Product Details

• Released on: 2007-07-24
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC, Import
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 137 minutes

From Amazon.co.uk
Director Jean-Paul Rappeneau and cowriter Jean-Claude Carriere had the brilliant idea of casting France's most lovably vulnerable hunk, the massive Gerard Depardieu, in one of French literature's meatiest roles: the sword-wielding poet Cyrano. Equipped with a massive nose and a heart to match, Depardieu soars as the heart-broken soldier who must lendhis words of love to another man to woo the woman he yearns for. Rappeneau spared no expense in taking this Edmond Rostand play into realistic locations for the battle scenes in the second act, making the film as exciting as it is romantic and funny. Depardieu attacks the role in great gulps, consuming all the oxygen in any room he enters. Macho but sensitive, he creates a larger-than-life Cyrano, whose wrenching sadness at the lack of interest from his lady love will have you reaching for the tissues. --Marshall Fine

Amazon.ca
Déjà immensément célèbre grâce à sa tirade du nez, la pièce de théâtre Cyrano de Bergerac, d’Edmond Rostand, a connu une seconde jeunesse, en 1990, grâce au réalisateur Jean-Paul Rappeneau. Son film, récipiendaire de 10 césars, offrait également à Gérard Depardieu son rôle le plus grandiose, interprétation d’ailleurs récompensée au Festival de Cannes.

Le poète-guerrier Cyrano, capitaine des cadets de Gascogne, est secrètement amoureux de sa cousine Roxane. Mais se sentant trop enlaidi par son nez proéminent, il cédera sa place au jeune et beau Christian. Ce dernier s’avérera pourtant incapable de séduire la belle par ses lettres, et l’aide de Cyrano lui deviendra précieuse.

Sans changer une virgule au texte extraordinairement moderne de Rostand, Rappeneau réalise un film d’époque riche et majestueux où peuvent se déployer de façon flamboyante les valeurs d’indépendance, de panache, d’honneur et de liberté chères à Cyrano. La guerre et l’amour servent de toile de fond au portrait ironique d’un XVIIe siècle où l’élégance est de mise et les joues sont poudrées. Cela fait de Cyrano un plaidoyer épique et pénétrant contre l’hypocrisie et la lâcheté. Soutenu par des comédiens éblouissants (Anne Brochet, Jacques Weber, Vincent Perez) et par une mise en scène ample et vigoureuse, ce film est à la mesure du personnage de Cyrano : héroïque. --Helen Faradji

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 C�sar 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

Customer Reviews

Disappointment in long-awaited release.
I'd been waiting years for this to be released on DVD, it's a fabulous movie, my absolute favorite adaptation of the original play - however, MGM messed up.

This edition is a matted letterbox, which means that it's actually a 4:3 TV image with the full image reduced to fit on the screen of a traditional TV screen and has black mattes on the top and bottom.

However, it should have been presented in anamorphic widescreen - which gives the same presentation on a 4:3 TV but also fits a widescreen television set.

As it is, it will not display properly on a widescreen tv - the image is either stretched out (so that everyone and everything is flat) or is enlarged beyond the border of the tv screen - thus cutting off the subtitles! My wide television has 6 separate display formats but I cannot format a full image on my screen that is not warped or severely cropped. Extremely disappointing.

I'm hoping for a new true anamorphic widescreen edition to be released eventually, but at least I have the film for now.

question?
If anyone could tell me if this DVD is subtitled in english i would really appreciate it. Thanks

Magnifique!
This film was absolutely brilliant; it was beautifully shot, superbly cast, and the acting . . . suffice it to say that if you've only seen Depardieu in garbage like Green Card, you've no idea how gifted this man is. He is amazing, and the final scene is just something that has to be seen; it can't be described. For my money, you can never get too much Vincent Perez (again, stick to his French films), and Jean-Claude Petit's score is breathtaking; it's available on CD, but only as an import.