Danton opens in November of 1793, with Danton returning to Paris from his country retreat upon learning that the Committee for Public Safety, under Robespierre’s incitement, has begun a series of massive executions, The Terror. Confident in the people’s support, Danton clashes with his former ally, but calculating Robespierre soon rounds up Danton and his followers, tries them before a revolutionary tribunal and dipatches them to the guillotine.
Danton is a 1983 French language film depicting the last months of Georges Danton, one of the leaders of the French Revolution. It is an adaptation of the Polish play “The Danton Case” by Stanisława Przybyszewska.
The film stars Gérard Depardieu in the title role with Anne Alvaro as Éléonore Duplay. It was directed by the Polish director Andrzej Wajda and was an international co-production between companies in France, Poland and West Germany. All supporters of Danton (with the exception of Bourdon) are played by French actors, while Robespierre’s allies are played by Poles.
The film draws parallels between the Reign of Terror after the French Revolution and the situation in contemporary Poland, in which the Solidarity movement was struggling against the oppression of the Soviet-backed Polish government. The film had 1,392,779 admissions in France.
Danton (1983)
Directed by: Andrzej Wajda
Starring: Gérard Depardieu, Wojciech Pszoniak, Anne Alvaro, Roland Blanche, Patrice Chéreau, Emmanuelle Debever, Krzysztof Globisz, Ronald Guttman
Screenplay by: Jean-Claude Carrière
Production Design by: Allan Starski
Cinematography by: Igor Luther
Film Editing by: Halina Prugar-Ketling
Costume Design by: Yvonne Sassinot de Nesle
Set Decoration by: Jean Caromel, Henri Lacoste, Barbara Nowak, Maria Osiecka-Kuminek
Art Direction by: Gilles Vaster
Music by: Jean Prodromidès
Distributed by: Gaumont
Release Date: January 12, 1983
Visits: 124
