptation of Edmond Rostand's novel, the 1950 version with José Ferrer. Despite Ferrer's good acting, it had some things going against it. First it was in English, and the thing is that the whole play is written in verses that rhyme. Of course, you just cannot do that in English. Second, Rostand's story was seriously altered.

Now, with this version we finally get the real Cyrano de Bergerac, a man whose nose is as great as his courage and skill at sword play, his talent at writing beautiful love poetry, and his will to resist all temptation to become the servant of higher powers. We get to follow his adventures, to feel his wonderful love for beautiful Roxane, his attempt to win her love in ways that nobody would ever consider, and his struggle to keep the freedom of his spirit.

I admired the acting, the direction, the lighting, and the costumes. There is so much in this movie to applaud. But the best of it all is that it keeps so close to the original text. I read the play and I just couldn't believe how good this adaptation is. Watch this movie if you have the heart of both a lion and of a lover, and you can appreciate excellent French poetry.

The film that made me realise that it's OK for guys to cry. Cyrano, as played so convincingly by Depardieu, is a great rollicking hero, not the foppish aristocrat of previous productions. Indeed, it is his larger than life robustness that makes his futile, towering defiance at the resolution so poignant; the ignoble end of a hero is a classic theme, right from Beowulf, through John Wayne's "The Shootist", to 2000's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"

The lyricism in the English translation of Cyrano is commendable, the filmmaking technically sound, the sets and choreography well presented. Depardieu's portrayal of the legendary swordsman as a bullish brawler rather than a delicate fencer is an interesting take, and I find it works.

The downside is that the character of Roxanne is so utterly insipid and moronic that you wonder why Cyrano is so taken with her. The tragedy of this Cyrano isn't that his love is unrequited, but that it's so misplaced. An interesting contrast is with "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which replaces the Roxanne character with a peer for the hero, a "companion battleship" as Henry Higgins would say. This makes for an even more heartwrenching story, and makes you realise that Cyrano could have been even better if Depardieu's superb performance had been tempered just a little in favour of a Roxanne who was more worthy of his regard.

The subtitles in this movie are done so well, one almost forgets the movie was done in French. The words seem to glide effortlessly off of Gerard Depardieu's tongue, as if only he were meant to speak them. It almost makes you jealous of Cirano's eloquence. Even those with no appreciation of poetry whatsoever can still find this movie entertaining. The action is enthralling; the cinematography, endearing; the movie, entertaining. A must see film if you enjoy poetry, romance, humor, action, suspense, period pieces, aesthetically pleasing images, theatre, French, English, other languages, large noses, good movies, or any combination of the above. In short, rent it, buy it or steal it. Just make sure you watch it. And don't blame me if you get caught stealing it.

All I have to say is wow! I think it's safe to say that these French don't mess around when it comes to acting. Gérard Depardieu was absolutely brilliant as Cyrano himself and it was such a refreshing pace from the garbage I've seen recently. This was definitely one of the most brilliant performances in late film history. Yes the acting was theatrical but that was the only real way to carry it out...it would've stunk if they modernized it just for the cameras, I'm sure other versions have done this and that's why you don't hear too much about them. I thought it was funny that Vincent Perez was such a proper performer in this and then they made him Eric Draven in "The Crow" sequel which was far from good. Just everything about this movie was well done and while it was very romantic it didn't do it in a mushy kind of way that'd turn off guys that aren't really big on that stuff such as myself. There was some decent swashbuckling but it's not one you'd choose for the action itself per say. Just watching this made me really want to read the book because the script was simply genius and nothing less.

The poetic lines sounded like silk feels and I highly recommend this to any couples out there that are looking for a little revitalization!

Final Gesture:

Movies: It's long but I think I'd make it through just to give it due credit.

DVD Purchase: The idea is gnawing away at the back of my mind.

Rental: YES!