Product Details

• Actors: Belgium Blauw Vier Antwerp
• Format: Color, Live, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Globalstage Producti
• VHS Release Date: April 20, 1999
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B00000G3L6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,116 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent teaching tool for drama class, October 29, 2005

By 

Eden Rush "artcarlady" (Tallahassee, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cyrano (Globalstage) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I am teaching this play in my middle school drama class this semester. After viewing several productions, I chose this videotape. The staging is innovative and clever, the performances are excellent. There are heavy cuts to the text; some of the characters (like the lovable Ragueneau) all but disappear. In this instance I feel it helps focus the play on the central conflict and makes it more accessible for my students. There are still a number of secondary characters who show up, most of them doubled skillfully by the actor who plays Christian.

Most remarkable is the fact that Cyrano's character is played without the customary prosthetic nose. This underlines the point of the slightly cheesy narration framing the play - that Cyrano is ugly only because he staunchly refuses to see himself otherwise. The actor playing him is actually quite attractive and without the distraction of a costume-shop nose we can see the full range of Cyrano's emotions. I think this point is taken to heart by young teenagers who so often feel awkward and unslightly in spite of their best attributes.

I disagree with one point in the critic's reveiw above. Although the actors speak with very little accent, some words do get lost in the clipped pace of speech that opens the play. I don't think that should phase most folks - it doesn't take long for the ear to adjust.

This was a most enjoyable production, useful not only in studying Rostand's play but also for classes in mime, physical character development, monologue study and staging techniques. I bought the tape for my department library, but plan to order another for myself. I only wish it was available on DVD as I plan to watch it again and again.