Customer Reviews

Cyrano de Bergerac

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

This (yellow poster on DVD case) is the Hal Roach edition of the 1950 film starring Jose Ferrer. I'm aware of two other editions: Alpha Video, & Marengo Films. The Alpha Video edition (full colour head shot of Cyrano) is crap -- not worth $5. The Marengo edition (black poster on DVD case), while clean in sound & video, is darker than this Hal Roach edition. In several significant scenes taking place outdoors at night, this edition shows more detail and is easier to watch. It has a minor flaw, a purple band that slowly rolls from bottom to top of the screen; I can eliminate it by reducing the colour intensity on my monitor.

I have all three editions; this is the one I watch.

This Hal Roach Studios production from Image Entertainment is the best of the best. Flawlessly transferred from original 35mm camera negative and finegrain material, it features a brilliant soundtrack as well as the original theatrical trailer. This is the real deal--not a backyard dupe offered in a quickie transfer (probably to analogue) for el cheapo prices. If you want CYRANO, this class act version is the one to buy. SPECIAL NOTE: The specification notes indicated on the Amazon site are WRONG--this disc is encoded "Region Zero" not "Region One" as is stated. It will play on any DVD player anywhere in the world. So, what are you waiting for?? (Review refers to Hal Roach Studios DVD version released by Image Entertainment.)

This review is based on the Apha Video DVD. That's the cheaper one with the close up of Cyrano's face on the cover. The picture jumps so badly, I got a headache. There are also several split-second gaps in the footage, causing snatches of spoken lines to be obliterated. Worst of all, the actors sound as though their heads are being held underwater and the violins on the soundtrack are similarly submerged.

This is lovely, literate film, with several average performances and one astonishing, Academy-Award-winning performance by Jose Ferrer. His portrayal of Cyrano might well be the greatest of all time, even when it sounds like it is spoken from inside my fish tank. The story itself, rich and romantic, and almost Shakespearean in its sense of tragic romance, may cause you to cry as much as the horrible quality of the DVD. The closing scene, in the courtyard of a convent during a light-falling snow, has been etched in my memory ever since I first saw it as a kid.

This film was nominated as one of AFI's best love stories of all time.

I am going to order the more expensive version distributed by Image Entertainment and will update my review based on that.

Such a good performance to be wasted on such a bad transfer. Had I known how lousy a copy this was I would have saved my money and purchased the Marengo version. The best copy I've seen so far was by Image Entertainment on laserdisc but...

This a great motion picture. The source material for this Alpha Video DVD is an old tired 16mm print. Sound is as muddy as the picture. The screen actually "crawls" with grain. Contast is bad - no detail or resolution. The experience of Jose Ferrer's Academy Award Winning performance is ruined by the quality of this DVD. I don't know why they would manufacture it - and I know NO ONE should buy it! Someone should find new source material like IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT - their Laser Disc was pristine.

I absolutely LOVE this film! Everything about it is utterly genius. The cinematography, every actor, and the sets are great! The fact that the film is in balck and white does not detract one bit from enjoying the film, I promise.
Jose Ferrer is a master and I am almost at a loss of words to describe how amazing his embodiment of our hero Cyrano is! Mr. Ferrer astonished me when I saw the film for the first time with his deep commitment to Cyrano's spirit and the level to which he raises the hero is incredible! Often times, Cyrano will be played up to a point where he becomes unreal and just a pompous soldier, but the subtly of Mr. Ferrer's performance gives Cyrano color--so much color that you believe in him 100%.
I'd also like to give credit to Mala Powers and William Prince because they also did amazing jobs with their characters. Ms. Powers, as Roxane, was not some melodramatic ingenue who plays just smiles sweetly or cries--she is a much more convincing Roxane than most of the interpretations I have come across. It was quite a pleasure to watch her work her art...
Mr. Prince did a splendid job with Christian, too. He played his doubt, guilt, and heroic spirit very well, never stepping over the line with his interpretation (yes, there are times where he seems to be playing-up the young lover type, but it's what the character calls for). I'm sure that I haven't finsihed doing justice to Mr. Prince and Ms. Powers, but you still need to be able to read the review in under an hour...
So, yeah! DON'T wait to buy this film! It's incredible in every way! A true masterpiece.

I began my "love affair" with Cyrano de Bergerac back in high school, a long time ago. The first video production I ever saw was Gerard Depardieu's and I loved it! I watched that video tape over and over. Naturally I obtained a copy of Cyrano (Five stars also) on DVD the moment it came out. BUT late one night on Turner Classic Movies, I saw "Cyrano de Bergerac" with Jose Ferrer! I was intrigued because I had never seen an American movie production. It was fantastic to behold and I was so thankful that I was paying the Cable company for the DVR rental fee. LOL!

Cyrano de Bergerac with Jose Ferrer and Mala Powers is by far one of the best films ever made. True, it doesn't always stay word for word to the play but then again certain interpolations are made in the Depardieu production which in no way minimizes the five star quality of a movie that one has to sit through while watching the action and reading the sub-titles at the same time. (Oh, that I had taken French instead of German in High School and College!)

Here's the catch and READ THIS WELL: DO NOT BUY THIS PARTICULAR COPY BY ALPHA VIDEO UNLESS THERE ARE NO OTHER CHOICES. They use a terrible master that starts off by cutting off the first 15+ seconds of credits, including Jose' Ferrer's name! No joke. I purchased an Amazon Bargain buy Signet classics copy of Cyrano de Bergerac (the play) for $4.98 and it turned out to have the DVD for free!!! The quality it far superior. The DVD is produced by the Chamberlain brothers and it also has a five minute introduction that you can watch or skip!

The transfer by Alpha was a very poorly done job onto DVD. Please let me emphasize this to you. The sound quality is shoddy. Again, let me repeat that a free DVD with a Signet Classic (they are selling used copies last time I checked here on Amazon still) is better. The video quality is inconsistent and actually skips in places. One might attribute this to fifties style shooting but I viewed the same scene on the other DVD and it very clear that it is because Alpha's master is in such bad shape. Yes, you can hear and see everything but not the way they were intended to be heard or seen! Alpha ruins Cyrano for the first time viewer or the ardent devotee such as myself.

I have tried to not wax rhapsodic about Cyrano because so many have done it so well before me. I love this play. He reminds me of me. I actually had my own Roxanne of a different name and Cyrano always reminds me of my own weaknesses as well as need for overcoming them. Yes, he's the hero but he's a hero that for all his strength is so incredibly human that we can't help but empathize with him.

I give this product three stars as an average of the five star production of Cyrano de Bergerac and the one star investment by alpha in choice of poor transfer material, bad sound and video artifacts and the fact that some of the movie (the credits) are missing. And I think this is being overly fair to Alpha! The movie brings the bad production up but you can find better production companies that want you to enjoy this wonderful film.

In conclusion, I would only buy this Alpha Video production as a last resort or if you have a sound system that can filter hissing and other audio imperfections out because you will have to turn the volume up to be able to hear the wonderful dialogue properly. Losing a few seconds of credits may not seem like much but it shows how little the company cares for being true to the makers of the movie or our viewing pleasure through the best quality possible, in my opinion. Yes, the price is right but as they say, you get what you pay for. I would recommend trying to find the play/DVD combo by Signet classics, the Cyrano/son of Monte Cristo DVD that comes so highly recommended (mine will be here in the next few days) or the Image entertainment one. Jose Ferrer deserved the Oscar for this role that he won just as he also won the Tony a few years before for the same role, and I felt that Mala Powers was fantastic as well. The movie is excellent but there are better iterations out there of the DVD, even if you have to pay a little bit more.

This is an excellent portrayal of the play. I can't think of anyone who could've made a better Cyrano than Jose Ferrer. I haven't seen the later version with Gerard Depardieu, but have heard it's good. There's just something about the old black & white movies.
Perhaps the best part of the movie is that the swordplay is actually authentic! Not a lot of crappy gratuitous blade-twirling like you see in today's movies. And you'd be hard-pressed to see better rapier and dagger in any movie.
All in all, an excellent show.

CYRANO IS A GREAT MOVIE. THIS IS NOT A GREAT TRANSFER... IF I COULD I WOULD TRY ANOTHER COMPANY FOR THIS DVD. I WILL NOT BUY FROM ALPHA AGAIN.

This splendid film was never the best looking movie ever made, being done on a low budget in black and white, but this so-called "enhanced" edition is so badly transferred to disc as to be virtually unwatchable.