Herve Pauchon Movies
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
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, (more)
- 1986
The black humor of director (and lead actor) Jean-Pierre Mocky takes over in this attempt to make a lunatic killer appear not so different from his victims -- or the police chasing him. Ralph Enger (Mocky) was a doctor before he was institutionalized, and after his escape, he takes two hostages: Steff Muller (Peter Semler), an out-of-work carpenter selling his expensive Mauser for needed funds, and Liliane (Patricia Barzyk), a gorgeous dancer. Ralph not only gets two hostages, he gains a weapon at the same time. His goal is to force the wealthy nerds living in the Riviera's luxury district to put up funding for a children's hospital to treat kids who are victims of war. When the elite do not comply, he starts uses the Mauser. Leaving an obvious trail for the police to follow, the over-the-edge doctor and his two hostages are soon corralled and it looks like Ralph's charity work may have ended -- or at least, that's how it looks. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Pierre Mocky, Patricia Barzyk, (more)
- 1986
Insurance investigator Ronald Fox Terrier (Michel Serrault) looks into a questionable claim of disability feigned by Papu (Jean Poiret) in this situation comedy. When both men are dunked into the waters at a holy shrine, the faking Papu finds himself unable to get out of his wheelchair, while Ronald's mute voice is miraculously restored. Terrier has an affair with the vamp Sabine (Jeanne Moreau) before returning home to his emotionally detached wife (Sylvie Joly). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Jean Poiret, (more)
- 1988
Charles (Charles Vanel) is a 100-year-old perfume magnate who decides to marry the equally ancient Emmanuelle (Denis Grey) in the French sex comedy. Company executives and family members scramble for position in the wake of the surprising announcement. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Vanel, Denise Grey, (more)
