La Révolution Française movie synopsis. A history of the French Revolution from the decision of the king to convene the Etats-Generaux in 1789 in order to deal with France’s debt problem. The first part of the movie tells the story from 1789 until August 10, 1792 (when the King Louis XVI lost all his authority and was put in prison). The second part carries the story through the end of the terror in 1794, including the deaths by guillotine of Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, Danton, and Desmoulins.
La Révolution française is a two-part film, co-produced by France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada. The first part, titled La Révolution française: les Années lumière (The French Revolution: Years of Hope) was directed by Robert Enrico. The second part, La Révolution française: les Années terribles (The French Revolution: Years of Rage), was directed by Richard T. Heffron. The full movie runs at 360 minutes, but the edited-for-television version is slightly longer.
The film was produced in 1989 for the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. It purports to tell a faithful and neutral story of the Revolution, from the calling of the Estates-General to the death of Maximilien de Robespierre. The film had a large budget (300 million francs) and boasted an international cast. It was shot in French, German and English.
La Révolution Française (1989)
Directed by: Robert Enrico, Richard T. Heffron
Starring: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Jane Seymour, François Cluzet, Jean-François Balmer, Andrzej Seweryn, Marianne Basler, Claudia Cardinale, Gabrielle Lazure
Screenplay by: David Ambrose, Daniel Boulanger
Production Design by: Jean-Claude Gallouin
Cinematography by: François Catonné, Bernard Zitzermann
Film Editing by: Anne Baronnet, Martine Barraqué, Peter Hollywood, Patricia Nény
Costume Design by: Catherine Leterrier
Art Direction by: Gérard Daoudal
Music by: Georges Delerue
Distributed by: Les Films Ariane
Release Date: October 25, 1989
Visits: 261
