Angelo Ferrari, Umberto Casilini, Augusto Genina, Maurice Schutz, Gemma De Sanctis, Alex Bernard, Roberto Parisini, Pierre Magnier, Linda MogliaSee more
The most beloved of all love stories! Edmond Rostand's play "Cyrano de Bergerac" was a triumph from the moment of its premiere on December 28, 1897. It has become the most popular play of the modern French theater, and Cyrano, despite an ugly visage dominated by an enormous nose, has become a world-beloved symbol of generosity, magnanimity of spirit and beauty of soul. In adapting "Cyrano de Bergerac" to the silent cinema, director Augusto Genina and scenarist Mario Camerini retained the beloved poetic language of Rostand's original work. The grandeur of costume, setting and action is captured not only in impressive staging and sensitive performances but also through the filmmakers' bold decision to present almost the entire work in the highly stylized and beautiful Pathe Stencil Color process. Three years were devoted to the by-hand coloring of "Cyrano de Bergerac," so that this 1922 film was not fully released until the Fall of 1925! With this beautiful release, this rarely-seen silent classic can take its place with the all-time greats!
Product details
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer
:
No
MPAA rating
:
Unrated (Not Rated)
Product Dimensions
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9 x 5.5 x 0.53 inches; 3.2 Ounces
Director
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Augusto Genina
Media Format
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Multiple Formats, NTSC, Color, Silent
Run time
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1 hour and 53 minutes
Release date
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September 26, 2000
Actors
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Umberto Casilini, Pierre Magnier, Gemma De Sanctis, Linda Moglia, Maurice Schutz
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For me, the most obvious special feature of this film is its beautiful and rare Pathe Stencil colouring which, according to the DVD's notes, took three whole years to do! Unlike the early two-colour Technicolor, this method really was like a work of art in soft watercolours or similar, and is perfectly suited to the setting of France in the 1600s with its glorious and elegant costumes. This combination alone already won me, but all other aspects of this film are also of a high quality. I was most impressed by Pierre Magnier who made the character of Cyrano De Bergerac very human and real to me (despite the somewhat artficial nose!) Apart from the touching and inspiring story which shows that true love is more than skin-deep and rather a matter of someone's inner soul, the new orchestral musical accompaniment (composed by Kurt Kuenne, conducted by Timothy Brock) is also wonderful and quite appropriate. Even without the special attraction of its lovely Stencil Color, I'm sure this would rate as a film of very high standard. There is quite a lot to read in the intertitles, but they are easy to read and follow (English being underneath the Spanish) and in a style that also suits the story and atmosphere nicely. It obviously took a lot of effort to make this film (details of the Pathe Stencil Color technique explained in the DVD notes) and David Shepard has likewise gone to some effort to make it available to us today to appreciate and admire once again. Definitely a must in any silent film collection, and no doubt a treat for Cyrano De Bergerac fans in general.
A classic silent era treatment of a Classic play. Cyrano is played by the great French stage actor Pierre Magnier, who played the role on stage for many years. So be prepared for stage like overacting. That said, this version is much closer to the original play than the Jose Ferrer version. But both versions rely on the often inaccurate translations. The final line always being the test to how much a translation adhered to the original poetic form. While the play has its problems, mainly with the character of Roxanne, the interactions between Cyrano and Roxanne are always heart rending. Although I can see why she would prefer a pretty face to Magnier's rather clownish makeup.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 23, 2001
I have always been attracted to the story of CYRANO DE BERGERAC. I first encountered it as a CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED comic book back in the early 1960s. Shortly after that I saw the famous 1950 film version with Jose Ferrrer which appeared many times on TV when I was growing up. Once I got to college, I read the original Edmond Rostand play but in an English translation. Years later came the Steve Martin adaptation ROXANNE (1987) and finally, what for me is my personal favorite, the 1990 French version with Gerard Depardieu. Then in 1996 I finally saw the 1925 silent version when it first appeared on VHS. It was a joy to behold but unfortunately the musical accompaniment was substandard and badly performed. 3 years later it made it to DVD and this problem had been corrected. The DVD score by Kurt Kuenne is not only well performed, it enhances the images as a good silent film score should.
This CYRANO easily holds its own against the others especially now as many people are discovering silent films for the first time, thanks to another French film of recent vintage, THE ARTIST. The first thing people notice is that the film appears to be in color. It wasn't shot that way, it was hand stenciled in an arduous process employed by Pathe. The film was completed in 1922 but not released until 1925. Today the process looks like computer colorization but back then it was astonishing. however any CYRANO must rise or fall on the strength of the titular performance and Pierre Magnier, who understudied the original Cyrano, is heartbreakingly romantic. The print used for this 1999 presentation has not been fully restored and is conflated from several others. It provides consistency in the story line but the picture quality varies. While not perfect, it's still way above average and is a must for fans of silent cinema and especially of Cyrano himself.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 6, 2000
Too often films of the silent era come to us in chopped, cropped, and abused formats. "Cyrano" is flat out gorgeous with its detailed Pathecolor process, giving the scenes a fairy-tale coloration that easily rivals the old two-strip Technicolor. The performances are without the silent hyperbole or melodramatic flairs; in fact, when Pierre Magnier's Cyrano becomes expansive with his flourishes, he seems to be parodying the conventions we might expect after a diet of D. W. Griffith epics. The director, Augusta Genina, later went on to direct Louise Brooks' final European film, "Prix de Beaute," and his gifts with both spectacle and introspective moments are in strong evidence here. An amazing find!
What a very pleasant surprise this film is!.All very well made and acted ,with a wonderful performance by Pierre Magnier.Who,I hear you shouting?!.Magnier performed the role on stage at the time,to great acclaim and I fully understand why.His performance captures the eccentricities of the character beautifully and creates more than a few laugh out loud moments,all done with out him uttering a single word,as this is a silent film.Pierre Magnier was actually the understudy to Coquelin,the very first Cyrano in the original stage production in the 1890s.In 1900 ,he toured with Coquelin and Sarah Bernhardt ,playing Laertes in Hamlet.His best remembered film role, was his role as the General,in Jean Renoir's LA REGLE DU JOUE.The film is beautifully restored from an original nitrate print to Eeastmancolour negative ,using a 1909 Bell & Howell film printing machine and colour tinted frame by frame,matching the original tints.The film comes with a great orchestral score ,composed by Kurt Kuenne and conducted by Timothy Brock ,that brings the film fully alive. Having seen a few versions of this film,including Gerard Depardieu's performance,I rate this version of the film as the best I have ever seen and Pierre Magnier ,gives us the best Cyrano on screen!.The only slight disappointment in the film,is the standard of the fencing skills,every thing else however, is so good that you will forgive it instantly.All lovers of this classic picaresque play and silent movie fans ,should not hesitate to buy this very reasonably priced gem.The only other negative to this wonderful film ,is that unfortunately, it is strictly Region 1 and will only play in the U.K.on computer or on multi-regional DVD players.
Stupéfiant et admirable. Un procédé de colorisation d'époque tout à fait au point et qui donne un rendu très émouvant. Le personnage de Cyrano n'est pas très bien composé et surtout manque d'émotion. Il faut dire que beaucoup de l'intérêt de la pièce vient du charme des dialogues et qu'un film muet ampute une grande partie de ce plaisir.
Purtroppo è un film muto. Avevo bisogno della versione italiana del film girato da Gerard Depardieu. Comprato anche questo ma solo in versione francese. A quanto pare non esiste la versione italiana
